The Pope's Attraction Won't Stop Me from Leaving Sunday!

Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2017--Medellin

Well the weather forecast was wrong.  There wasn't a drop of rain all day.  In fact, I walked so much (15 km/9 1/3 miles) that I began to worry that my nose might burn.  It burned slightly a week ago.  Anyway, as I wrote previously, my intention was to get my bus ticket for Sunday to my next stop as early as possible after arriving in the city.  The Pope will be here Saturday, and people are expected to come from all over this area to try to see him.  Most people here travel by bus, so I didn't want to take a chance of the buses being sold out on Sunday when I have to move because of having a reservation in my next place. 

I walked to the Terminal Sur bus station which is 6.0 km from my apartment because I wanted to see what was along the way.  I essentially followed the metro route to get to all but the last leg of that route.  I could have ridden the metro, but it would have zipped by everything in a flash.  I have a much better idea of Medellin because of having walked.  Plus, it was fun to see unique things.  For instance, I saw a store that rented time on sewing machines.  There were maybe 30 or more machines for rent, and there were about 3 ladies in there at the time.  What a good idea that is in a poor area.  Women who know how to sew but can't afford a machine can rent one--either for sewing things to sell or for saving on clothing costs by sewing for the family. 

The bus station is not too far from a neighborhood clustered around Parque Lleras which is known as the tourist area of Medellin.  I almost booked an apartment there myself, but in the back of my mind I kept questioning whether it was the best place for me to be.  I wanted to see what it is like, so I headed there after buying my ticket. It's nice.  It has a pleasant atmosphere with small boutiques, bars, restaurants, trees, etc.  It reminds me of the Zona Rosa in Mexico City 40 years ago when it was the fairly new tourist area of that city.  But it's a neighborhood that could be anywhere.  The people who stay there do so for one or both of two reasons:  1)  It's Party Central for drinking and having fun every night.  2)  It has a safe, modern reputation. 

Walking back to the apartment I followed a slightly different, somewhat parallel route that took me through some rather bad areas of town with very poor people on the streets who live in make-shift shacks I could see going up the hill starting a couple of blocks away.  Seeing this brought back memories of Rio de Janiero with its nicer areas and its bad ones.  In fact, it made me think that Medellin is a lot like Rio.  In general, the downtown area of Medellin is run down and a little scary.  People who can have slowly moved further and further away.  I see no signs in either city of the downtown areas or the areas near them being improved in any way (except for some new sidewalks being installed here in Medellin). 

Besides poor people, I also have seen lots of homeless people living on the streets here.  And I have seen some who seemed to be passed out or in a stupor due to drug use.  In that respect, I have seen some large areas of Medellin that are a lot like the old 2-3 block wide warehouse area of San Antonio just to the west of the newgovernment buildings (Bexar County buildings, Robert E Green University Hospital, and UTSA Downtown Campus) lining Frio Street.

I was exhausted as I neared my apartment.  And I was hungry.  I was looking at menus posted in front of restaurants when I saw one that had a special for Bandeja Corrientes which I had read was a popular local dish.  I took a free table and ordered it.  It was the Menu del Dia meaning that it had more than one course (with choices for the main course) and included a free drink.  For me, that meant I started with a big bowl of soup (which was delicious as has been every soup I have had in Colombia)--a yellow-colored soup with chunks of potatoes, bits of beef, and green and red specks.  Then I was served a large plate.  It included the choice I had made for a pork steak (boneless and generous in size) accompanied by rice with a fried egg on top, brown beans, a small slaw salad, and fried (soft rather than crispy) plantain banana.  For my drink, they gave me a glass of juice that seemed to be an orange/banana combination.  I was so stuffed that I haven't eaten anymore today.  And all of that cost $3.  I may return there tomorrow to see what they have as their special.

Because I was tired, I spent the rest of the day (from about 15:00 onward) in the apartment.  Tomorrow will be my day to start exploring the major tourist sites here if the rain stays away again.