Soon enough we were checking into a really cool hostel by the name of Casa Kiwi. There was nothing Kiwi about it other than it´s big barbeque and an awesome deck. This place was rammed with gringos from all walks of life and proved an awesome place to meet people and swap information. It wasn´t long before we were having a few beers and finding ourselves on the end of another big night. What a big night too! We ended up at this bar called Mangos where they had a valet midget, dancing girls with a few plastic bolt on enhancements and some wild memorabilia. I do remember the night ending (at 4 am) with a break dancing midget and a topless guy spraying the crowd with toilet paper using a hand held leaf blower.... Sweet as.
The next morning started pretty slowly. It was only in the afternoon that we managed to string together enough motivation to gather up a large group and trek on off to a local soccer match. Happily, this experience was not as intense as the match I went to in Lima. Though there was a fair few riot police, everyone was well behaved and the scene was quite controlled. One hilarious observation we immediately made about the general population of Medellin was that they LOVE the mullet! Apparently it is a new fashion for the city and there are some absolute crackers getting around! Bogan Australia would be more than proud. There are even bouffant fringed mullets mixed in. Wicked!
Another observation is that the people here really get interested in gringos! As I found out, they especially take interest when you are tall and they have a TV camera..... During the half time interval we had so many women taking group photos with us it almost became a chore. But they are sooooo nice and enthusiastic you can´t help but go along.
Needing a little more physical activity in our lives, the next day Sam and I went to the local water park with two of the girls from our dorm. Like little children, we lost our stuff at the 10 something slides on offer! And being the idiots we are, we basically did everything you weren´t meant to in our pursuit of the ultimate slide experience. We were running and diving down slides, doing tandem runs, fighting each other on the way down etc. It was awesome! By the end of the day we were battered, very bruised and highly content with ourselves. We had squeezed every ounce of fun we possibly could out of the place.
Leaving the water park we returned to hostel. The two girls we were travelling with, like other girls I had met, had been telling us how they get harassed pretty badly by the local blokes here in South America. Up until that day I had never seen any sign of this because it usually doesn´t happen when a girl is with a bloke. But holey crap, travelling with two blonde European chicks really changed that little rule of thumb. I seriously could not believe how many blokes were boarder line sleazing onto these girls at every exchange! What an eye opener! Glad I´m a guy, all I have to deal with is a few intense stares from random women and the odd kiddie that looks at you like your a zoo animal.Back in the hostel, the days banter continued as both Sam and I presented our larrikin best. It wasn´t long before our pranks and banter had us a reputation as the two Aussie guys doing it better than the rest.
The next day, we pulled together a crew of people and headed off for a trip on the local cable car network. Packing a six pack of beers each and an AFL footy our day was set to rock. Unfortunately, this quickly turned around when we found out the cable car network was closed for general maintenance. Rrrrrr! Well, we still had a footy and beers, so we needed a place that would allow us to kick a ball. It wasn´t long before we spotted a soccer stadium that fit the bill and after getting in good with the venue administrator (Walter) we were booting a ball and putting on a show for a heap of locals who were loving it. At one stage I actually had a girl jog past me and very nonchalantly announce her name to be Claudia before suggestively jogging on. Hilarious!
After about an hour of goofing around, we stopped to rest in the shade of one of the stands. A group of about 10 young girls came on over to us promptly and started trying to make friends. Little did we know, these girls were in drug rehab and each had a pretty ordinary story behind them. Most were from broken homes and most had been stuck on some pretty heavy drugs. It is unfortunate but drugs are very abundant here in Columbia. In total we spent over 2 hours with these and other girls who would just pop on by. During this time we trading little trinkets and listening to their stories which touched us all. Trying to leave, we couldn´t make any move without soooo many people coming up to us and wishing us well. What an unexpected day!
Backing up one awesome day with another, we got together another crew and headed for the science museum. It was one of those interactive kinds where you get to do your own experiments etc. Making science fun!
The parana tank in the aquarium part of the science museum
This fish would follow you around and stare blankly into your soul.
Group photo.
The next day had to be more laid back. Luckily we had two friends show up that day and this was the speed they were chasing as well. To celebrate their arrival the four of us took to the big barbeque on the deck with a ridiculous amount of thick cut tenderloin steaks, sausages and pork rashers. It was a monster barbie afternoon and the addition of beer made it the envy of the rest of the hotel. Ever been in a meat coma?
Meat head on the barbie
But for all the fun (and you only get the abbreviated version my dear readers), the decision was made to leave the next day. We are now in Guatape, just two hours outside of Medellin. There is a massive fresh water dam here that provides fishing, kayaking and other outdoor activities. Everything two Aussie guys need. I have to talk about the bus ride here though. I know I keep on about the busses here, but they are so out there. On our ride up, we had one guy selling jewellery and a few others selling the usual amounts of food. The jewellery guy began by running a trivia gig and giving out freebies for the correct answers. Everyone was loving the hell out of it. He cleaned up! The next guy was a potato chip salesman and after doing a rip roaring trade he jumped off the bus running while it was doing 30km/h! And we know it was 30km/h because all the busses here have digital speedos so that the passengers know how fast they are going.
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