Comuna 13 + Medellin City Tour

Posted By : Bat_S
the guide Erika showed us around Medellín which she knows very well. She told us in detail and anecdote about the various places we visited. She is perfectly bilingual, English and Spanish. She is very helpful and always in a good mood. I recommend it as well as the city tour of Medellín.
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Posted On : 2024-06-18 20:01:41

Posted By : NorthStar15571163162
My sister and I did the city tour of Medellin and Communa 13 with BnB Colombia Tours. Our guide was Erika. She came to pick us up in her own car and she proofed to be an excellent driver who easily managed the traffic of Medellin. Erika was a very amicable person and she spoke excellent English (she studied psychology in Vancouver). She first took us to Communa 13 where we took the open air elevators to the top of the mountain. We were surprised with how clean the whole place were and the local people were very friendly. We had cold drinks and beer at a small restaurant there and later on also delicious ice cream at another place. It is amazing how this place was transformed from being the second most dangerous place on earth in 1993 to what it is today. I felt completely safe during the trip. There are lots of colorful murals and everyone tells a meaningful story about the area's past history and the people's hope for the future. The views over Medellin from the top of Communa 13 are beautiful. We also watched a show of break dancing by a local group. We then walked back to where Erika had parked her car and drove to Communa 7 where we took the Metro cable car over one mountain, then over a valley and up a second mountain to the last station. We had breathtaking views of Medellin. Afterwards Erika took us to Laurelles, an upscale neighborhood where we had lunch at Crepes & Waffles (a Colombian franchise). The food we had here was delicious, amongst the best we had over a 34 day trip. After lunch we went to the area where Pablo Escobar built houses, schools, sports fields and a clinic for the poor people. They erected a small museum for him in this area. Although he was a notorious drug lord, the people in this area worship him. Erika took us afterwards to the memorial for all victims of narco-terrorism. More than 46000 people died in this "war" and presumably Escobar was responsible for at least half of that. She knew the history of Colombia and all the facts around the drug cartels and she gave us a true balanced version of this terrible period in her country's history. Colombians must realize that Escobar and the drug cartels are a big part of their history and they can't wish it away by refusing to talk about it. The rest of the world is interested in Escobar and that won't change. Therefor it is important to have a guide like Erika who shows you the bad and the not so bad and who can share the real facts with tourists. Erika then took us to downtown Medellin where we saw Botero plaza, beautiful historical buildings and an art gallery. We also sampled some delicious Colombian drinks and snacks. We actually asked BnB Colombia to combine a full day trip and a half day trip for us. Erika dropped us off at our accommodation at 19h30, but she was kind enough to stop at a supermarket on our way back for us to buy some groceries. It was a long but very interesting day. 10 out of 10 for BnB Colombia Tours and 12 out of 10 for our guide, Erika.
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Posted On : 2024-03-16 08:09:20