Welsh David's South America: 26 to 28 March 2017

Just seven hours after leaving the campsite we arrived at the GE Hostel in Medellin. After a while we went on a city tour mainly as a way of getting to know the city and how to use the Metro of which two lines were trains, five lines cable cars and one line a tram car. Medellin is surrounded by mountains. Years ago most of the poorer people lived in the barrios which were on the slopes of the mountains and controlled by those dealing in drugs. At that time the police could not enter the areas and people were under the control of the drug barons. Over time this has changed so that now it is safer to enter the barrios, during the day anyway, and it was into one that we were taken by the guide. The people there seemed friendly and happy, what more can be said.

Views of and from the cable car

Access to the hills is all by cable car, a cheap and easy way for the people living there to get into the city for work. This has also helped to alleviate the effects of the drug operators on the people. It was pointed out that the condition of the houses with no external painting or seemingly unfinished buildings had nothing to to with the position or wealth of the people living in them. Local tax has to be paid to the city government and the level of tax depended on the external condition of the house or flat. The more decrepit it looked the less tax is paid.

View from the cable car

A barrio street

Bronze sculpture

Childrens car, pushed round.

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The following day while a few of the others were away to some big rock and a Pablo Estaba tour taking longer than they thought and bringing them back more than tired after the long day yesterday, I went to find the Prado District where all the houses were built differently.

The metro was easy enough to get there and the use of it quite simple. All journeys no-matter what distance or whether train or cable car are one price. All I had to do was indicate that I wanted to pay for three journeys to be given a swipe card for that amount of travel. On the last trip the card had to be put in a slot, when the card is kept by the machine to be re-used. I could have re-loaded the card myself but I only wanted it for the three journeys. I did find the Prado District and although the house were different they were not really what I expected.

Prado Street Scenes

It was just after midday when I was walking round and I noticed that I could step on my shadow which meant that I was not far from the equator with the sun directly overhead at midday.

The church of Jesus Nazarene was not far away so I went there, sat down for a while in the cool, and once again saw some lovely stained glass windows and beautiful wooden carvings.

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Leaving the church I found myself walking along a street with a large number of funeral parlours/funeral homes with people there attending the viewing of various people as indicated by the signs outside each of the premises. Passing one I did a double take as there looked to be old funeral cars in a shed. I stuck my head inside, asked permission if I could see the cars then once having a little look asked permission again to take photos of them and below is what I saw.

There were actually hearses and funeral cars, mainly Buicks and Packards, all parked together in no order and certainly not for viewing, just stored so it seemed. They were gorgeous, some with the silk curtains in the windows, some open backed like a landau while others had huge fins, whitewall tyres and huge light fittings. Most of them looked as if they were in running order judging by the external appearance. I would love to be able to buy one, or two, if they were available.

Back on the Metro again and across the city to try and find a ‘castle’.

This I would never have found without the help of three local men, who did not speak English nor I Spanish, who lived nearby but did not know exactly where this castle was to be found. They used the satnav on their phone to show me the streets to follow after there was only one sign at the metro station, then took me half way up the steep hill before I found another sign showing the direction. One-and-a-half kilometres from the metro to the castle but getting back was easier as by then people had finished working so I just followed everyone else hoping that we were all going to the metro, which we were.

El Castillo, to give it the correct title, is a mock-Gothic castle built in 1930. It was once the home of a wealthy Antioquian landowner who left all the family's belongings including furniture and artwork from around the world. No photos were to be taken inside the building but I did not see a sign and had taken a few before being told it was not allowed. The building with it’s fittings, furniture, crockery and glassware was worth the visit with the gardens being tidy but I know little about plants so have little to write about it.