We arrived in Medellin on the day of the soccer final. We were surrounded by Argentinian supporters. It’s noteworthy that South American countries support each other unlike the Indian subcontinent. People were ecstatic after the Argentinian win, with cries of “mi Lio, mi Lio”! I tried to cheer up Leo saying “look, they’re all so happy you’re here”. #fail.

We were near the El Poblado area which is supposed to be a fancy place. It was a safe locality with sidewalks everywhere. Medellin has a metro coverage which is affordable and clean.

The downtown area was rather dodgy. However, many artistic collaborations have attempted to clean up shady areas. This is a part of the city’s attempt to transform. Botero has gifted many of his sculptures to his hometown.
The country has suffered greatly from the narcotics trade. Paisas (people from Medellin) detest Escobar and other drug lords.
There is a palpable rivalry felt by the Paisa people towards their fellow Colombians in Bogota!

Before Christmas, we headed to Guatape which is a beautiful valley surrounded by a man made lake that submerged the surrounding villages. Many millionaires buy island-like land and build their luxury villa there. One of them belonged to Escobar. His property is now in ruins. One such private property has the piedra del Peñol which is the second largest rock in the world. We climbed the rock, went swimming in a river in a town that was nearby and soon it was time to leave. When we were leaving, the town centre was decorated and many people were cooking a kind of soup over firewood. Different groups were cooking this in the open kitchen. I went to a restaurant and asked them if we could try the soup but we were told that it’s only for the family members. It’s basically different families who make this traditional soup which family members then share.

Soon we were close to Christmas eve and I started feeling homesick. My sister went home to spend Christmas in Bombay with my parents and my brother. Arjun’s parents were in Lucknow and his aunts in France. Here we were in Colombia as tourists and no plans for the festival. I started booking for our next stay and I found a couple in Medellin who rent their apartment. I suddenly had this crazy idea. I wrote to them asking them if they’d invite us to celebrate Christmas eve with them. It could be a cultural exchange. To my surprise they agreed!

After Guatape, we headed back to Medellin to spend Christmas with Mauricio and Liliana. We had a lovely Christmas eve 💕 Liliana’s mother Betty and their friend Phil was also part of the celebration. They even had some gifts for all three of us! We were then invited to Liliana’s brother’s finca (country house) up in the hills. There we met other family members. It was a day full of festivities, singing, dancing, chatting and having the delicious soup called “Sancocho” which is traditionally made after Christmas eve. A magical experience! We had to leave Medellin with a heavy heart. Leo was in tears.