The people of Minnesota like to spend their week-ends, vacations and holidays going to “The Lake” to camp, fish, swim, and relax. Well there is a lake that people from Medellin go to that can be called “The Lake”. I am referring to the “Reservoir of Peñol” (Embalse Del Peñol). This reservoir was created when a hydroelectric dam complex was built on the Nare River to supply hydro-power throughout the country. The reservoir has created water recreation and an economic…
The city of Medellin has always had street vendors selling cell phone minutes, candy, ice cream, fruits, juices and chips. They sell from carts (carretas) of various shapes and sizes and are located throughout the city at street corners, near businesses and parks. Street food is referred to as “gastronomía callejera”. Since 2014, many food vendors have upgraded to food trucks. Of course, food trucks have been popular in United States for quite some time. However, in Medellin the number…
Reaching Out in Spanish One month off the plane and I am speaking Spanish with native Colombians. My Spanish is starting to improve. At least, I am not petrified to speak out loud anymore. I guess that four years of conjugating verbs in Spanish class is finally paying off. I speak to every Uber driver and I answer the questions posed by the grocery store clerks. “Gracias. Pero no quiero puntos.” – “Thanks, but I don’t want the grocery store…
That’s a Bunch of Garbage! That’s how the old saying goes. But for thousands of people in Medellin, that bunch of garbage is home. In the Moravia neighborhood of Medellin, there are thousands of inhabitants literally living atop a mountain of garbage. “El Morro” Municipal Garbage Dump In 1977, the “El Morro” garbage dump was established to service Medellin. The dump is located in the Moravia neighborhood located in the northeastern zone of the city. The site was used to…
It has taken us a long time to get here, but we have finally arrived in Colombia. I’ll admit that when we told our friends and co-workers that we planned to come to Colombia to see if we would like to retire here, we heard statements like these: Is it safe? Are you going to sell drugs? Why would you go there with all the crime? But, our son who lived in Bogota, Colombia for ten years told us that…