BOOB AND BUTT IMPLANTS/MEDELLIN, COLOMBIA

Medellín is the second largest city in Colombia. The surrounding area is made up of nine cities that literally join to make a metropolitan area with more than 3.5 million people.
Other travellers had reported enjoying the city.
When booking flights to Panama, we discovered that it is actually cheaper to fly through Bogota or Medellin in Colombia and then get an international flight to Panama city. We had chosen not to visit Medellin when driving north in Priscilla, but now had the opportunity to explore the city, at least for a few days.

Not having Priscilla, we once again had to seek out a hostel. Through a recommendation from a friend we found a great hostel in a nice neighborhood. The name of the hostel was El Alternativo. It had a great kitchen area and a wonderful upper deck.

Whilst there besides chilling out and taken care of some business, we did explore a couple of areas of the city.

We took the metro to the city to Plaza Botero. Fernando Botero is a Colombian sculptor and figurative artist, originally from Medellin. He donated some of his sculptures to Medellin and they have been placed in a plaza in the city.
The sculptures are amazing and so immense in size. 

The museum that displays his paintings is equally impressive. We all enjoyed our day very much. 
                                                   

                                                 BOTERO'S SCULPTURES

Above: Mike and Keira enjoying coffee at a cafe overlooking the plaza.

                                                BOTERO'S PAINTINGS/MUSEUM

Botero's paintaings are really interesting. The figures that appear in his paintings are voluptuous. He uses vibrant colors which make his paintings fun to look at. Early in his life his uncle enrolled him in a bullfighting school, a career he did not pursue. He did however paint many pictures depicting bullfighting.
We were not able to take photos of the paintaings, so I have included a few pics from the web that will give you an idea of what his paintings look like.
In the museum they also had a couple of kids playrooms, with games that had themes of Botero's paintings. Keira loved this room.
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                                      THE CABLE CARS/VIEWS OF THE CITY

Medellin has the best public transportation system in Colombia. The city is connected by a metro system and by cable cars which take people to the upper suburbs.
The city being situated in a valley and with its cable car/teleferico system, reminded us a lot of La Paz in Bolivua

We rode the cable cars all the way to the top of the valley and then beyond to a park 15 mins away from the city. Local people go there to escape the hustle and bustle of the city.

                                                      BOOBS/BUTT IMPLANTS
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Medellin is the city of boob and butt implants. This is known throughout the country. Many Colombian women have both breast and bottom implants, and even some men partake in the later.
It became a game for us, picking the fake ones out of the crowd. It still baffles me why anyone would want to have a bigger butt!


We enjoyed our stay in Medellin eventhough we are not city people. The city is very busy and the downtown area around the market place is insane with traffic and people. Far too overwhelming for me.
The barrios (suburbs) however are more relaxed with nice restaurants and coffe shops.

We were sad to be leaving Colombia and South America.This marked the end of a big portion of our trip. However we were eager to move on, get Priscilla back, our freedom and begin our exploration of Central America, which also meant for us seeing some very good friends.