Walking Tour through El Centro
Real City Tours– Medellin
We Uber into El Candelaria for our walking tour with Real City Tours. El Candelaria, also known as El Centro, is the heart of Medellin. As we walk towards the meeting point our guide picks us out on the street right away saying “Walking Tour?”. I guess we have the gringo look.
Our guide is Hernan and I ask what marks us as gringos. He says that John looks more like a gringo than I because of his small backpack and baseball cap. Haha.
I have been using my Spanish a lot. I comment to John… “the Spanish is just flowing from my mouth today.”
He replies…”Well something is.”
Hernan is a fabulous guide. He is knowledgeable and answers our questions honestly.
Hernan talks about the bad times of Pablo Escobar and the violence of the right wing and left wing guerilla warfare. He says he doesn’t use Escobar’s name in case people walking by who only speak Spanish think he is glorifying the criminal. He also talks about the ongoing transformation of Medellin to a place where tourists are returning in larger & larger numbers.
Square of Lights
One of our stops is the Square of Lights. It used to be an area filled with dangerous drug gangs, prostitutes etc. The city rehabilitated the area with pillars that light up at night, bamboo tree, plants, bird houses, a fountain and more. The historical buildings on the side used to be headquarters for drug gangs but have been restored and now have much more wholesome uses.
Shopping Streets
We go down shopping streets and through another restored historical building which is now a shopping centre of sorts. clothing here is a lot different than in Canada. Styles seem to accentuate butts, boobs and bare midriff. John points out certain outfits for me. At my age, said outfits on me would be down right frightening.
Many of the street stands sell healthy snacks such as fresh fruit and juices. Yum.
Not so Holy Activities
We stop in front of a church. There are a number of prostitutes around it. Apparently the guys have their fun in the nearby hotels then go to church…kind of using their religion as soap to wash their sins.
Botero Sculptures
The next square (Botero Square) is filled with the chubby sculptures of Medellin’s famous artist Fernando Botero. Botero donated these statues to the city and it is fabulous to walk around them. They are right in front of the Rafael Uribe Uribe Palace of Culture and the Museo de Antioquia.
We pass beside another church which is flanked by stalls selling counterfeit products and stall after stall of hard-core pornography DVDs.
Birds of Peace
The tour ends in at Park San Antonio that is a little sketchy. Hernan says that since there are not many people in this park, it is a sign to be on guard.
The park has some Botero statues. Notably a bird that is blown apart beside a second statue of a complete bird. In 1995, during a concert in the park, someone put a backpack full of explosives under the statue. People were killed including children and many were injured.
They were going to get rid of the destroyed sculpture but the artist, Botero called the mayor and said to leave the destroyed sculpture there as a reminder of what happened and he made a replica of the old statue to represent a better future.
Lunch at Itsu
John and I stop for lunch at Itsu where we have awesomely delicious shrimp/calamari bowl and chicken bowl. Of course we finished with a chocolate torte. I speak to the girl at the counter and am able to make myself understood with my halting Spanish…very satisfying.
Museo de Antioquia
We make our way back to the Museo de Antioquia where we enjoy more Botero works as well as other Columbian artists. Well worth the visit.
It clouded over by the time we leave the museum. We try to find the entrance to the Rafael Uribe Uribe Palace of Culture but it appears to be closed.
Loud thunder rumbles in the air and we get to the metro just in time to miss the pelting rain.
Award Winning Metrocable Transit System
We get on the above ground metro heading to Acevedo Station to grab a cable car. Medellin won international awards for its public transportation system. It is truly spectacular. The metro is a combination of rail lines integrated with cable cars lines.
The rain stops by the time we reach the cable car station, and we take the K Line Metrocable to Santa Domingo Station. The cable cars operate like the high speed ski lifts in Canada. Each car can seat 8 people. The cars slow down to allow people to board and disembark then zip away at high speed to the next station. We go up the mountainside skimming over the rooftops of the poorer neighborhoods or communas that spread out below us as far as you can see. It gives us birds eye views of some neighborhoods.
There are several cable car lines going up to many of the other mountainous neighborhoods joining them to the city center. Another must see if in Medellin.
Last Visit to Cafe Zorba
The sun is out again as we head head back to our hostel to rest our feet before supper. We will do Cafe Zorba one last time. Tonight we pack because tomorrow we leave for the airport at 6:30am.
Supper is amazing. We get the best table in the house; candle lit and overlooking the lower level and park. The music playlists are always fabulous here. We order the Brava appetizer: baby roasted potatoes dipped in a pistachio aioli that is lightly spiced with cayenne with caramelized onions drizzled with fresh lime and cilantro. Yum. And of course the chimichurri pizza and a couple Columbian Club beers. Pure bliss.
Not that I was evesdropping but an American guy at the next table is on a date with a local girl he met online. He is doing his best to make a good impression. It’s like watching an episode of 90 Day Fiance.
The evening ends too quickly and we head next door to our room to pack. There is a line up waiting to get into Cafe Zorba. I can still hear the music through our bathroom window as I pack.
I think this is one of the best restaurants I have ever been to. They have it all; ambience, great music, flawless staff and amazing food.