Empty Nesters on a Green Global Trek

Forget everything you have heard about Colombia as the drug traffic capital of the world. These reports are 10-15 years outdated. Colombia is now a booming hot spot in South America.

Medellin, home of the much feared Medellin drug cartel headed by Pablo Escobar (until he was caught and jailed ) is today a modern and large city. It is not much on the tourist route, but we decide to start our trip here due to it’s fame as the flower capital of Colombia and the Flower Festival which is on right now.

The first day one can’t escape seeing an obvious cultural trademark. The women!! Colombian women are everything that they are built up to be and more. More attractive shapely young women in the streets than any other city in the world we have been to. This is day one. I myself bumped into a few people due to not watching where I was going having the visuals of extraordinary and generous cleavage.

Medellin aside from the beauty of it’s women is also known as the City of Eternal Spring. After Granada’s heat, it’s a treat to have perfect weather.

Gastronomic pleasures are always a feature of our global trek and our first day does not disappoint. We eat lunch at a local “institution” which serves up Colombian home cooking of Mondongo — a soup which takes many hours of preparation and is made of meat, corn, tripe, vegetables and is served with accompaning parsley, avocado, banana, rice, small white corn cakes. The line is steady and the place is packed.

Next stop, the botanic garden to see the winners of the orchid competition. Now remember that Medellin is known for it’s cut flower industry and so an orchid competition in Medellin is akin to a fashion show in Paris, or an electronics show in Tokyo. Everyone is interested, everyone goes to the show, camera in hand. We have seen some wild orchids growing in the cloud forests in the North of Nicaragua, but this show is something spectacular in the quality and quantity of orchids! Here are some favorites..

We get to sample two new tastes.

One is fresh sugar cane juice pressed right in front of us, light and not too sweet nectar. The other is a new fruit we have never tasted before called Mangostino. A small aubergine and green ball shape with soft white flesh inside, most closely related in taste to a lychee, but sweeter. Yummy! A thin crisp wafer sandwich is next, held together by some dulce de leche.

Medellin is known for it’s night life for good reason. Quiet during the day it literally bursts to life at night in the Poblado region where we are staying. There is a 2 block radius that is literally buzzing with young people in bars and restaurants and on the streets all starting a night of partying with friends. Feeling is reminiscent of Barcelona at night, except that it is a smaller denser area of people congregating, the age group is reminiscent of youthful Buenos Aires and the clothing of course shows of the curvaceous assets that abound.