We are in Medellin, Colombia & Comuna 13 is the first place we want to visit. We are stoked!
In our continuing quest to find OUR little piece of paradise, we came back to Colombia. This will be our third Colombian city to visit after having seen Cartagena & Bogota last year. Though we enjoyed Cartagena & we were pleasantly surprised by Bogota, we are LOVING Medellin & anxious to see what this city has to offer!
Medellin – City of Eternal Spring
The spring like weather is awesome & makes perfect sense that it is called the City of Eternal Spring. It has rained almost every day since our arrival – it may be a 15 minute drizzle & be done or it could be a full out storm like the other night. Then the sun comes out AGAIN. The thing is it is beautiful & green!
Enough on that, today I want to talk about our first outing here in Medellin – Comuna 13! Enjoy!
Comuna 13
I’m going to say up front that Comuna 13 was well worth the tour guide. We found ours on AirBnB. You could walk it on your own but there is so much you would miss by not using a host/guide to get the back history of the infamous neighborhood.
We were suppose to meet our guide at the San Javier Metro but we miscalculated how busy traffic would be so we were late arriving & had to go to the second point to catch up with Alex, our host & the rest of the group. Thankfully our Uber driver, Karla, was a dream. Streets were crowded – you couldn’t back up & could barely inch forward – she was not going to just leave us. She called the host to see where he was exactly before she would let us get out. It was that crowded (vendors/guides looking for business) but luckily again he was just across the intersection & soon as we got out of the car I heard “Holly” being yelled from across the street.
Here is what I took away from this guided walk thru Comuna 13!
1] Comuna 13 is a neighborhood in Medellin with a tragic history. Guns, drugs, militia, guerillas, you name it which left it in crisis for several decades [1980s thru the 90s]. At one time it was known as one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the world!
The lack of police protection & the location of the neighborhood on the western side of Medellin in the Andes Mountains made this particular neighborhood fair game for the lawlessness of drug trafficking, guerillas, etc.
2] Misplaced paisas settled in this barrio living where they could. Houses were built basically up the mountain & set on top of each other. Since there was little to no money, building supplies were whatever the people could find – scrap metal, plastic, tile, rock, etc. Because of the fragile building, locals were not even safe in their homes from gunfire between gangs, guerillas, militia, etc. which left many innocents dead or injured – some while in their own homes when wild bullets would go through the walls of their homes. Remember police did not dare enter this neighborhood so locals were helpless.
3] Largely due to the resilience of the paisas finally in 2002 President Uribe began “Operation Orion”. In short, there was a major raid wiping out gangs, etc. in the neighborhood. It took 3,000 troops & helicopters to get it done. But when it was over & successful. Social programs were initiated in giving the neighborhood back to the people.
Children can play outside. Special places were put up for children to play.
4] Street graffiti & wall murals are a large pull for tourists. When tourist come, paisas sale their goods & rely deeply on the tourists. Colors are bold & smiles are big. We were told that the graffiti artists are running out of walls to paint – next will be stairs & walkways.
Every piece of art tells a story.
5] Stairs! There is one paved walk that snakes it way up the hill. This allows cycles & small tractors access. On our visit it was normal to have to let motorcycles or wagons pass on their way up & down the sidewalk. This is not a street – there are none. If someone needs to move or buy groceries, etc. they have to climb steps – a lot of steps.
6] Escalators! In 2011 the government installed five solar powered escalators up the mountain to aid, especially the elderly, those who traveled up & down the mountain from the neighborhood to city.
Take the tour. The cost is affordable & walking Comuna 13 will forever change your outlook on this Colombian cityl Despite the history the paisas are strong & love their country. I highly recommend this tour!