Medellin, Colombia 🇨🇴 

I am feeling a bit better today as we head to a French cafe for breakfast.  It was a really tasty omelette, I even had broccoli which has been hard to find. We walk down the hill to meet our guide at El Poblado station, the group all seem really friendly and interesting. We are off to Comuna 13, once one of the most dangerous areas but now a safe regenerated area full of street art.

We take the metro and then a cable car up to La Aurora to see this area and learn of the social projects here. The cable cars are a big deal in Medellin as it has made the city centre more accessible and cut commuter times bringing more opportunities. There are tower blocks here that the government gave to people post the South American games, based on their home risk of landslide or need. Theirs to own or sell once they have lived for 5 years. We sit for a bit enjoying warm corn arepas with cheese which are delicious and much nicer than the white ones I have tried.

We glide back down in the cable car and hop on a local bus to Comuna 13, still can’t believe they have a turnstile on the small buses. The area has lots of street art, many of it depicting stories from the conflict, like the one that shows two boys who’s father was murdered on the basketball court and another with elephants that have white handkerchiefs signaling peace. They are all very vibrant and we even meet Choco, who lives in the area and painted many of the pieces that we saw.

We stop for a coffee, even trying coffee lemonade which was refreshing. Continuing up on the street escalators, the brick houses with corrugated roofs are a vast sigh below us, clinging to the hills. At the top the light rain turns into a massive thunderstorm which we wait out a bit before heading back down and saying goodbye at the metro.

Tonight we are joined by Manuel and Delphine for rooftop beers followed by a traditional dinner of Bandeja Paisa which is rice, red beans, shredded meat, chicharrón (pork rind), chorizo, morcilla (black pudding), fried egg, avocado, arepa and plantain….pretty filling!