Mrs. ItchyFeet Every time I told friends and family about my upcoming trip to Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia, I told them about the amazing weather (The City of Eternal Spring!), the extensive light-rail system, and about the aerial cable cars. Gondolas!!! For someone who is extremely afraid of heights, you’d be surprised at how much I love gondolas. I guess it brings back fond memories of skiing and snowboarding in the mountains of Colorado as a child. The lift rides were the best part!
Some info
Medellín has an interesting history. As the city was being planned and built with purposeful intent, communities began popping up along the mountain sides, outside the planned zone, without any permits. These communities were considered illegal, and periodically city workers, at the direction of the officials, would head up into the hills and literally tear them down. After the dust had settled, those communities would come together and rebuild.
This cycle of destruction and rebirth continued until the city officials finally gave up and stopped tearing them down. The communities were still illegal, so people didn’t have access to running water, sewer, or electricity for years. They also didn’t have any police or access to formal education. This lead to excessive crime and extreme poverty. The Medellín government finally recognized the mountain communities and legalized them in order to get a handle on the crime that was spilling over into the rest of the city and to improve the living conditions of the people in these communities. Now, they needed a better way for people to gain access.
That is when the aerial cable cars came in. What used to take many hours of winding dirt roads to get down off the mountains now takes 20 minutes in a gondola. This allows the people in those communities to access schools and healthcare and jobs in the city. They also included the gondolas as a regular part of the city’s metro system, so using them is very affordable. Less than US$1 per journey, start to finish, even if multiple modes of transport are used. This brought money up the mountains and people could finally get access to basic utilities.
They also subsidize utilities in poorer areas by charging higher rates in the wealthiest areas. It’s not a perfect system, and is based on general appearance rather than actual wealth, but it’s arguably better than nothing. Making these communities legal, bringing in accessible transportation, and providing inexpensive access to utilities completely changed these formerly illegal areas.
Bring in the tourists!
While the gondolas are primarily used for transport of locals, they are also really great for tourism. That’s where I come in. Off to the Metro I go! I tried to go after rush hour so I didn’t mess up anyone’s travels to work or school. This also meant that I was the only one in line at the ticket booth to get more moneys put on my Metro card. The ticket booth lady was very amused that this gringa had a personalized card. Tourists rarely get those (probably due to the wait!). She even showed the name on the card to her co-worker with much enthusiasm and amusement.
The ride from my stop to the San Antonio stop was uneventful. I really love that the entire ride is above ground so that you can see so much of this gorgeous city. Once at the stop, I changed from the Metro to the Tram. I figured being a tram it wouldn’t go up any hills. Boy, was I wrong! Those were some hills! There were a lot of murals along the way, along with the occasional imposing church.
I rode to the end and hopped off at the Oriente stop. At that point, I headed over to the aerial cable cars. No lines. No problems. Up and away I went. I had picked a day that was not overcast. The reasoning is that, if it’s cloudy, you go so high up that you actually head into the clouds. At which point, you can no longer see the city spread out below you. I’ve made that mistake before when hiking. If you want the amazing vistas, plan accordingly.
Gondola!
The views are absolutely stunning. My pictures do not do them justice at all. It’s freaky how high up you get and there is one stop before the tippity-top. I got off at the top because I heard that there were panoramic views from the observation deck of the Villa Sierra station. There are, but you have to want it! So many stairs to get there. You are greeted by some wonderful street art at the top, as well as several pieces of outdoor park exercise equipment. The city really put some effort into making the station pretty.
After heading back down to the Oriente station, I decided to walk downhill to the next tram stop. I wanted some pictures of the street art along the way. Per info I had gathered, you shouldn’t wander too far from the Tram tracks as the area is incredibly easy to get lost in. At the Alejandro Echavarría station, I was disappointed to find out that, because I had walked between stations, I got charged again. It’s only like US$0.75 though.
Back on the Tram, I headed downhill further to hop off at station Miraflores. I should have just kept walking to this one and headed straight for the gondola. Oh, well. So this gondola takes you to Trece de Noviembre station with one stop in between. Here is the thing. You used to be able to jump off at the top and there was this really pretty hiking trail around the top of the mountain with gorgeous views.
However, some nefarious peeps started noticing all the tourists alone on the trail and took advantage of the situation by taking all their money. So now it’s not safe to hike the trail. But you can (and should!) still take the aerial cable car up to the top. Instead of getting off, I just rode that sucker around the gondola wheel to head back down the mountain, enjoying the spectacular vistas the entire time. Well worth it!
It’s getting hot in here
Here’s a thing to remember, though. When I told you to go on a sunny day so that you could get the best views, I was not lying. However, don’t go too late because the gondolas are enclosed in glass so it gets hot in there! Like being in a snow-globe with sunshine instead of snow. There are vents in the tops of the cable cars, but it still gets quite warm inside. Take water… and snacks… because why not?
After that, it was a fun tram ride back to San Antonio station, then a switch to light-rail back to my Aguacatala stop, with a hilly walk home for lunch. All told, I think I walked about five kilometers and it cost me a bit over US$3. Not bad for a full morning of absolutely gorgeous views. Time to plan yet another gondola adventure!
But first, let me tell you about December 1st in Medellín. You see, way back in the day (just over 20 years ago), the government made a deal with a large group of drug traffickers to get them out of the city by the end of November. In a show of force as they left, they set off loads of gunpowder and fireworks at midnight. This started the yearly tradition of La Alborada: the setting off of an absolutely ridiculous amount of fireworks all over the city all night long. All… night… long! I have never seen (or heard) anything like it.
This doesn’t feel safe
La Alborada might have a dark past (it coincidentally coincides with Medellín’s infamous former drug lord Pablo Escobar’s birthday and his death), but it has morphed into something different. It’s now the fun way that locals kick off the holiday season. I have no idea where all the fireworks are coming from, but they do not stop. There are billboards around discouraging the explosions as a way to protect children, pets, and wildlife, but I’m not sure those signs are working. It’s just too ubiquitous of a tradition. Well, I’m hoping the fireworks taper off after Christmas, as I do feel bad for all the critters.
Now let me tell you about Comuna 13 (aka San Javier). This particular community up in the hills went through an unusual transformation. Instead of just an aerial cable car up the mountain, the city also installed a series of free escalators going up the hillside. This gave this isolated area access to the city center via the Metro system. Inversely, they also granted people in the city center access to the area. Local artists painted murals, installed gardens, started community centers to teach hip-hop and break dancing. Bring in the poets and rappers!
Locals started offering tours to showcase the amazing transformation of Comuna 13, and booths sprang up to sell the tourists food, drinks, art, and all kinds of merchandise. The area now brings in thousands of visitors a day and truly is a sight to see. What used to be one of the poorest and most dangerous areas in all of Colombia, during one of the most dangerous times in Medellín’s history, is now safe and quite prosperous. Public transportation for the win!
To the Metro!
After riding the Metro to the San Antonio stop, I wandered upstairs to the B line. That light-rail took me to the San Javier stop. My plan was to walk straight over to the start of the escalators in Comuna 13, but I spotted a cemetery on the way. You all know that I love cemeteries and this one did not disappoint. It was built up into the hillside, which meant a lot of stairs to get up inside. Well worth it and I was met with some lovely vistas in addition to the statues and mausoleums.
Back down all those stairs and back on course to the escalators, I started to recognize the area from some vlogs I watched about Medellín, as well as from an episode of The Amazing Race. As you walk up to the start of the stairs (it’s a hill!), you are forced into the street because stalls selling all-the-merch have completely overtaken the sidewalks. This means that you have to watch ahead and behind you so that you don’t get taken out by a motorcycle making deliveries or transporting humans. It’s chaotic but also exciting.
I decided not to join one of the tours because it’s hard for me to hear anything when it’s so busy. Plus, sometimes it’s fun to just wander around. Once up the hill to the escalators, I was happy to find that they were covered because that tropical sunshine was intense. There are six sets of escalators winding their way up the mountainside. How crazy is that!?! It was very cool to see just how high up they go. My ears popped from the altitude gained! I was met at the top by a road that meanders both right and left even further up and around the hillsides.
Look at all this art
You really could spend hours walking back and forth through all the stalls and bars, looking at all the street art. Getting selfies for The Instas with those amazing vistas in the background. There was even a “Christ the Redeemer” statue, like from Brazil and Portugal. I had a good time. It was pretty early, but getting busier by the second. My brain thinks, “Oh, that would be fun to have a drink and watch the sunset from one of these bars” but I know I would instantly regret it when the bars fill with all the humans.
Time to get my steps in, I decided to walk down the stairs instead of taking the escalators to get a different perspective and see more amazing murals. Those artists did wonders! I only got lost the one time (okay, maybe three times!) because I didn’t want to walk in front of any of the Hip-Hop artist workshops. I made it back to the Metro station and even found an elevated shortcut over the train tracks that went directly to the gondola.
This particular aerial cable car goes up over the mountain on the opposite side of the escalators, back down the other side, and then up to the top of yet another mountain. There are two stops between the bottom (San Javier station) and La Aurora station at the top. These Andes are no joke! I have never been so high up in a cable car in all my life. Good thing I’m not afraid of heights…? This is something you 100% have to do if you come visit Medellín!
The ride back down was just as exciting as the ride up and I had fun eavesdropping on my fellow passengers, one of which did not like how much the car was swaying. We all made it without a single death. Then it was just a simple matter of retracing my Metro path back to my apartment for lunch. I think that the entire trip cost just over a dollar and a half. So worth it!
It’s great to hear such wonderful stories about Medellin. Another one for the bucket list.