Botero’s work, Palacio Municipal

Here’s a city I never thought I’d visit… Medellín, Colombia. I mean, this is where drug lord Pablo Escobar made his fortune ruling the city and country with cocaine, and created such a horrible reputation for the city that nobody ever really visited. Today, it’s still not flocking with tourists (at least not yet, anyway), but it’s a vibrant city, pushing its residents into the parks, gardens, markets, restaurants, and promenades featuring the bulbous art of Ferdinand Botero and the wonderful public transportation in the form of metro and gondolas. Here are some pics I snapped while in town staying at the excellent residence of Noah and Marcela, at Su Casa Colombia.

Getting around town by gondola

Catedral Metropolitana, made entirely of bricks

Botero’s Bird of Peace, ironically destroyed by a guerilla bomb

Crates of mangos at the fruit market

Noah, Marcela and Jon peer into the stadium at Unidad Deportiva Atanasio Giradot

These avocados were as big as our heads