Freedom of Movement

Flying back from Bogota to Medellín, I gazed down at the winding mountain roads below me. Bogota - Medellín (roughly 160 miles) by plane takes 30 minutes, while a bus ride lasts 8-9 hours (not including any rain/mudslide delays). Most of the transportation infrastructure in Colombia consists of these windy roads that criscross the 3 mountain ranges that span through the majority of the country.

Proximity has obviously been a huge element in the shaping of Colombian history, namely the difficulty in reaching and governing over the 440+ square miles of the countryside from the department capitals, let along the national capital in Bogota. Bogotanos talk about the time before the tunnel connecting them to Villavicencio was constructed, taking 4-6 hours to reach the town only 50 miles away on dangerous mountain roads, now the trip only takes 90 minutes. Tunnels have been talk of the town here in Medellín, especially with the torrential rains and mudslides that have battered the country since last November.

A proposed tunnel linking Medellín to its international airport purposes to change the driving time from 1 hour to only 20 minutes. Tunnels' successes can be viewed towards the establishment of Santa Fe de Antioquia as a rising tourist attraction; while not much different than other colonial towns in Antioquia, it is the most easily accessed from Medellín because of the Tunel de Occidente. Perhaps most shocking of all is to learn that in ALL of Colombia, there are less than 300 kilometers of two-lane, two-way roads. While this might seem an explication for the road traveling woes facing the country, I believe is presents an opportunity to provide better transportation infrastructure within the country.

After all, freedem of movement is one of the most important freedoms out there. Where would the US be if throughout our history, there hadn't been the possibility of "packing up and headed out West," or even the great American road trip or loading up the family and driving to the next state for Thanksgiving. This freedom has only recently been bestowed on the Republic of Colombia, due to its ability to secure the roads rom guerilla and paramilitary groups. Every person in Medellín I know has a story about not being able to visit their relatives or head to their farm fifteen years ago because the roads were not safe. While the roads are safe from the dangers of armed groups, deterioration, mudslides and dangerous routes still affect the ability of most Colombians to travel long distances by road conveniently. I think a combination of foreign investment and well managed infrastructure development might make Colombia an easier country by ground.

Boludos en tierra Paisa

Casa del Sol is the antithesis of the majority party hostels that make up Medellín's Zona Rosa. Spanish is the preferred language and the house provides many opportunities to practice. Needless to say, the vibe is more laid back and the travelers staying here are semi-permanent residents rather than passing through to the next fiesta. The other day two Argentines came by, meaning that we had to drink some Maté and shoot the breeze. On our way to buy tickets for Medellín's fútbol "Classico" (traditional rivalry), we decided to take a detour towards the barrio of Santo Domingo. I've already showered Medellín's MetroRail with tons of compliments, but here's a few more: in addition to the many convenient stops throughout the city,  For the price of 1500 pesos (75 cents), you are also entitled to a Gondola Ride.

 

The super modern MetroCable system was introduced as part of Medellín's MetroRail in 2006. There are several more MetroCables to various areas around the city and more under construction. The logic behind building these was geared towards developing  the lower-income neighborhoods that line the highest reaches of outer Medellín. From the example of Santo Domingo, it looks like things are really rolling. Once inaccessible to tourists, the twisting cobbled streets remind of a small town Italy or Spain. We got a fantastic a lunch for only 5,000 pesos then headed down to the black obelisk that is the barrio's library/community/daycare center. These architectural peculiarities have been popping up all over the city, giving Medellín a very furturistic and developed feel. (No surprise the current mayor is an architect).

Ah but walking with Argentines was fun, because every time anyone shouted "gringos," I could shake my head and yell back "argentinos!" Ah but alas, we were the true boludos, as none of us remembered to bring a camera. And with that I'll leave you with some amazing images that show how many cool buildings like this exist in Medellín.

Staycation in Bogotá

Since Brent went back to the States I've been slacking a bit on the blog, don't let this lull you into thinking I've just been partying and napping all the time (though those are the key agendas of most living the hostel life in Bogotá), Switching from the swanky Zona Rosa to the more humbled and weathered colonial barrio of La Candelaria was refreshing, mainly because it sits up a little higher than where the downtown smog can creep. From what I've heard, La Candelaria used to be quite dodgy, some of which still shows. Though not present around the pristine museums and starbucks-style cafés during the day, there is still a smattering of the homeless that are often overly persistent in their pestering for money. La Candelaria more or less tows the Lonely Planet line of "wonderful during the day, still a little sketchy at night."

Though the Universities that frame the area and the development that has accompanied them has created a certain shine and sparkle. The area also sits in the shadow of El Monserrate Cathedral, perched high atop Bogota's largest hill:

A quick gondola ride to the top reveals how massive Bogotá truly is. 8+million people never looked like so much until crowded into a valley and jammed up onto the hills. The valley itself isn't that wide, causing urban sprawl to stretch on for miles. Much like L.A., lots of distance to cover equals horrendous traffic and the sad part is the public transportation. When traveling I make a concerted effort to take public transportation options as much ase possibl, but when they stink as bad as Bogota's it's difficult. The TransMilenio was established a few years back and while it has helped to facilitate the movement of people, it's not enough. I'm not fully conviced of the Bus Rapid Transit systems, though they've had some success in places like Curitiba, Brazil. Even with 2 special bus lanes, the seemingly-always crowded TransMilenio buses still take between 30 mins. to an hour to get from La Candelaria to the Zona Rosa.

It's particularly difficult to be objective in judging the TransMilenio in contrast to Medellín's futuristic Metro trains: fast, quiet and air-conditioned. Chalk that up as one reason I don't think I'd choose Bogotá as a place of residence anytime soon. There are still a lot of really poor areas. Walking to an open air market about twenty five blocks from Candelaria (during the day), down one street I saw a market that so resembled a middle-eastern bazaar, I was too apprehensive to stop and take a photo. In spite of it's poorer areas, Bogotá does have a lot of nice safe areas worth exploring. I was fortunate enough to learn about the "Buseta" (small bus) system to make it out to some of the nicer barrios. Though clearly developing (esp. within the past 10 years), it's just a little harder to seek out the beauty in Bogotá when you contrast it with some of the smaller Colombian cities who aren't as burdened with the classic problems faced by all capital cities.

Masa Critica La Plata

I met Jose Maria at our 350.org event a few weeks back, and after telling him how I was a big fan of the LA Critical Mass, I had no choice but to participate in the La Plata Critical Mass, which he happens to be in charge of.

Critical Mass is a form of social protest aiming to create more awareness and concern for cyclists in metro areas. This usually involves organizing into large groups and taking up at least one or two lanes of traffic during rush hour.

"Masa Critica" La Plata, while lacking in numbers (there were only about 50 of us), has the awareness card down with their bright yellow "Bici Sendas YA!" (Bike Paths NOW!) jerseys that attracted a lot of attention. We rode from Plaza San Martin down the most frequently used streets. I resisted the temptation to yell at every other cyclist I saw to join us like I usually do in LA's Critical Mass. All in all it was a pretty subdued ride, but I still have yet to participate in the hanky panky known as Buenos Aires Critical Mass, ya veremos!