Medellin: Comuna 13

One of the first articles I read about Colombian street art focused on Comuna 13. Formerly one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the world, Comuna 13 now is alive with color, art, and tourism.

Our driver picked us up at the hotel Monday morning and brought us to the Metro, where we took the train into the Comuna 13 neighborhood. We linked up with a tour group and heard the stories of the barrios once a battleground for FARC, for guerrillas, for Escobar… our guide grew up in the neighborhood and even took us to her family’s home.

Escalators were installed in Comuna 13, and prior to that, walking down to the main area to even get to a bus or metro would have taken well over 30 minutes on countless flights of stairs. We walked 6 miles on the tour, not counting the six escalators.

I can’t begin to do justice to the stories. All I could do was listen and document in photos. I asked a few men in Comuna 13 if I could take their pictures and they obliged happily. I can’t help but wonder what they’ve seen over the years.

I was also struck by the playgrounds. Fifteen years ago, who would imagine American tourists letting their kids play in Comuna 13?

We saw dance crews. We saw art. We saw color and bought sunglasses for Caroline and bought juices and walked through huge crowds. We felt safe… a feeling that hasn’t always been part of that neighborhood. We saw beauty, but we also saw homes still barely hanging on to the side of the mountain. We saw hope,and progress…. but continuation of progress will also matter to help the neighborhood.

We ended out time in Comuna 13 with a ride in the cable car, giving us a beautiful overview of the city.

Medellin, Part 1

After Christmas, my family decided to spend the final part of our break in Medellin. None of us had ever visited, Grandma was in town, so we headed off in search of Eternal Spring.

Medellin ended up being an amazing place for kids. We stayed at the Marriott, which was super convenient for the pool and breakfast.

Our first day, we went to Parque Explora. Once I heard it’s modeled after the Exploratorium, I was sold. I haven’t been to the Exploratorium in about 30 years, but Parque Explora might even beat my memories. There were tons of activities for kids. Their favorites were the physics exhibits outside and the music room, with the aquarium featuring fish from the Amazon and the movie special effects exhibit close seconds.

The kids were so wiped after that! We headed back and took a rest before heading to see the world-famous Medellin lights. (Colombia is a very Catholic country, so Christmas is in full swing through Three Kings Day.) As our driver approached Parque Norte, we joined what must have been tens of thousands of people walking through the park to see the lights. Despite free flowing alcohol and no room to walk, the crowd was amazingly pleasant and we didn’t lose any kids or grandma in the crowd. All other Christmas lights will forever pale in comparison.

The next morning, I did a long run and the kids slept in. We spent some time at the pool and then went to check out Botero Plaza. I’d visited the Botero Museum in Bogota, but the plaza and museum in Medellin were really fun. The kids didn’t love it as much as the adults, but there was a kid activity room they enjoyed.

Although my little one was asleep in the car, we decided to make a quick stop at the Botanic Garden. It’s free, it wasn’t far out of the way, and we thought it was worth a shot. We did exactly one activity and it was a huge winner. For the cost of 3.000 COP each (under $1), we bought tickets to the butterfly house. My kids (and grandma, and my husband, and I) were in heaven. We loved it!

Our kids were SO TIRED most nights, we actually ended up choosing to Rappi dinner almost every night! While Medellin is great for kids, we probably pushed it with the four year old. She was a great sport but couldn’t hang after about 5 pm. We have found that giving sufficient rest time is important. Our little one is also an introvert. While it’s normally pretty easy to honor what she needs, we’ve noticed that she stands out a lot as a blonde-haired, blue-eyed American kid in South America. In Bogota, this often means stares but in Medellin, a lot of people, mostly college aged girls and abuelas, felt the need to touch her. That was a challenge we didn’t expect, and hopefully will make our daughter a better advocate when African American women and girls face unwanted hair touching in the US.

The people in Medellin were friendly, the city felt clean and fresh (oxygen! only 5000 feet elevation! less pollution!), and the views were amazing.

Stay tuned for a separate post on Comuna 13.

Rain, rain.

The other day, one of my friends commented that I hadn’t been taking street art photos as much. I figured out why.

Rain.

So much rain.

Every afternoon.

My kids were sick of it, so we made our own sunshine!

Holiday Gift Guide: 2019

I think I discovered my favorite thing about living in Bogota.

They don’t have American Thanksgiving here, which is my favorite holiday and one I’m hosting. But oh, Colombia, you have more than made up for it.

CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS ARE ALREADY UP!

Yep, you read that right.

It’s an amazing country.

Which leads me to your 2019 Holiday Gift Guide. This will include affiliate links.

First of all, and most important to order in advance, are holiday cards. While I still offer cards through Minted, you can now order cards though your SmugMug gallery! It’s so easy!

Last year’s holiday card from my family. Props to my friend Cerissa for the family photos!

OK, are your cards ordered? SmugMug is easier but Minted will address them for you. Decisions are hard.

We’re starting with your tween and teen type kids. What do they need? Too old for toys? Gift cards too boring?

How about a fun instant camera?

What about a calendar that will stick to their locker? Put a photo of them with their bestie. Pinhole Press has great stuff. They also offer this puzzle! Great for in front of a warm fire (Arlington) or on a rainy day (Bogota.)

From Pinhole Press.

For the little ones, this set of books, also from Pinhole Press, appears on my guide every year. I can’t help it. This is a super fun room addition to display their artwork and photos of them.

My kids also love Alex art projects. They’re simple and even though my 8 year old has somewhat outgrown them, she will still work on them with her sister. Any art supplies are good for free play and promoting creativity!

For the home, may I recommend a print? Specifically, one of my prints! Framing a print from a favorite place to visit or a place you’ve lived is a great gift for your family or yourself.

A few of my prints you can purchase.

Need to shop for a portrait lover? I recommend the Humans of New York books.

I also need to mention a few shops I adore. If you’ve admired a shirt my children are wearing or a coffee cup or wineglass in my home, it probably came from one of the following shops!

Capitol Maker is run by one of my very best friends.

Wire and Honey is super fun.

Happy shopping! Happy holidays!

Villa de Leyva: A Fall Break Wrap Up

My husband and I want to see as much of Colombia as possible, and we decided that our first mini-getaway would be to Villa de Leyva for the tail end of Fall Break. Fall Break is new to us as Arlingtonians, since our kids have always started school in September and didn’t get an October break beyond Columbus Day (some years) and Teacher Conference days.

We drove out mid-morning on Thursday. We stayed at an AirBnB right outside the main part of town. My first impression of Boyaca was calm and green. Horses, cows, chicken, and sheep wandered along the sides of the road. Our “Things to do” list was pretty short, other than explore and rest.

The first day, we arrived at the AirBnB, met our host, and headed out to the town to find some food. We ended up walking by Mercado Municipal and having a late lunch (that filled us up for dinner!) of stone fire pizza. The next day, I learned that the chef is the cousin of one of my DC running club gals!

The kids enjoyed running around the square after a morning in the car, and when we got back to the house, they lounged in hammocks and we had a quiet night.

The following morning, we headed off to Gondova Dinosaur Theme Park. This is possibly the cheesiest theme park ever. There’s fake dinosaurs, a small playground, and the highlight, a big sand pit with fake fossils for kids to dig. That alone was worth the cost of admission, and our kids dug for at least 45 minutes! Boyaca has a ton of fossils, so dinosaurs are a big draw.

In the afternoon, we found a burger place with a playground, which is basically all my kids need. Ellie had specifically requested a veggie burger with no bun (she’s gluten and dairy free), so a vegan burger without a bun was perfect!

Later that afternoon, we went back up to town for a bite to eat and to let the kids run around the plaza.

Saturday morning, we attempted a hike (to the Santo Christo) but it was way too hard for our kids. We headed back to the car and drove out to Raquira to buy some pottery. On the way home, we went to an ostrich farm. Ganja de Avestruces is cheesy. Everything has an extra price tag. You can feed ostriches AND eat ostrich burgers. Our kids loved it. They rode ponies and a bison and played on the playground and ran into a friend from Bogotá and fed ostriches. And then an ostrich seriously tried to eat Caroline’s finger, traumatizing her but causing my husband and I to crack up.

Our final evening was another late lunch at the same burger place per child request, hanging out at the house, and playing games.

Sunday morning, we peeked in a church service (our non-Catholic and emerging Spanish speaker kids couldn’t handle it.) We grabbed some food and hit the road, making a quick stop at the site of the Battle of Boyaca to let the kids run!

Chapinero Street Photography: Bogotá, Colombia.

I took a long walk with a friend from Chico to Chapinero in Bogotá yesterday, with a goal of capturing this beautiful, colorful, and vibrant city waking up.

Chapinero is as full of art as La Candelaria, and every little side street seemed to feature a mural or poster. Even the crosswalks are rainbows! My favorite scenes are colorful stairs and the blur of motorcycles, busses, and pedestrians against the bright backdrop of the city.