Me Fue Mal en Medellín

I’m back safely in Quito for all who were a bit concerned!!! I know I’ve been MIA for awhile, but I hope to match up now, including pics! I left off on the way to Medellín with high hopes due to friends’ recommendations. I really hated to leave Bogotá, and I hated leaving even more once I got to Medellín! Probably due entirely due to the holiday, there was no one on the streets except for the enormous amount of homeless people. I have never in my life been confronted with such harsh realities of poverty, (probably because of the weather they can sleep anywhere and everywhere all year long), and I was overwhelmed by sickening feelings of pity, disgust, anger, and hopelessness. Even aside from the lack of life in the city (which the many universities in the town most likely contribute a lot to), there really aren’t many museums or churches or beautiful sights to see. Also, there were no police to be seen and all the factors combined to make me feel fear for the first time. I was constantly worried about my purse, and I didn’t even want to be adventurous and walk along the little river for fear of being mugged. I did go up to a high outlook of the city where there’s a little imitation city of centuries ago, but I wasn’t impressed by any of it! The sculpture garden was a bust, my feet hurt from the long walk in my sandals, and I could feel myself getting more and more sunburnt. But I had to wait until 2 p.m. to check into the hostal, and with my bag in the terminal I couldn’t get to my sunscreen!

The two good things I have to say about the city are its many public art displays and sculptures, and the metro system which is pretty sweet! The famous Colombian artist Botero donated 20-30 sculptures to the city and they’re all over, easily noticeable because his style is to make everything exaggeratedly chubby—people, horses, birds, you name it. There is one place where there was a Bird of Peace that was ironically bombed by guerrillas. In a symbolic act they erected another one right next to it, so that was pretty moving to see. And the metro was convenient and fast, but twice as expensive as the 2 year old guide book said. Come to think of it, everything in Colombia is considerably more expensive than in the guidebook and than in Ecuador.

So once I made it into my hostal, I chatted with some of the viajeros and then set out for dinner and the procession that was bound to occur. First, just like everyone else in Medelliín, two guys in the restaurant werent just watching me eat, but the one was staring and signaling with his eyes and clearly didn't understand my angry/avoidance looks. People were far more aggressive and overt in Medellín than in other cities, wich was another unpleasantry. And then later, sure enough, there was a procession at the main cathedral. I went to the mass, but it was absolutely packed. I thought I could hold out for the standard hour even in my horrid sandals, but the priest elaborated on each of the 7 last sayings of Christ, and it lasted 2 solid hours even without communion! It was good, and I'm glad I went for the re-focus on the whole season, but I was distracted much of the time by my aching feet and by all the other distracted, dying-to-leave people. The procession began and included the standard figures raised on shoulders, but they were mainly of the women who were mourning. And then there was Jesus in a coffin at the end that struck me as kinda weird. Symbolic? Artsy? I dunno, but I wasn't feelin' it. And there was absolutely 0% chance of anything being open afterward, so to my hostal I went after wasting a day in the city and nearly 2 in travel time!