The Transformation

Recent weather: 60s, overcast with a daily afternoon downpour in Medellin; 80s, sunny and humid in Cartagena
Recent reads: 2 Corinthians-Ephesians, ¨Chosen by a Horse¨ by Susan Richards, ¨The News from Paraguay¨by Lily Tuck.

25 years ago Medellin was a contender for the title of most dangerous city in the world. With an unofficial civil war waging for over 60 years, conflicts among paramilitary and guerrilla groups escalating, and tensions between drug cartels growing, violence was a daily occurrence for kids my age growing up in Medellin. Perhaps that is why paisas (a term for Colombians from the Antioquia region of which Medellin is the capital) are so proud to be paisas--they're proud to be survivors. And no wonder Colombians have such a dark sense of humor-can you blame them? When few Colombians are willing to talk about their turbulent history, sometimes joking is the only way to remember without having to really talk about it. 

Part was designed and built by a Belgian architect but after much badgering about the delay, the Belgian quit leaving locals to finish the rest. You can guess which part was done by the Belgian and which by the locals.

One of the best tours I have done on my whole trip was the Pablo Escobar tour in Medellin. Sure, I learned about Pablo Escobar and saw places where he lived and died but the perspective I got that day went way beyond just one man. 
Pablo Escobar was born December 1, 1949, just outside of Medellin. When other 5 year olds said they wanted to be a doctor or a fireman or an astronaut, little Pablo said he wanted to be a millionaire. At 16, Escobar was expelled from school for stealing the answers to an exam and distributing them to the whole class. From there he joined forces with his cousin, selling weed on the streets, dealing stolen car parts and stealing marble gravestones from cemeteries. By 21 Escobar was making his way through the ranks of the drug distribution business, and by 29, he was head of the Medellin cartel which controlled about 80% of Colombian cocaine trafficking routes.

Above: Escobar´s ID; Below: the second most visited grave site in the world (can you guess the first?), Pablo Escobar, in a private cemetary in Medellin. Ironically, someone stole his marble gravestone and it was recently replaced which is why there is no inscription. 

The modest house where Escobar was hiding out before he was killed by DEA, CIA, Colombian military or police, PEPEs (a group of Escobar's victims or family of victims seeking revenge) or whomever wants to take credit. Family of Escobar claim the shot to the head was self-inflicted, Escobar said he´d kill himself before ever going to prison. The house is for sale!

Escobar, one of the most internationally recognizable criminals of all time, just serves as a mirror for Colombia's shortcomings. For example, when Pablo Escobar, an international drug lord, money launderer and ultimately a murderer who hadn't even finished high school is elected to the Colombian Congress, you know something is wrong with the democratic process. When the Cali cartel can launder drug money through several properties registered under a monkey's fingerprint, you know something is wrong with the legal system. And when Pablo Escobar consents to serve a partial sentence but at his own hacienda and monitored by his own bodygaurds rather than Colombian military or police and the court agrees, you start to wonder if justice really does exist. 
This new found perspective also dispelled a lot of misconceptions I had. First off, Colombia's problems were not solely caused by the drug cartels. Rather, Colombia has had violent political and social unrest for decades and, during the 80s and early 90s, the political scene just set the stage for drug cartels to take hold. The "success"and violence of the drug cartels were simply a symptom of the greater problems that plagued Colombia.

Querida Virgen Maria, please let my plane full of cocaine arrive safely. I think there are more places of prayer dedicated to Mary than to Jesus himself, a manifestation of the Latino matriarchial society.

Likewise, the drug trade didn't start with Pablo Escobar and it certainly didn't end with his death in 1993. Today, Colombia´s reputation is changing and it is much safer and cleaner than ever but cocaine trafficking in Colombia is just as prevalent as when Pablo Escobar had a virtual monopoly on it. After Escobar's death, the Medellin cartel disbanded and now the trafficking routes are controlled by various secret paramilitary and guerrilla groups throughout rural Colombia. The solution to the cocaine problem isn't that simple. While it's easy to point the finger--Colombia supplies an outrageous portion of the world's cocaine--unfortunately, the cocaine is shipped out of Colombia to where the demand is, to Europe and the US. 
I pictured Pablo Escobar as a sort of beloved Colombian Robin Hood, stealing from the rich and giving back to the poor neighborhoods. But Pablo Escobar grew up in a middle class home--he was never starving or destitute-- and became one of the rich in the nastiest way possible. And while he did some seemingly charitable acts, these deeds were usually motivated by selfish greed. For example, Escobar built lighted futbol fields in some rough neighborhoods in order to buy votes on his way to becoming a congressman. 
For most Colombians, Escobar's legacy is something they would like to forget. And if the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Colombia is Pablo Escobar and cocaine, you're basically offending an entire country. If anything, the thousands of people that on a daily basis get singled out, thoroughly searched, and publically humiliated at airports all over the world simply because they flashed a Colombian passport have Pablo Escobar to thank. 
One of the things I found most interesting was that many of Escobar's buildings have remained vacant for years since being confiscated by the police. Rather than turn these huge, multi-level ghost buildings into something useful like a school or a hospital to show the community that some good can evolve from something bad, these structures have remained unused for almost three decades, a daily reminder of the sicaros (driveby hitmen on motorbikes) and car bombs of years ago. Just recently, a couple of them have been bought by private companies and are being remodeled into restaurants or hotels. 

One of Escobar´s headquarters. Of course, it was all white, like the stuff that made him rich. For years it sat vacant, slowly deteriorating. Finally, construction has begun as it was recently bought by a foreign hotel company.

Truth be told, considering the dark "cultural experience"that is Medellin, I actually didn't feel unsafe. That's because Medellin has come a long was since the 80s, a process they call "the transformation." Medellin's transformation started with their Metro system. It's the only metro in the country and it is very clean and easy to use, the crown jewel of the city that they are very proud of and rightfully so. Then, in 2002, President Alvaro Uribe initiated an intense security platform, improving safety immensely, the results of which have made my backpacking trip through Colombia possible. By increasing police and military presence and adding more checkpoints in rural and urban areas all over the country, kidnappings in Colombia decreased about 90% by the end of his term in 2010. I have seen this first hand as several of my buses have been stopped for routine inspections in the middle of nowhere. 
Sergio Fajardo Valderrama, a former teacher and mayor of Medellin from 2003-2007, did his part by improving education and instituting "democratic architecture." La Plaza de Las Luces is a great example of democratic architecture. This square block, once a dark, dingy place, the perfect landscape for prostitution rings and drug deals gone wrong, was remodeled by adding lots of palm trees and an amazing artsy lighting display which serves to make the area more beautiful and safer at night. The building around the plaza, once vacant and home to squatters and drug addicts was renovated in the colonial style and is now home to the secretary of education. As another example, in a hilly neighborhood on the outskirts of town, children and blue collar residents had to climb 350 steps at the end of their day, a tiresome and dangerous stretch especially after sunset. The city built a kind of moving walkway there that improved neighborhood morale and decreased crime. 

An artsy view up of the lighting display.

The lights in Plaza de Las Luces during the day.

Formerly the Hall of Justice, this building was recently purchased by foreign investors and remodeled in the original colonial style. Although it is a shopping mall now, better to be restored and in use than the alternative.

But they´re not done yet. I drove through one Medellin neighborhood, several square blocks worth, full of mechanic shops and car parts stores. No city needs that many oil change shops. Most of the merchandise is stolen and most of the shops are fronts for laundering drug money. Here, on pretty much every corner you can see homeless addicts getting their daily fix. Just on the edge of this neighborhood is a police and fire station. The locals I was with said this neighborhood is one of the safest in the city, that I could walk around here day or night and nothing would happen to me. (Don't worry, Mom, I didn't try it.) It's safe but not because the police are right door. No, because of all the illegal activity that goes on here, the drug lords don't want the spotlight on their neighborhood so they hire their own private security companies which are far more effective at keeping law and order than the police. The last thing they would do would be to mug a harmless tourist and risk unwanted attention from the police or worse. 
For all the bizarre things I observed, for all the sights I can´t unsee, Medellin is a one-of-a-kind cultural experience. It truly is an amazing place--almost Gotham City-esque (yes, I just went there)--full of history-good, bad, and sometimes ugly. If I had to describe Medellin in one word, it would be ¨gritty.¨ Most parts aren´t clean, some people are more than sketchy characters, but if you can see through Medellin´s dodgy past, you´ll notice all the personality here. You´ll see that the people and the city have really grit, real perseverance and a lifetime´s worth of unbelievable stories. 
But after a few days in the city, I was craving the great outdoors again. I headed to Guatape, a pueblo just 2 hours outside of Medellin. I hiked up all 740 steps of La Pierda for an amazing 360 degree view of the multiple lakes in the area. The fog in the photos seems to blur the view but actually the clouds made the whole experience like a dream! 

I want to see La Piedra from up there!

740 Stairs later...

Abreak in the fog.

At the top of La Pierda in Guatape.

With my flight home constantly in the back of my mind, I was on the move again to Cartagena. For as gritty a city as Medellin is, Cartagena is the complete opposite. It just took the ride from the bus terminal to my hostel for me to be entranced with this beautiful city. Like Medellin, Cartagena is full of history too, but this history is colonial, represented in the beautiful Spanish architecture with bright-painted buildings and flower gardens on every balcony. 

Cartagena from outside the walls.

A taste of this lovely city.

The skyline.

A little futbol outside the walled city.

The walled city is hot and sunny but fortunately thereare tons of nearby beaches from which to choose. I spent one day at Playa Blanca, just a boat ride away from Cartagena but worlds away from all your troubles. 

Nothing like a day at Playa Blanca to remind me that I am in a Carribbean paradise!

Crystal clear water

Next destination: Santa Marta!