Mrs. ItchyFeet When I picked Medellín, Colombia, as my next stop after Seattle, USA, I was living in this tiny village in Costa Rica and seriously missing the city life. I figured with a metropolis as massive as Medellín, I would be able to find absolutely anything I wanted. After all, I’m now surrounded by shopping malls, three ginormous grocery stores, and a Sunday farmer’s market! So I was very surprised to discover that I couldn’t find Napa cabbage for making kimchi. Time for an adventure!
To the Metro!
The first thing I need is a Metro card so I can easily ride all over the city on light-rail, tram, bus, and even the aerial cable cars. There are two different Metro cards in Medellín. One, you can just get anywhere that single use tickets are sold and is just a generic card that costs about US$2.50 to acquire. The other one is personalized, but you can only get it at a few specific Metro stations. The personalized one is mostly for locals as it is free to get and each individual ride costs less. I’m here long enough to make it worth it.
So I decided to walk an hour to the nearest Metro station that makes the personalized cards. No problems with the walk, as it was fairly flat, and I spotted quite a few pretty churches along the way. I was so lucky to find a public restroom as I would have peed myself otherwise (cost about US$0.25 and included toilet paper but no toilet seat… learn to squat and don’t put toilet paper in the toilet!).
Once I made it to the station, it took me a while (and many extra stairs!) to find the office with the cards. Here’s the thing. There was a line. And I don’t mean a short line. This thing wrapped all the way down and around two sets of stairs. I made it to the bottom and started the wait. That line was probably the slowest moving line I have ever seen.
Is it worth the wait?
I did have a good time people watching, as folks would show up with so many emotions of shock at how long the line was. Many took one look and just went somewhere else. A couple of young ladies showed up and just didn’t notice (ignored?) that the line wrapped around and continued down another flight. The person in front of us pointed out that “the end of the line is down there” pointing around the corner, the line that we’d been waiting in for 45 minutes, and one lady immediately left.
The other stuck around for 10 minutes until she realized that I wasn’t going to let her take a spot in front of me. I wasn’t confrontational or anything, just made sure that as the line moved forward, I moved with it. I don’t even care about me, it’s just one person, but it would be so mean to the line of people behind me that were queuing up to wait so patiently.
One official would come by to keep people from taking over the stairs completely so we didn’t impede the flow of foot traffic. She would also pull older and disabled peeps out of line because they had their own line. It would have been hard for them to wait on the stairs if that didn’t happen.
That was easy
After about an hour and a half, I finally made it into the office. I showed them my passport, and they printed my name onto a white Metro card and I was out. How cool is that!?! I don’t even have a personalized card for the Metro in Seattle! The good thing about this card is that if I lose it, I can get the money transferred to a new card. I would just have to wait in that line again. Must not lose the card!
Next step was to go to the ticket booth and put money on the card. No line there, so that took no time at all. I decided on $25,000 Colombian pesos (Col$) as each ride costs about Col$3,200. That’s less than a dollar as US$1 is around Col$4,300. To say the least, I’m having a hard time with my conversions here, but I’m working on it. Now, at this point, I could head back home… but I really want that Napa cabbage.
There is this giant mercado, Plaza Minorista, walking distance from the station I’m currently at. I’m hoping they will have Napa cabbage and I’m willing to walk there. After leaving the station and making my way through the very busy downtown area, I came across the most wonderful thing! If you watched Season 36 of the Amazing Race, they had a stop in Medellín where contestants had to map out all these statues in front of a museum.
Plaza Botero
I found myself (like those contestants) in the middle of Plaza Botero, where Colombian sculptor Fernando Botero created a bunch of voluptuous bronze sculptures. His play with shapes and sizes is so much fun! Plus, you can touch the statues and tell where others have touched them before you, which is really entertaining with the naked ones. I see you! The gorgeous Palacio de la Cultura Rafael Uribe Uribe and the Museo de Antioquia, one of which is free for the public (I love museums so I will be back!), both overlook this amazing plaza.
After taking some pictures, I headed off on my journey to find Napa cabbage. Here is where I went terribly wrong. Within about two blocks from the gorgeous, clean, and mostly safe plaza, I found myself in a very sketchy neighborhood. Every city has at least one and it’s best to avoid them… even during the day. People were passed out or actively shooting up or smoking out of pipes. Not good and not safe for this very out of place gringa. Especially with my most important documents and a decent amount of money on me.
I quickly abandoned my quest for cabbage and turned the corner to head back to the relative safety of Plaza Botero. It only took a couple of blocks to feel safe again and I was very surprised how different the two areas were. Tour guides and any small search on the internet will tell you that the areas immediately north and west, I was heading directly northwest, of the plaza are not safe – even during the day. I’ll have to take a different route to the Mercado. Luckily, the Metro ride home was uneventful and my new card worked splendidly. Unfortunately, I did get sick from all the human contact and had to spend a few days in bed (not COVID!). It happens.
Search for Napa cabbage: take two
So how do I get to this Mercado that may or may not have Napa cabbage? I’m going to have to try to reach it from the north. The north has a bunch of hospitals and a really big university, which makes it appear much safer than coming from the Plaza. And… and… and… there is a botanical garden! I’m so in! Quick ride on the Metro to station Universidad and I’m at Orquideorama Jardín Botánico, which is absolutely stunning! And free with ID!
Not only do they have all kinds of different trees, mosses, ferns, lichens, cactus, and such, but they have critters! As I’m walking around, I hear the very distinct sound of scarlet macaws. Those gorgeous birds are so incredibly loud and screechy. I do not know why anyone would think it a good idea to take them from outdoors and put them inside as “pets”. Nope. They are amazing to see out in the wild, flying about and squawking away in the trees.
I also spotted some turtles hanging out on the rocks in the lake. I really could spend hours wandering around but I’m on a mission for veg. However, I did decide to check out a local cemetery sort of on the way to the Mercado because, why not? The cemetery was pretty cool but had a lot of midges. They seemed to be very interested in the freshly sealed crypts along the mausoleums. Are they going after something in the drying cement or are they finding holes leading to the bodies? I have questions!
Repollo de China
The walk from the cemetery to the Mercado was uneventful. After that it was just a matter of wandering all over the four story building through clothing stalls, past fruit vendors, around butcher shops, past shoe stores (authentic replicas!) until I ended up on the top floor where I found this random little old lady who was selling three massive heads of Napa cabbage (repollo de china!). I have never seen cabbage that big. I’m in! She mentioned she would not be selling any tomorrow. Maybe it’s out of season? I need to learn more Spanish so I can ask these types of things.
After circling the Mercado for so long, I ended up lost and at the back of the building with the loading trucks. Back through again to the other side to find an elevated walkway to take me straight to the bus stop. This cabbage is heavy and I’m not walking it all the way to the Metro! Unfortunately, the bus stop is closed and locked. WTF! That is when I notice that the entire road is closed for a protest. Sigh. I guess I’m walking. Now, being as I’m enrolled in this USA based STEP (Smart Traveler Enrollment Program) where I get security updates about the countries that I am in, I know that I should stay away from any and all demonstrations. However, the people look peaceful enough and they are going toward the Metro.
So with the street closed, I start walking with all the protesters, trying to mostly fit in but also walking faster than them. I did like the company, as the direction we were walking wasn’t through the nicest neighborhood. After almost overtaking the entire line of protesters, I was very amused to see that another protest consisting of college students (and circus performers?) was merging with this one from a different street. I think both groups were protesting raising college tuition (affordable schools as a basic human right). I made it to the Metro unscathed.
Must avoid the rain
It usually rains every day here in Medellín around 4pm, but sometimes it starts early. I’m getting nervous as I get on the Metro, as I still have to walk to my place once I get off the light-rail. I did have a really fun ride because I met this dual-citizen from the Bronx who was very excited to see another American. We chatted about his kids (and baby-mamas) on two different continents and education in Colombia versus the USA. Apparently, you can get paid a lot more here if you speak English. It really is becoming the de facto international language for trade and commerce. Guess I lucked out on that lottery as well. If I’m going to grow up only being exposed to one language, at least it’s this one.
I decided to get off at a different stop than the one that I had been using. This stop is closer to my apartment, but Google Maps is unclear whether or not there is a walking route to my street. I’m not running across any freeways! Turns out there is a lovely pedestrian-only pathway leading under and over some very busy roads, with numerous restaurants, convenience shops, and food stands along the way, going mostly straight to my neighborhood. It’s a bit twisty-turny with one very large hill, but you are not walking around here without going up some hills.
The kimchi turned out amazing! Well worth the adventure. I could not find daikon radish but found something called arrachara which looks a bit like it. It tastes kind of like a carrot and worked very well in the kimchi. Now to make kimchi fried-rice and kimchi pancakes and kimchi beef stir-fry. The things we do for good food!
Wishing you Boas Festas, and safe veggie hunts.