The R&R Big Adventure

Caribbean Queen(s)

Yesterday we decided to get out of the city and see some of the countryside that surrounded Medellin. A national park that was recommended – Arvi – was reached via a couple of cable cars that stretched for some distance over and across the mountains surrounding the city. One of these cable cars was built specifically to enable the poor communities living on the slopes to access the city, and potential jobs, and the opportunity to no longer be reliant on joining gangs for money. It certainly was a sobering sight to see the living conditions for so many people in Medellin, as the cable car ascended. The park wasn’t as large as we thought it would be, but we stretched our legs for an hour or so, following several trails, before heading back. Eeyore made a guest appearance for a few photo opportunities too.

We wanted to make an evening of our last night in Medellin, starting in a chic cocktail bar called Café Noir, which would not have been out of place in Ibiza or Mykonos. The disparity between rich and poor was made very real though by the bill for two drinks there being equivalent to two days minimum wage in Colombia (about £24). We moved onto a very nice Peruvian / Colombian / American restaurant that was showing the football on TV (a lot of South American World Cup qualifiers were being played yesterday, I was reliably informed by R) but then as the game ended, continued with a Latin American telenovela. There was no sound, but it was easy to get the gist:  a beautiful woman having heated arguments with her husband/partner but, after a series of doe-eyed and smouldering scenes from the leading man, she couldn’t help but eventually end up in bed with him. Of course.

From there we tried the big gay bar in town, Bar Chiquita, which was pretty busy. A much better looking crowd than Theatron, and who also, by the looks of it, practiced personal hygiene. We stayed for a few drinks; despite not being a particularly late evening, our heads felt it this morning as we were checking out. I meant to mention the hotel we were staying in, Antípoda, which, despite being less than £70 a night, was simply and stylishly furnished, with full size L’Occitane products in the bathroom, and a trendy café which served a delicious breakfast. They know how to keep gay guests happy.

Tonight we are in Santa Marta, in northern Colombia, on the Caribbean coast. We arrived at our apartment just in time to see a beautiful sunset over the sea from our balcony – made sweeter by the fact we had been upgraded, with more space and a better view. What was not so beautiful was the fact many of the drains in the city had been overwhelmed by a deluge before we arrived, and a faint smell of raw sewage was lingering across town. The lovely apartment is also now full of our drying laundry, and the gourmet experience for tonight was a home-cooked, packet pad Thai from the nearby supermarket. #whatinstagramdoesntshowyou.