Medellin - Colombia pearl

• Medellin - Colombia pearl

"Oh, Medellin, a wonderful town, the jewel of Colombia! There's the most beautiful girls, most wealthy homes and hillsides covered with emerald grass, blooming beautiful gardens of paradise!" - described the Medellin my driver in Bogota to learn that I have to get going.

In fact, Medellin is better known as a den of drug dealers. It is here founded his empire one of the most daring and violent criminals XX century, Pablo Escobar. He became famous for having created the largest narkoimperiyu and in the late 80-ies of the last century became the most powerful and violent criminal world. In 1989, Forbes magazine estimated his fortune at $ 47 billion. Eckobara killed at 93, but his cause lives on. So far in Medellin associated with drug lords and beautiful life.

And here in search of money and happiness come to the most beautiful girls of the country. Like in Hollywood go in the hope of being noticed by a producer, go to Medellin, in the hope of being noticed by a drug lord and provide for themselves.

The city is surrounded by beautiful hills ...

Around the city lie the posh estate. This, of course, is not Escobar's Residence with 20 lakes, a safari park and a private airport, but still nothing ...

The rich home

The city itself is very interesting. The city center was small and dirty.

where constant traffic jams and exhaust fumes from hard to breathe.

All worth it.

A lot of people.

Underground parking for motorcycles.

Buses.

As in Moscow buses, here at the entrance turnstiles. There is nothing worse turnstiles at the entrance to the bus.

In the trays of fruit has a battery and speakers. Sold through a microphone invites buyers. Noise is worth an awful when 3-5 sellers are trying to outshout each other.

Streets.

A lot of homeless people.

People everywhere are labeled "200"

200 pesos - the price per minute of conversation on the mobile phone (about 3.5 rubles). Each pocket of a few handsets on the rope with unlimited calling. People are willing to call on such phones as the usual price of a call on a cell twice.

Sellers of lottery tickets, almost all in wheelchairs. Please note that some of them also offer calls for 200 pesos per minute.

The most interesting thing - the slums!

Oh, lovely slums! Here begins the trick Pablo Escobar!

Medellin called "industrial capital of Colombia", in addition, the town has the nickname "City of Eternal Spring", "Mountain Capital", "City of Flowers", "Orchid Capital," "Beautiful Village", "Silver Cup".

Like all great! Since the mid '80s to early 2000s, 60,000 people were killed in the area! They killed everyone - children and the elderly. It was a real war for control over drug trafficking.

In the early 2000s, the authorities decided to restore order in the slums. To do this, they are to begin with, they had a cable car.

The slums are traditionally located in the most inaccessible places in the mountains. Now climb up the hill is a snap.

They made a couple of interesting projects, for example, in one place to build a huge system of escalators.

Now the way that used to overcome a 30-minute walk can be done in just 6 minutes!

Pensioners and disabled people excited.

along the cableway pitched pedestrian areas.

It was immediately a spacious and beautiful.

In the heart of the slum began to open a public library with free internet and sports halls, theaters and community centers. All free for residents.

All this has helped to radically change the situation in the slums! Young people are now involved in sports, sitting in libraries and cultural rest. Now it was possible to walk! By the way, this is the first city where no one tried to dissuade me from walking on the slums. About past difficulties are now only remind drawings on the walls.

In the central square in the evening people take a guitar and play.

A big concert.

Someone is temporarily disabled.

line at the bank.

Sweetheart sobachenka.

And now about Colombian women. A walk in the center of Medellin and took off. Basically, of course, there oshivayutsya prostitutes who do not like to be photographed. But I did everything I could. How do you?

A typical Colombian woman looks

or so ...

Of course, there are also slender

The Colombian woman in sculptures by Fernando Botero

And this is a prostitute ...

In fact, the city is very different. If the center is really dirty and noisy, the rich and the new quarters resemble the streets of European cities.

All the rich people live in the south of the city. For them, there is a lot of built high-rise buildings.

The poor settle on the slopes of the mountains surrounding the city.

Rich home.

Part of the traffic signs painted directly on the pavement.

Bike Path.

traffic Call Button

In Medellín a very steep road column, it can be chained bicycle.

Tactile tiles for the visually impaired do not paint with yellow paint. She carefully and well laid.

Groove drain ends bars.

This is also a drain. all it has done very well.

As in any normal city, Medellin has a modern good architecture.

weird.

And of course there are gorgeous public areas.

A street theater. In the evening, on the wall of the building projected image.

In Medellin was born the famous painter and sculptor Fernando Botero. Now his works adorn the city.

In the city erected a "Botero City" - an area of over 30 thousand square meters are located museum, Botero sculpture park, art galleries, studios for artists, recreation areas. "The main idea of this project is that, - said Botero - Medellin opened to the world as a cultural and artistic center, rather than as the birthplace of the leader of the Medellin cartel Escobar."