I stayed in a fantastic place with amazing people for what was supposed to be one week. Several factors made me change my mind, one of them being work and learning, the other being a low mood in a period of the year that has always been stressful to me the previous years.

Being in Medellín, I went to see the work of Botero, of course. The sculptures in front of the Museo de Antioquia were all very present, like any of Botero’s work, and while looking at a bird on one of them, I thought: “Haaa… The birds of Botero”, just as the pigeon started to move.

In that museum, I was really stunned by a piece which colours and details I thought were wonderful for a painting, just to realize that it was a digital photo of a landscape with colours that seem out of this world. This is the Andes, baby, and it’s a work by Camilo Echavarría called “Panorámica del río Cauca y los Datos de la Pintada desde la hacienda El Porvenir”, from the series Atlas de los Andes.

I met Michael again after our first encounter in Nicaragua, during Vipassana. I went with him to buy a few things he needed for his new activity and we ended up at Gloria’s, a place and a person I warmly recommend if you’re looking to buy arts and crafts from Colombia. you can find her at Centro Artesanal Mi Viejo Pueblo, CRA. 49 #53-20, Local 38, Medellín.

Right after, I went drinking in a bar for the last match of Colombia during the 2018 World Cup, with my newly bought jersey (this was a promise to my family from Bogotá), taking a beer shower and hugging random people when Colombia equalized at the last minute of the game. I bought some doughnuts and beer to finish the match with my hosts; these things are always good, regardless of the outcome of the match.

I went to look at initiatives like Morro de Moravia or the cable-cars to reach the Arví Park, which are great urban projects, although they surely come with their list of questions about how the local population was or is taken care of.

It looks like the metro in Medellín also likes Guns N’ Roses songs as I heard many of them in different stations while I was moving. “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” & “Don’t cry” were some of them. :)

One of the highlights was going to a play with my hosts, met randomly in the street while my mood was not the greatest ever on this anniversary. I ended up having a super nice chill evening and visiting the beautiful place that is Matacandelas, with nice discussions the rest of the evening…

While waiting for the bus that would lead me to Necoclí, a look outside through the gate’s door, I was mesmerized by the urban lights on the slopes of the surrounding mountains, like a thousands stars just a short distance away…

Medellín will surely continue to travel with me as I made a promise to send photos to one person there.