Medellin Metro

It was time to try my luck on the Medellin Metro.  Running 23 Kilometers North and South up the valley that holds the city, the Metro is the way to go here.  There are a few spur lines to the East and West, but these quickly run into the steep mountainsides and can only continue on as cable cars, or trams, flying above the barrios.  A recent addition, the Metro Cable services the barrios that cling to the steep slopes above the central valley.  The barrios are a labryinth of a few twisting roads, walkways with railings, and crazy sets of stairs, all lof which zig-zag up and down the precipice between the stacked houses and shacks.

My ticket for one trip cost 1900 COP (Colombian Pesos) which equates to 95 cents US.  As I found out, as long as one does not exit the turnstile, one can apparently ride around the whole valley, Metro Cable included, for the single fare.  My goal was to head North to the furthest Metro Cable and thence to Parque Avril, high above the city.  My first setback was getting on the Metro heading back towards my hotel in the Barrio Prado.  OK, so I screwed up.  Two stops later I realized my mistake, detrained, doubled back under the platform and caught the A Line train going North.  All was well.  Sort of.  Mysecond  setback was arriving quite at the right place and completely at the wrong time.  The Parque Aviil Metro Cable is closed for maintenance until November 20th.  I missed it by several days and damn the luck.

The San Javier Line.  Duh, like the sign says.  Sorry.

So, adapt, improvise, and overcome.  Back on the A Line, heading South, i formed a Plan B.  I was riding a Metro Cable, dammit Jim, and that was that.  I switched trains at the San Antonio estacion and headed West on the San Javier line.  Just as the Metro Map indicated, the San Javier ended at the Metro Cable.  And there it was, fully operational!  I had expected to pay again, or at least pay more, but transport in poor countries is usually cheap and Medellin is no exception.  

Gettting ready for my turn to board the Metro Car!!  Fun Stuff!!

Clean as a whistle and well operated, the Metro Cable estacion was impressive.   I waited my turn with the other folks heading up.  Very soon, and without paying an extra peso, i was soaring over the more well-to-do barrios on the lower slope of the city.  Unlike the US, in Medellin, the rich people live lower down and the poverty increases as one goes uphill.

Gliding above the hills

The Metro Cable clmbed ever higher and the slopes below grew much steeper.   The line goes completely over the hill pictured in the foreground of the photo above.  There are several stations along the way where the three original pasengers in my car alit.  Now flying solo, my car topped the far hill and suddenly plunged into the next valley!  It was literally skimming over the corrugated roofs of really impoverished barrios, settlements made of wooden shacks perched on incredible slopes.  The shacks are held to the slopes with a most pathetic collection of wooden pilings and bits of tree trunks, have no city services whatsoever, and look as if a gentle spring rain would wash them away, never mind the incredile deluges that sweep this valley during the rainy season.  

At the top of the next mountain was the turn around station, the end of the line.  I expected that I would have to leave the car and reboard, but everyone just smiled at me and some new folks got on.  The process was repeated on the way down.  If you come to Medellin, the Metro Cable is absolutley a must-do.  There is no other way that a traveler can truly get such an amazing overview (pardon the pun) of the crazy neighborhoods outside of the main city center.  The people that live up here have to be amazing climbers simple to cope with day-to-day chores.  

Here is the YouTube link to a little video I shot while flying above the barrios.  Trust me, the link is there, its just a little hard to see in this font.  Really, its just below this line.   

http://youtu.be/dENWi1hLZu8

Back on the ground, I reboarded the San Javier line and retraced my route to San Antonio, near the city center.  My next stop was the upscale neighborhood of Poblado, home to pretty people, Medellin's nightlife center, and the sister store of my Puro supplier in Cartagena.  Time to thumb my nose at the US State Department and burn a Habano stick.  I was planning on walking South from San Antonio to Poblado, a not insignificant distance,  This is Medellin, however, not Cartagena, so the weather is conducive to walking without becoming a heat stroke victim.

Before walking anywhere, I needed to take on fuel.  Walking fuel, in Colombia, means empenadas.  I am learning to pick my empenada stands carefully and this time I chose wisely.  I was treated to the best tasty treat yet, a pastel de pollo, washed down with a seven-up and served by my smiling Senora.  Not the healthiest meal, mind you, but it was damn good and $ 1.25 US.  In case you are wondering, a gaseosa is a soda.  Great name for when one consumes one too quicly.