Colombia? Why Colombia?
Perhaps you've tasted Colombian coffee before?
As not many non South Americans have ever been to Colombia (Except perhaps Cartagena
on a cruise ship), I thought this page on my life in Colombia might be informative.
Mention Colombia to someone and depending on their age and world knowledge, you might
either get no reaction, a favorable impression (Shakira or Sofia Vergara?), or an
immediate - why would anyone want to go to Colombia? Regardless, I've learned to see
beyond stereotypes and decide for myself when it comes to unknown places. One man's
ugly is another man's beauty, and vice versa. [This way of looking at things
applies to new ideas of any kind for me. ]
The question should really be rephrased - Why Medellin? For when I arrived in Medellin,
I realized that it had all the ingredients for a place where I wanted to live at the
time. Weather, people, city layout, transportation, excellent drinkable tap water,
architecture, landscaping (lots of trees)....those are the things that took me to Medellin.
But people change, and so did the city, and so did I....
Check out the slideshow and short video below if you would like to learn more!
Tidbits about Medellin and Colombia
Medellin is famous for its multimodal transportation system which includes an
aerial tramway called the
Metrocable (Wikipedia).
Shopping Malls in Medellin
Modern malls are all over the world, what sets the malls in Medellin apart from many other cities in the world, is that
these malls are built 'open-air' style to take advantage of the weather - and their architecture is quite 'out of the ordinary' / stylish.
Many parts are covered with glass to protect from rain, but many areas are open to the outdoors on the sides
Recently, a mall was built in Medellin which has TWO retractable roofs (think sports stadiums), and other
areas where the roof opens up like a flower. In the slideshow there is a Youtube video (Last slide) that shows
the main center with the roof closed, but it completely opens, along with
another one almost as large over a food area. [Couldn't find a better video....]
http://zsoltbabocsai.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Medellin-santafe.jpg - image here with the roof open
Video panorama of shopping area covered by one of the retractable roofs
Google Image these malls / buildings for much better perspectives!
For the image on the right, there are actually 3 buildings (on the right side) that looked like they were designed with the
famous Burj Al Arab of Dubai in mind - Plaza San Fernando
Speaking of architecture and design - here is a relatively normal looking apartment tower, but once I walked inside,
I realized it was not. A rectangular shape on the outside, and inside, a round open interior.
This is something one might expect to see in an office building maybe, but in MDE, the apartment buildings get the glory too.
Colombian Flowers
Secret Behind Your Flowers (Smithsonian Magazine)
