Medellin has put its past behind it

It's hard to imagine that as recently as 2018, Medellin was a city at war. And while the government had mixed success over the years in driving out the cartels and paramilitary groups, it has ultimately been the local people that have forged a new identity for the city. It started right in the heart of the violence, in Comuna 13, which is now an amusement park-style fun fair of bars and street art and music and non-stop parties. A celebration of a hard-fought freedom. We signed up for a walking tour of the area and didn't expect to be shown around by a young local lad who had grown up through it all - this turned out to be the best possible way to understand the place. And he ended the tour by inviting us all, with pride, to his house in the heart of Comuna 13, to show off his private bar/man-cave overlooking the expanse of Medellin beyond. A perfect microcosmic example of how Medellin has thrown open its doors to the world.

Elsewhere, Medellin was humming in a more "big city" way. This was handy to give us a chance to restock on necessities and get some laundry done. But we also took in the sights of downtown, including the Museum of Memories, memorialising the city's violent past. And took a spectacular day trip to Guatapé - the "most colourful town in the Americas", and home to a famous rock. It doesn't sound that exciting, but the view from the top of the 700 stairs was spectacular! The tour took in a cruise on the (currently near empty) reservoir that is the playground for Colombia's rich and famous - including the bombed out husk of what was once Pablo's summer residence...