Halloween in Medellin, Pablito, and more....

Let me just start with how much I love Medellin. I have been here just over a week now and I am trying to brainstorm ideas that will allow me to stay which don't include being locked behind bars or dragged into the jungle. Why do I love Medellin, well that's a very good questions. Let's see.... (1) Its a nice size, not too big not too small; (2) It is a really clean city, which I think is partly due to all the abuse the city took in the 80s and 90s with the guerrillas and the drug cartel, the people here are really proud of their newly regained city and try to keep it as clean and comfortable as possible. The streets here are 100 times cleaner than the streets in Toronto. Also, the city is COVERED in green, green trees. I love it. The residencial neighbourhoods up on the hill are so green and fresh felling. (3) It is the most modern Latin American city I have been in, complete with a 3 metro/ sky train lines and a metro cable (like a ski lift) that goes up the side of a hill giving access to the poorer people who live there. (4) And last but not least, the people are lovely. Like I think I said before, because Colombia has so much fewer tourist than Peru and Ecuador the people here aren't tainted by foreigners' cash. They are far more genuinely interested in you as person than your money. Its nice. Also, for that reason its easier to make friends with local people. I found that in Ecuador it was really fun to have normal relationships with local people.

Halloween really snuck up on me here, I wasn't prepared and thus I had probably the worst costume ever. I cut two eye holes out of the new hair scarf I'd just bought, then ended up wearing the damn thing around my neck all night. In any case, it was a good night. I went with some friends from the hostel to a bar/club called Mangos. You've probably never heard of it but its supposed to be pretty renowned around South America and back in the day used to be frequented by the rich and powerful drug lords of Medellin with their plastic ladies. Man, I don't think I have ever been in a room with such a high volume of silicone. Unbelievable. However, despite the unnatural cup sizes that surrounded me, I was impressed with the costume selections. I hate that Halloween in Canada has become an opportunity for girls of all ages to dress in the skimpiest thing they can find, its so boring. Here, I don't know if its because Halloween is still a relatively new holiday, but girls here actually still wear stupid clown costumes, scary, witch outfits, and FARC guerrillas. There were the few token French maids and sexy devils, and such, but not as many as in Canada. Mangos is a pretty entertaining place with lots of hired entertainers, dancers, ect. On the 31st, there were tons of little princesses, super heroes and ninjas running around town going from store to store collecting candies. Its funny, unlike at home where bratty little kids are known to say things like "trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat", the kids here sing "Paz y amor, un dulce por favor". Translation: Peace and love, a candy please. Though I am sure there are a few smart asses who have created less innocent rhymes. We are supposed to be having a Halloween party at the hostel this weekend, so I will try to get pictures, though we travelers don't tend to be too creative.




This past Monday I thought I would take a wee trip to see the grave of Pablito (to some), otherwise known as Pablo Escobar. For those of you who (like I myself once was) are too innocent to recognize this name, Pablo Escobar was the drug lord (the 7th richest man in the world according to Forbes in '91) who ran Medellin for many years until he was eventually hunted down and killed by the police on a rooftop in 1993. I was hesitant at first to visit the site because I wasn't particularly keen on glorifying someone of his character, but in the end I decided to be the typical tourist and went on my way. Well, to my dismay, when I arrived at the site (with a Swedish friend Emil) I found that his grave stone had just been removed that week due to the death of his mother and probably won't be replaced for a month. So I guess its wasn't meant to be. We (or I) was frightened for a minute when all of a sudden a nipsy-rustle of soldiers climbed up out of seemingly no where and started walking towards us. My first reaction was "oh no, they think we are drug dealers because we are at the grave and they are coming to arrest us!!!" Little did I notice, not one of them was armed. They were there for the funeral of a fellow officer but a few wanted to check out the notorious Pablo's grave before the ceremony got started... how appropriate! haha. Anyway, an interesting fact, the reason some people here refer to him as Pablito (the -ito makes the name cute, like a term of endearment) is because Pablo actually did some good around Medellin. He apparently is responsible for the building of a hospital here in Medellin and several soccer stadiums and little-league soccer. But then, he was also accredited for the creation of what is known at the Colombian neck tie. Note, those with weak stomachs should stop reading.... Lieran, that means you. The Colombian neck tie is when you cut someone's throat, then pull the tongue through the gash. Sorry.. I know its gross. Anyway, if you want to read up in more detail: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pablo_Escobar#_note-0

That's all for now, here are some pics.