On The Condor Trail: Cartagena and Medellin

Music maestro:

Leaving from Minca I made a quick stop in Cartagena.
The city of Cartagena is highly appreciated by tourists due to its beautiful historical centre with multicolor houses and flowered balconies. The city used to be the main hub of the Spanish Empire in Colombia and therefore was a very wealthy place. But when you arrive in Cartagena if you keep your eyes open during the bus ride that takes you from the terminal to the fortified city centre it is a whole different story. The transport is a complete Mayhem (maybe you can blame that on being in the carribean) but more striking, most of the neighbourhoods on the way are shantytowns. In fact Cartagena happens to be one of the poorest city in Colombia. This highlights the level of wealth difference that you can observe in Colombia, and suddenly the city centre appears like a sort of Disneyland for tourists.

Arriving in Cartagena

Nevertheless I took a bit of time to walk around the city and it was really pleasant . Some friends compared the city with La Havana, this is the kind of feel there is in the centre, a chilled colonial town with a lot of tourists...

Cartagena Street

After this quick stop I headed to Medellin with the delightful 14 hours bus to meet up with a French friend who lives in Montreal who was coming to join me for a week.

Busseta leaving Cartagena

Medellin has been a really good stop and it was good to catch up with an old friend after nearly a month of travelling on my own.

Approaching Medellin

The city of the eternal spring (so called due to the perfect weather all year round) did not disappoint me. It is amazing to see the turn that this city managed to take. A few years back, the place was still one of the dangerous city on earth with drug cartels and extreme violence. And now you can walk in the streets with a striking feeling of security. The transport network is highly developped and cleanand even displays some cable cars to go in the higher neighbouroods.

Cable Car to Parque Arví

Romain and I in front of a Botero sculpture

My time over there has been divided between daytrips during the day (Parque Arví, Museo Botero, Guatape and the botanical gardens) and big parties at night. The party in Medellin is definitely part of the discovery, the city is famous for it, so when you are there, there is no excuses not to dance Salsa and enjoy some Rum in the crowded parks of the Poblado area. There is also another thing that I think is worth mentioning, it is the Medellin girls!Wow this is not a legend, it is a boob and but contest, even if this has to be won with the help of a bit of surgery.