Here is a photo of the town square of Retiro:

Germán was a little nervous about what we were getting into so he didn’t want to leave us until he met Olga. He spoke with her and her sister for a few minutes and when he felt everything was fine he gave us the “thumbs up” and left. We piled into her SUV, luggage and all. Olga drove us a couple of miles through beautiful countryside where there were a number of what I would call very nice, “weekend country homes”. When we got to their house, they introduced us to the other 2 family members: another sister and their 82 year old father. They showed us around the house, walked outside with us on the beautifully manicured grounds while explaining about the different types of plants. Then we all went inside and for 2 hours drank Colombian coffee, ate cookies, and had very stimulating conversation about the economic and political climate of South America and the relationship with the U.S. It helped to have done a little research on Colombia before our trip. The family was all very highly educated and well-read. They knew all about what was happening on the campaign trail in the U.S. Presidential race It was a great experience to spend those 2 hours with such a nice family.At 4:30, Olga and her sister drove us to the airport for our 6 p.m. flight to Cartagena where we would spend the next 5 days in a very different kind of life.Next-Cartagena and my new family

Here is the breakfast buffet:

First stop was the house where the final battle occurred when Pablo and his driver were killed in a hail of gunfire. I had seen photos of the house on the internet so when we drove up we recognized it immediately. I had to have my picture taken in front of it! This is now a quiet neighborhood and many people were on the streets walking to church while I am having my picture taken in front of the house. I am sure they thought “crazy tourists”. Germán described the battle in detail and it pretty well matched up with what I had read. It was unbelievable, just having finished the book, and now I am standing in front of the very house! It was like living the story. 

Next, it was off to the cemetery to see the tomb of Pablo. Again, as soon as we walked onto the cemetery grounds I recognized the tomb after seeing pictures of it on the internet. Quite an impressive little plot of dirt! Several family members are buried right there next to him. Germán told us that Pablo was considered the “Robin Hood” of Colombia and that people still bring flowers to his grave every day.

Here German is giving Jay a little history of the events surrounding the burial of Pablo:

For the next 4 hours Germán drove us around Medellin visiting various sites which were major points of interest including many of the buildings that Pablo used to own and some of the apartments where he lived. We finally got our fill of Pablo.

One more thing I wanted us to do was to ride the cable car that is an extension of the metro system in Medellin. The cable car is part of a transit system that serves a rather large, lower socio-economic neighborhood that is built up into the hills. It is the main system of transportation for this neighborhood and connects with the metro for travel throughout the city. It is a series of 3 different cable car stations; each one located a little higher up the hill than the other–similar to a ski lift. We jumped on a car and rode it through all 3 stations and back while Germán waited on the street for us.

It was quite interesting to go over the top of the neighborhoods and see how people are living below you. Each car held about 6 people. The other passengers were all very friendly so we chatted with them a little in Spanish.

As you can see, it is an interesting way to travel through your neighborhood:

(click on the photos to enlarge them)

By this time it was 12 noon and we still needed to call Dr. Olga. Germán dropped us off in the park where we had dinner the night before. We used a pay phone to call Olga. Olga wasn’t there but her sister answered and said she was aware we might come by the farm. She said Olga would return in an hour and suggested we call back then. We used the hour to have lunch at an outdoor restaurant. Great cheeseburgers!

When we returned to the hotel we called Olga again and this time she answered. She suggested we get Germán to drive us to the little town of Retiro which she said was on the way to the airport (sort of). She told us to have him drop us off in the town square and she and her sister would pick us up at 2:30. So, on a wing and a prayer we told Germán…”It’s Retiro for us, Amigo”!

Next-Retiro and meeting the family of Dr.Olga

The small terminal is much older and very basic. Check in was much easier than we had anticipated so we had plenty of extra time to visit a number of shops in the airport. I bought some post cards and then tried to find a t-shirt that said “Bogotá” on it. Huh uhh…no t-shirts that said Bogotá. Can you believe it? Our Avianca flight to Medellin was a continuation of one from Cali, but it was late so we now had another hour to wait in the airport. However, our wait turned out to be fortuitous.

While waiting for our flight, we met a woman who spoke almost perfect English. Her name was Olga and she was one of a family of Colombian doctors that had all previously lived in the U.S. for a short period of time. She was traveling to Medellin where she lived. She seemed intrigued by our travels through Colombia and told us her family had a weekend getaway that she called a “farm” located outside of Medellin. She asked us if we would like to come out to visit her and her family and see Colombia from a different perspective. Now, my last promise to Carol when she dropped me off at the airport in OKC was, “I promise I will heed the warnings of my Colombian friends and not travel out into the countryside”. But, my memory was fading fast when offered yet another opportunity to travel off the beaten path. Remember…..”it’s all about the journey”.

Olga gave us her cell phone number and asked us to call her the next day when we were leaving Medellin. She said we could come by their country home on the way to the airport and have coffee with them. We said we would call her. Jay and I agreed it was something we should talk about before just venturing into the countryside to spend time with a strange woman and her family. You will get more of this story in a later post.

After the delay our flight finally departed Bogotá. I was a little concerned because the hotel in Medellin was sending a driver for us and I knew he would be waiting for our flight that was late.

Next-Medellin, our driver agrees to help us enter the world of Pablo Escobar