We arrived into Medellin, Colombia on Wednesday evening. Sebastian, Necane's cousin, was there waiting to pick us up. It wasn't until we arrived in Medellin we heard about the weather they had been having and the chronic slips around the district, the biggest burying a village and trapping 150 people. We were very shocked to hear this and see slips everywhere as we drove from the airport into Medellin city. Luckily we have not experienced any of the weather apart from the occasional shower, hopefully we continue to get the weather while we are here.
We arrived back to the house where we would be staying for the next five weeks. The family really welcomed us in and did everything they could to make us feel comfortable and at home. AND to both our excitement they had a 40day old golden retriever puppy. He is the cutest thing ever. He looks like the perfect little puppy off the klenex add, but he constantly bites anything and everything he can. Luckily his teeth are too small to do anything yet, but in a week or two there will be trouble.
The house is really cool, it is in a closed off neighbourhood with security guards (with big guns) at the gate. It is a thin three and a half storey town house decorated beautifully with classical ceiling details and light shades etc. The only problem is that the ceiling is extremely low and Frano hits his head on the light shade every time he stands up.
We were welcomed on the first night by a Gallego family reception of about half of the 14 brothers and sisters. Everyone is extremely nice, the only issue was remembering everybody's names but we are getting there. Dancing is a huge part of the life here so after a couple shots of Aguardiente the music was turned up. Mario, who we think is extremely similar to Guillermo in terms of mannerisms and being the life of the party, forced Necane up for dance lessons along with one of the woman to dance with Frano. It was a nice welcoming and we could tell we were going to be spoilt during our stay here in Medellin.
The following day we planned out our Colombian itinerary, stuff to do in and around Medellin, our trip to the coast and to the Amazon. We then had a bit of a driving tour around Medellin on our way to one of their many massive malls. The traffic here is quite bad and can slow things down a lot. We have never seen so many motorbikes. There are as many motorbikes as cars here. The mall was really cool, much bigger than anything we have in NZ and includes a small theme-park. It had an awesome view of the city. It gets dark here very early, by 6 the sun has gone. Driving back through town we got a bit of a preview of the amazing lights display Medellin puts on every christmas but that will be for another night. The next day we got ready for our weekend trip to Santa Fe, the region 45minutes out of Medellin where people often have recreational houses/farms. Before we set off we went to Bello, a suburb of Medellin where Guillermo was brought up, and where the family owns four clothing stores. We had a good look around the stores and the main square where there is a beautiful old cathedral. The memorial service for the people lost in the big slip was taking place so we didn't hang around. We then set off to Santa Fe for the weekend. We arrived at the place and we could not believe our eyes. The place was incredible, it was pretty much a personal resort. It had multiple houses, an outdoor living room with a pool table and flat screen tvs, an outdoor kitchen and dinning room by the swimming pool, all the farm toys with multiple quad-bikes each worth more than most cars and full time cleaners, workers and cooks. We joined the party of 200 odd people under the massive marque and enjoyed being served free alcohol and the most amazing food over the night. Different live acts of singers, bands and dancers performed on the stage and once again we were forced into dancing to the multiple genres of music. It was an amazing night and we met lots of people, all who were extremely welcoming and were so pleased we were visiting their country. I think it is something in their culture but all the people we have met are so friendly, welcoming and hospitable.
After partying to the early hours, we woke the next morning in the peak of the day to 35degrees and enjoyed an amazing lunch in the shade by the pool before having a swim. We then hit the steam room to complete the three-step hangover cure.
Once we were refreshed and revitalised after a day of relaxing we head to the town for ice-cream. The main square was really beautiful with a big white colonial church, an amazing fountain, cobblestone streets and all lit and decorated with Christmas lighting. We then went back to the farm to indulge in another amazing dinner and a movie before an early night. The following day we woke early to explore the farm. On our way to the ranch we came across a big parrot like bird so we got some good shots of him. The stables were full of horses but we were more interested in the big weird bulls and cows. Unlike the breeds we have in new Zealand these were much bigger and had huge humps of muscle and fat on their neck. We got close to some but others would have enjoyed to stomping on us so we stayed clear of them. We also saw other weird animals and insects at the farm like massive wasps, dragonflies and moths, lizards, and a snake. Once again we were feed more amazing food and cooled off from the extremely humid environment in the pool. We then packed up our gear and convoyed to the second largest river in Colombia. We admired the dodgy looking 110 year-old awesome wooden bridge that spanned across it, before heading back to Medellin after an amazing weekend.
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