MEDELLIN

the last ten days i called medellin my home and to be honest it took some time to get warm with the city not just because it was raining almost every afternoon. still there was a lot to do and see in this surprisingly modern city with over five million inhabitants that spreads not just form north to south in the valley of the medellin river but also grows wildly on the hillside to the east and west. ten years ago it was the most dangerous city on the planet but former no go areas like the comuna trece transformed into a safe tourist magnet with great graffiti art. it is a role model of urban integration with cableways and escalators as public transport. cultural centres can be found in many of the neighbourhoods. el poblado in the south is the modern gringo area with fancy restaurants and bars and could easily be somewhere in spain or australia too. i stayed in sabaneta in an apartment of a former colleague of my mum that went back to europe for a few month. further information in the comments of the pictures. cheers back home with some ice cold club columbia dorada beer. yours johannes

on the way from salento to medellin

rooftop view from my hostel in poblado

awesome vegetarian wrap in poblado

hipster restaurant in poblado

bolivar statue at parque bolivar

basilica metropolitana de medellin

bird on a fence

concrete brutalism in the centre

plaza de san antonio

plaza de san antonio

banco de la republica

plaza de bolero with hotel nutibara

statue ‘soldado romano’ on plaza botero in front of rafael uribe uribe (sic) palace of culture

various botero statues, among others left ‘gato’ and right ‘caballo’

southbound view street scene plaza botero

warm welcome from saraih, stayed in her apartment while she flew to europe

chess table pavilion on plaza san ignacio in front of university de antioquia

free electric guitar concert happening in front of theatre

vegetarian food and pizza heaven at ‘cafe zorba’ in poblado with mates from the uk and australia

the australians and i reunited in medellin after we meet on a food tour in bogota

car free sunday

comuna 13. once most dangerous neighbourhood

view over comuna 13

home to migrants that escaped land grabbing and violence

graffiti art in comuna 13

kids perform afro-colombian dances

poster on lantern

modern school complex for 2000 kids in aurora

teachers told me its modern but little functional

southbound view from aurora over the city with metro cable line j (right side)

center right you find the city airport with ‘el poblado’ behind on the hillside

night view from my balcony in sabaneta

mural in the centre of medellin

rush hour at the metro

city map at casa de la memoria museum showing the former hot spots comuna 13 and 8

inside museo case de la memoria

ni guerra mural at museo casa de la memoria

casa de la memoria museum from outside

park in front of museo de arte moderno de medellin

factory hall integrated into modern art museum medellin

museo de arte moderno medellin colombia

northbound view towards cbd from roof of modern art museum

eastbound view from roof of modern art museum

planing my onward trip

german consulate hidden inside a shopping mall accessible only through parking garage haha

documentary photography exhibition at entrance of botanic garden medellin

entry rotunda of jardin botanico de medellin

the iconic orchideorama at the botanic garden of medellin

railway wagon transformed into park cafe

lettering above entrance to the botanic garden

great typ of passionfruit (i guess) for breakfast

heavy rain destroying my hiking plans in ecotourism park arvi close to the city

taking the metro cable back from arvi park

westbound view from metro cable 

soil horizon at arvi park. organic humus horizon above laver of volcanic ashes. followed by sand and clay above the orange saprolite. nerd stuff pedology.

parque de las luces in the cbd of medellin

old railway station ferrocarril de antioquia

old railway station ferrocarril de antioquia

salsa party on first december weekend 

 

GUATAPE

last weekend i did a trip to guatape two hours by bus, located north east of medellin. the artificial lake is the result of the construction of a hydro-electric dam in the 1960s that provides power to the nearby city. highlight is the 200m high monolith rock el peñol from which you have a great 360 degree view, after taking 650 steps on step stairs mounted into a rock fissure. the hostel i stayed in for one night was a little bit off but worth the way as you can tell.

SALENTO

salento is a beautiful village in the andes mountains. during the three days there i rented a motorbike and discovered the surroundings with sebastian and steffi from germany and gemma from australia. on the second day we hiked the cocora valley famous for its high waxpalmtrees the can get up to hundred meters tall. even so we went on the wrong track first we spend great seven hours walking through all levels of vegetation in the cloud forest. on the last day there i visited a small coffee plantation and learned about all stages from planting and growing the beans to harvesting, peeling, washing, drying and categorising.

BOGOTA

the last four days i have been in bogota the capital of colombia. here i enjoyed trying out new food every day for example hot chocolate with cheese (not really my thing) or the local soup made from three different types of potato with capers and chicken. but the typical dish here is a bowl of beans with rice, avocado and crunchy meet or sausage on the side. also crafts beer has become a thing here and i gave my best to try them all. party and salsa is fun here but probably medellin and cali have a lot of nightlife to over as well. culture wise the city has a great street art scene with graffiti as a form of protest against social injustice and violence. the gold museum here exhibits a wide range of old craftwork from all regions in colombia. another main attraction is the monserrate mountain (3.150m) with a church on top and a great view over the city if its not to cloudy as most of the time. now i will let a few pictures speak for themselves. hope you like them and i will have good enough internet to upload weekly. otherwise just check my instagram. yours johannes

 

KAMPENWANDHÜTTE

VINSCHGAU MOUNTAINBIKEN