Parque Arvi

This past Sunday, Lance and I made our second visit to Parque Arvi.  This time, we went with the intention of taking a guided hike on one of the many trails offered at this beautiful park. 

Parque Arvi is unique because it is located at the top of a mountain within the city of Medellin.  To reach the park you need to take two cable cars up the mountain.

Riding to the top, you will see some of the poorest neighborhoods in the city.  Despite that, the neighborhoods seemed just as vibrate as many of the other neighborhoods we have seen around here.  As we rode past we witnessed children happily playing on swing sets or riding bikes; women hanging their wash; men working in their gardens; lively music playing loudly from their homes; and neighbors visiting with each other on the streets below us. 

When we arrived at the top there was a booth for tourists with English speaking workers who offered information about the park and provided us with a map of the area.  There was also a variety of markets that offered food and hand made crafts including jewelry and decorative wood carvings.  At 10:00 we joined our group and began our hike. 

Above is a picture of our park guide.  Below is  a photo of a young lady from another
city in Colombia who befriended us and acted as an interpreter during our hike.  

As we hiked along, a light rain began to fall, but luckily we had packed our rain coats.  It was an enjoyable day despite the rainy weather.  

One amazing thing about Medellin..

is how they use any available space to their advantage. Whenever we walk to the mall, we take a route that goes under the highway where there are a variety of restaurants and small businesses.  

One Sunday, we even saw a church service take place below the highway.  The priest was preparing Communion as we passed by.

The photo below is a bar located there that has always intrigued us.  Today, after a visit to the dentist, and a long and hot walk home, we decided to stop and see if they might serve a popular non-alcoholic drink called Limonada de Coco.  

In Lance's best Spanish...(which means no Spanish at all) he asked the bartender if they had this particular drink.  Much to our surprise, this is what we ended up with...

Neither of us are beer drinkers...but we tried to make the best of it.  Such is the life of a traveler in a foreign country.  

I often think to myself that we are the least likely people to be traveling the world.  We don't communicate very well with the locals, and aren't particularly brave...but yet we seem to somehow get by...mostly through the kindness of strangers.  Everyday we venture out and stubble through our day trying our best to figure things out.  Surprisingly, we do a pretty good job...all things considered.  

Our time in Medellin is almost coming to an end.  Soon we will be moving on for a few days in Bogota, then, back to Quito, Ecuador for a little more than a month.  We have truly enjoyed our time here, and would encourage any of you who enjoy life in a big, modern city to come here for a visit.  I don't think you would be disappointed.