Visiting Pablo Escobar

It didn't take 7 hours, and three out of the five people were already at the local police station. Well, that's going to be exciting :)

The local bracelet seller suddenly wanted an incredible amount of money from one of us, which of course was initially rejected. After a crowd of 5 to 6 men had formed around us, the local 'Policia' noticed us, detained two of our colleagues, and asked us to come to the station.

But no worries, after the Google Translator had done its job perfectly, we were able to leave after the obligatory photo shoot, a search, and providing our personal information.

For more details, you know the author of these lines :)

Just to be safe, we spent the afternoon and evening in a different district at a market.

Cartagena is an expensive and annoying city. The old town is quite nice, but everything else is rather unattractive, so we were glad that the next day we went to the house on Isla Baru.

The house was awesome. Located right on the beach, a pool to chill out, and more than enough space for all of us.

By the way, we had 5 employees for 7 people.

A bartender, a cook, a security guard, and two ladies who cleaned and arranged the rooms every day. Thanks for that, Ingo!

Every day there was fish, octopus, shrimp, lobster, and much more. Until the 4th day, everything was fine, but then a nasty diarrhea set in for me and with a few days delay for the others as well. Luckily, I was fine after two days, but some still had it when writing these lines...

Nevertheless, we took various tours from our house, went to several beaches by boat, visited the next town on the island, or rented a speedboat, played Flunkyball, or simply drank Cuba Libre in the pool all day.

Generally, I have to say that the Cartagena region is not worth traveling to. The food is significantly more expensive in Cartagena compared to other cities. Incredibly annoying bracelet-sunglasses-and other sellers. Even when eating, you are approached every two minutes asking if you want to buy something.

The offered tours are just a big rip-off, nothing else. A 5-minute boat ride for €35, a ten-minute boat ride, with the driver waiting at the beach for an hour, for €50, and a 3 ½-hour speedboat ride for only €400.

In Asia and many other places in the world, you can drive for days...

The 6 days passed by in no time, and so, unlike what I planned, I still went with the guys to Medellin. Originally, I actually wanted to stay on the Caribbean coast first so that I wouldn't fly too much, but now it doesn't matter. A few more flights here or there won't make much of a difference anymore, but more on that later.

The climate in Medellin is already much more pleasant: 30°C and 60% humidity instead of 36°C and 85% humidity, that makes a big difference!

After arriving at the airport, we went to the trendy neighborhood El Poblado. For me, it's not really my thing, with many fancy bars, clubs, and overpriced restaurants. However, I had some incredibly delicious cheese at a street food stand (a type of grilled cheese) with sweetened condensed milk, very tasty! I went back to the hotel early because, as mentioned before, some had stomach problems, and others, like me, were just tired.

The mentioned stomach problems affected some more than they expected, so only two of us went by metro and cable car to a park slightly above Medellin. Amazing view, the city stretches across the entire valley, and the outskirts are the Comunas, the former favelas.

The park was quite nice, but not really worth a visit, the cable car ride was the real highlight. In the evening, we went to another neighborhood. There was much more street food and more bars where the Colombians were dancing and drinking, as well as some nice pubs, much better than yesterday.

As planned, I continued to Guatape the next day. The other five decided to skip the flight to Pereira due to ongoing stomach problems and accompany me to Guatape. However, before that, I went to see Pablo Escobar's grave. It's a strange feeling as a tourist to enter a cemetery, especially when someone is being buried at the same time. The feeling quickly disappears, though, when you see the first group of tourists with a guide. Even 30 years after Pablo Escobar was shot, many flowers are still laid at his grave. Then we went to Comuna 13, where I tested the public escalator system. If it hadn't been so crowded, it would have been a relaxed stroll, but due to the flower festival in Medellin, the former favela was totally overcrowded. There isn't much of the former 'flair' left. Now it has become quite a hip neighborhood.

You can still see the precarious living conditions once you leave the main street, and the beer is also cheap in the side streets with 80 cents.

After my bus driver collided with someone from behind and both parties were in great excitement, I arrived in Guatape after a 3-hour drive. I was expecting a small nice village. However, it turned out to be a tourist town with countless colorful streets, shops, and restaurants. I postponed the planned climb of El Penon to the next day, as the night was a bit short.

Alternatively, the next day we took a tour boat on the lake. Since we wanted to see Pablo Escobar's former estate, we immediately rented a private boat and went to the aforementioned estate.

Naturally, the place has a dark past, but with the knowledge of what happened over 30 years ago, it's incredibly interesting.

The area is still maintained, at least the vegetation, but the buildings are decaying more and more. Until three years ago, there was even a kiosk on the premises, and tours were offered, but that is no longer the case. Now you have to find a boat driver who takes you there for some 'extra money'.

The next morning, as planned, I went to El Penon at 8 o'clock. Afterwards, I said goodbye to the guys. Thanks to everyone, it was a great time. Special thanks, of course, to Ingo, who kept his promise. The house, the staff, and everything else were great! Thank you!