CHARLEY

Our last post by Charley was something else! It blows my mind how much she has grown. Her insights and experiences are her own, and that post was 98% her own writing — I just helped a smidge with a little grammar and flow. Thanks for your comments; we all appreciate them and feel the same way. I’m not sure this next entry will be quite as exciting, sorry!

24 – 29 June

DRIVING

Leaving the lovely coolness of Jericó, we began our descent from the mountains, heading towards Medellín and into the humid heat of the lowlands. Another full day drive to get to our campground in Medellín which was a nightmare to reach. The route our GPS wanted to take us through involved tunnels too small for Bruce to fit through, tight streets and steep hills that were barely wide enough for our truck, let alone oncoming traffic.

Avoiding any more stressful attempts, we decided to take the advice from ‘big rig’ drivers posted on iOverlander and take the long way around, which added considerable time but at least meant we weren’t going to get stuck. Arriving after dark, we were greeted warmly by the campground owner and her young grandson, pictured with the ball below. We parked up next to a nice Czech family around our age-ish, travelling with their 18-year-old daughter.

Charley connected with Anna almost immediately, and spent most of their time hanging out, which was lovely to see, both appreciating some shared ‘girl time’. Their self-built camper was bigger than Mario and Wenke’s, but looked remarkably similar. Hanus had also spent quite a bit of time growing up in the Whistler & Pemberton region, so we had plenty to talk about.

They are travelling as a family around South America for the next couple of years. I am so excited for them. I half wish we were just starting our journey rather than nearing the end.

We ended up spending five nights camped in the hills above Medellín, at around 2,400 metres, where the climate was noticeably cooler and the air much more comfortable than down in the city.

CITY GONGOLA

Our first day exploring Medellín, we took the gondola down from the hills into the city. It was a late start and, as it turned out, a late finish. Descending 2,400m from the hills it was considerably warmer when we got to the valley.

From above, Medellín spreads out in every direction. The city seems to go on forever — an enormous ocean of orange-brick buildings packed tightly across the mountainsides. House after house, wall to wall, with corrugated metal roofs. The mountains are covered in homes, roads and people, and below us the city was a chaotic swirl of cars, buses and motorbikes.

Delivered into the thick of it, getting off the gondola it was chaotic, market stalls stretching as far as we dared to walk, packed with people wearing yellow Colombian World Cup football jerseys.

The short version is that we forgot to download the city map and top places to visit, with no free Wi-Fi, we went in search of some. But ended up in a less desirable part of the city, so decided to hop an uber and head over to a big & modern outdoor shopping mall, where we picked up some new clothes for Charley.

Around 9 p.m., took another uber home, which wasn’t cheap, the day ended up being less productive and an expensive day for transport, costing us more than $120 CAD. Medellín may have an excellent public transportation system, but getting a family of four up and down the mountains certainly isn’t cheap when you rely on Ubers!

The following day, we decided to try the public transport system instead. Our campground was about a 45-minute bus ride up into the hills above the city, so we caught the bus down to Medellín and then used the subway to get around.

PARQUE EXPLORA

Our first stop was Parque Explora, Medellín’s huge interactive science museum. It is a place like Science World in Vancouver and the SESI LAB in Brasília, Brazil, which we had visited earlier, where science is designed to be played with rather than simply looked at. We spent most of the afternoon experimenting with concepts involving time, space, sound and music. There were interactive exhibits everywhere — things to touch, move, listen to and experiment with. We played with light and sound, explored the way music works and experimented with the strange ways our brains perceive the world. It was exactly the kind of museum where you can easily lose track of time, and we all had a great afternoon.

I hadn’t realized our kids didn’t know how to tune a radio station using a dial. They had absolutely no idea that you used to slowly turn a knob through a sea of static, hoping to land on the right station. Apparently, this is now ancient technology. Really, was it that long ago? Now I’m feeling old. Next thing I know, I’ll be explaining what a VCR was.

CASA DE LA MEMORIA

We visited Casa de la Memoria, the House of Memory, a museum that tells the story of Medellín’s long history of violence, conflict and loss. The museum focuses on the experiences of the people who lived through Colombia’s years of armed conflict, drug cartels and violence, giving a voice to the victims and families who were left behind.

It is not an easy place to visit, but it is an important one. Medellín’s history is deeply connected to the era of the cartels, particularly the years when the city became internationally synonymous with Pablo Escobar and the drug trade. The museum moves beyond the famous names and headlines to tell the stories of ordinary people — families who lost loved ones, people who were displaced from their homes and communities that were torn apart by violence.

After snapping a few photos, I was reminded that photography wasn’t permitted. Oopsy.

PLAZA BOTERO

From there, we walked down towards Plaza Botero, the famous open-air square filled with enormous bronze sculptures by Colombian artist Fernando Botero. His distinctive style is instantly recognizable, with people and animals portrayed in exaggerated, wonderfully rounded forms. The sculptures are fun, quirky and impossible to miss — and, apparently, impossible not to touch. Although I suspect Botero would have preferred us to admire the art rather than polish it with our hands.

Sadly, on a Saturday afternoon, the plaza was heaving with people. We weren’t really enjoying the chaos, so after admiring the sculptures, we moved on.

We then visited the Museum of Modern Art. It wasn’t quite what we had expected, but that didn’t stop us from enjoying it. Sometimes the museums you don’t quite understand are the ones that give you the most to talk about afterwards!

That evening was game night: Colombia versus Portugal. This explained why the city had been so full of people wearing yellow jerseys.

Colombia was playing in the World Cup and the entire city seemed to be alive with energy. Everywhere we looked, people were wearing yellow Colombia jerseys. The streets were pulsing with excitement, and the whole country seemed to be united behind its team.

Not wanting to get stranded in the city, we decided to catch a bus home around 8 p.m. As it turned out, we just made it. The bus we caught ended up being the last one heading up the mountain at around 9 p.m., and we were very lucky to get home.

MIKE-DAD-GRANDPA

But by the following day, our hearts were heavy with worry.

We are a very long way from home, and Mike, Tim’s dad, who is 89 and living with advanced Parkinson’s disease, had been taken to hospital, we are desperately worried. A difficult position for us, with our shipping date approaching and our truck booked to leave soon. Flying home isn’t really possible, but not impossible. We’re faced with an incredibly tough decision.

Travel is not always about beautiful places and exciting adventures. Sometimes it is about being far away when you desperately want to be close to home.

We’re sending big hugs, letters of love and prayers for a speedy recovery to Dad and Karen.

There was no desire to go sightseeing the next day. Instead, we stayed at the campground and tackled some of the less exciting but necessary jobs of life on the road — laundry, truck maintenance and trying to keep everything moving while our minds were somewhere else entirely.