From Murder Capital to Metro Cable

For much of the 80's and 90's, Colombia had the dubious honor of having the highest murder rate of any country in the world.  And the city of Medellin led by example.  The violence was fueled by the war between Pablo Escobar's cartel and the nearby Cali cartel.  From what I've read and heard, Colombians were afraid, or at least hesitant, to explore their own country.

But since Pablo's death, Medellin's safety record has improved by leaps and bounds.  And just like in the 80's and 90's, the rest of Colombia's cities soon followed.  These days, Colombians are getting reacquainted with their homeland, and they talk about neighboring Venezuela as a crime-ridden place where thieves, murderers, and rapists are waiting for you to let your guard down.  Indeed, Venezuela currently competes with Honduras, El Salvador, Jamaica, and Brazil for the country with the most violent crime in, at least the Western hemisphere, if not the world.

But, make no mistake, Colombia is neither Japan nor Switzerland.  There are criminals, there is crime there.  Common sense is a must : be careful at night, be careful (or avoid altogether) in some of the poorer barrios, don't flaunt your valuables.

Nowadays the city of Medellin has such an irresistable charm and livability.  In fact, of all the cities I've explored in Venezuela and Colombia, Medellin would be my first choice for a home.  The city's tucked away in an Andean valley, and thus has a perfect and constant springtime temperature.  You want the other seasons ? You don't have to wait months, like in Europe : Climb the nearby mountains for winter, descend a couple of hours toward the coast for the summer heat.



But, like in Europe, parks, plazas, and museums are in abundance.  My two favorite places include 1) a plaza and museum dedicated to Colombia most famous artist (no, not Shakira) Fernando Botero, famous for his paintings and sculptures of fat, uh, voluminous characters and 2) the Barefoot Park, where visitors are expected to take the shoes off and let their toes explore all the different sensations available.

Medellin is a thoroughly modern city.  The metro is first rate, and, even better, they have what's called a metro cable, meaning at the end of the metro, you change from a car to a telepherique and a cable pulls you up the mountain high above the barrios below.  In fact, one of the metro cables will take you for an hour until you reach the Park Arvi, an enormous and lush reserve perched high above the city and crisscrossed by hiking trails and streams and wandering fauna.  We liked it so much we visited twice, camping the second time around.

In most places around the world, the people you meet are the city's best attribute, and Medellin is no expection.  Within five minutes of arriving, we had been approached, greeted, and invited home by a complete stranger.  In the coming weeks, people seemed very at ease approaching us to ask where we were from, what we're doing in Colombia, and how we like it.

So if you ever get make the opportunity to go to Colombia, go !  And Medellin better be on your itinerary.  Just make sure you forget every newspaper clipping and Hollywood depiction you've ever seen.