Medellin

I don’t  like Medellin. There; I’ve said it. 

I snagged the photo above of a guy huffing something unsavory at Plaza Botero. His buddies down the sidewalk were hustling something and though I won’t show you unless you ask nicely the flowerbeds were full of human faeces and sawdust in an effort to dry the place up. The stench was foul as you might imagine.

This guy taps tires at traffic lights to ask for a donation if he thinks your tires are low. If they aren’t he can help them get that way. 

This is the center of tourism in Medellin a city of two and a half million people at 5,000 feet above sea level. Traffic is what you would expect it to be but you’ll notice there are no cops and there is no attempt to welcome visitors with any effort to make it pretty. 

Most overlanders stay at a campground an hour of town but we chose not to go there as the place is notorious for the number of dogs that live there. Rusty would be overwhelmed. 

So our plan was to go downtown and street camp but that was not going to happen. You know how you’re supposed to pay attention to your intuition when traveling? Our intuition was screaming at us to lock the doors and not stop. 

We made our way to the Museum of Antioquia and found a parking lot protected by an armed security guard with a German Shepherd on a tight leash. That’s how secure downtown is where tourists go.

After a short ramble in the lot we left Rusty aboard with fans going as it wasn’t very hot and we walked across the street to the museum. 

Those photos I’ll put together for a post later. I will say it was lovely and packed with Colombian artists no one has heard of outside this extraordinary country. 

We loved the two hours we spent in the museum but then I went to get Rusty for a walk among the statues in Plaza Botero where the internationally know Colombian sculptor’s bronzes are displayed.

Layne went for a walk and described the atmosphere as not scary but scuzzy with not a cop in sight. Rusty refused to get out of the van so that’s how much he liked downtown Medellin. 

I got some pictures on our way out of town and the scenery didn’t get better. 

It’s unfortunate but we really didn’t want to give the city a second chance. I know Medellin is going through a renaissance and is hailed as urban success story after decades of neglect but I have to say we aren’t impressed. Check it out: 

















And traffic sucked but we just kept nudging forward slowly and made our way out. 

So far in 2024 115 people have in city road traffic accidents. The sign goes on to say no one died yesterday. Well, that’s something but I’m not holding my breath for today. 

Let’s back up a minute because Medellin set us up. The drive from Jericó was fabulous, in part because they have only built part of the freeway, which was scenic enough with the clouds draping the Andes. 

The Cauca River winding through the mountains. In real life the views were breathtaking. 

A modern freeway was a joy to drive with no potholes and modern tunnels through these incredible mountains. It was a great drive. 

Then the freeway ran out which was annoying but turned into a wonderful back country drive on the highway which is soon to be pushed into the background by the freeway. 

Of course we were low on gas at this point. We saw no gas station in Jericó but no problem, we thought, as the fuel gauge  went down. But in fact there wasn’t a gas station anywhere. Until at last there was. 

Oddly the idea of running out of gas, as stupid as that might be, didn’t freak us out. We knew we’d get help and if we got a bit slowed down that was no big deal. It’s really nice traveling with your home. And a gas stop allows Himself to stretch his legs. The yellow box is the Colombian equivalent of an armored bank truck and they are everywhere. 

People with diesel vans hate the altitude and the poor fuel that messes up their anti pollution devices, and those issues were one reason we got a gasoline powered van. The reason modern diesels have anti pollution devices is shown below: 

And sometimes smoke comes from kitchen fires. 

Looks like he may have run out of gas: 

And do, after we left Medellin, the shortest visit ever, we wound up the mountains on Highway 25 up to the summit at 8,000 feet and then down the other side. 

There was some crazy passing and not by us.  We weren’t moving fast, between ten and thirty miles per hour but the brakes were good and the driving was easy enough. 

A little rain wasn’t enough to convince a truck driver not to pass. I watched from a distance wondering when a wreck might close the road. 

We stopped at a restaurant mentioned on the iOverlander app and sure enough they said we could spend the night. 

It was at 6,000 feet and the temperature was under 70 degrees so it would be good sleeping weather. 

The dogs acted as if they owned the place, they did, but Rusty wasn’t having any and growled back at them so after we got our food we retreated to our home. 

One beef plate and one sausage both delicious with cheese and a plantain disc but no green vegetables or sauce in the usual odd Colombian way. 

The view was glorious. 

And the restaurant had trash cans so we could dump ours. Excellent. And we have our own toilet do we were set for the night. Even after the rain set in. 

Luckily GANNET2 is well insulated do the noise from the traffic is very muted and there isn’t much overnight driving anyway. 

The sausage was excellent and happily we have plenty in a to go box in the fridge. 

Not every overland stop is breathtaking but the ability to stop when tired of wonderful.

Jericó

It was a steep winding drive off the freeway to get up to the town of Jericó, a place overlanders don’t visit but that Layne had heard was a place worth seeing. We had to drive through the clouds to get there.

Traffic was light thank goodness but it took us almost an hour to drive 12 miles. This is why:

The road was lumpy potholed and patched but eventually we got there, cows and all. 

I will never get used to the crazy angle of some of the streets in this hilly country. It’s absolutely terrifying driving your five ton home over the lip and every time we drive up these horrors we are grateful for our ridiculously huge knobby all terrain tires (KO2s by Goodrich). They never let go in dirt or cobbles. In real life this is twice as steep as it looks and this is still rainy season. 

Jericó was founded in 1850 at 6300 feet above sea level and has a population of 8500 people. It’s not a foreign tourist destination but Medellin is 65 miles away and I suspect many of those two and a half million city dwellers look to Jericó, a heritage city, as a lovely weekend getaway. Mind you Google maps says those 65 miles will take two and a half hours to drive. Nothing is easy here. 

The main square with the Archbishopric’s Cathedral of Mary the Merciful behind. 

If I’m right that this is a weekend getaway for city people this place must be hopping when they show up. Midweek was pretty laid back and I liked it as it felt like the locals owned the place. They looked at us like we had just landed from outer space when they heard us speaking English. 

The cathedral looks unique to me, a cement framework with walls built of bricks. Layne preferred to stay outside with Rusty allowing the Catholic schoolboy to wander inside. 

It was astonishingly different to my eye. The walls are not plastered and there isn’t much in the way of artwork inside. 

These statues gave me a turn, the nun and the Indian child, elsewhere this pair might send entirely the wrong message. 

Rusty was sitting there staring at the door just waiting for me to come out. It’s pretty humbling to be the object of such devotion especially from a smart dog. 

We discussed our travel plans and he told the local dogs he wasn’t in the mood. This was his bench. 

He didn’t hate them all but there were lots of local dogs and he was tired. We had made plans to spend the night in a parking lot. 

Layne decided she wanted an orange juice…

…so he got to work. A giant glass for a buck. 

Supermarkets don’t carry much in the way of decent fruits and vegetables so Layne is always on the lookout for local fruit stands whether we are on foot or driving. 

Colombia is the most dog friendly country we’ve visited and they take care of their dogs. It’s giving me pause to know that soon we will be going back to hungry street dogs and the indifference we dislike in Mexico. 

I had Custom Coach build me a 110 volt outlet in the cupboard above my bed so I can run my CPAP when I sleep and I love that thing as it helps me greatly food sleep. The doctors told me I needed it after my motorcycle wreck and I depend on it even now for my rest. Indeed I have a spare unit tucked away just in case. But getting distilled water is a monstrous pain in some countries. In Colombia we’ve figured it out at the pharmacies and with the prospect of being in a new country in ten days I’ve stocked up. I have no idea who sells distilled water in Ecuador but I guess we’ll find out. It’s just one more thing to think about when you travel. 

In the shopping department I got new Crocs made in Colombia for $6:25 but I have wide feet so I don’t a lot of choice with colors. On the other hand we got a red milk jug. In a country where minimum wage is $300 a month saving some money buying milk in plastic bags makes sense but you need a jug to keep the open bag from spilling. Finally we have one. A successful day in Jericó for us. 

Up next is Medellin where Layne has been determined to go before we leave Colombia.  Me? I’ll get overwhelmed but here we go hoping for the best. It’s no longer the narco trafficking city you’ve heard of because now it’s all over Instagram and I feel I’ve seen it already. I need to work up some enthusiasm.