A quick look at other places in Medellin that we found interesting . . .

Parque de las Luces – The three hundred illuminated posts installed in this plaza just 14 years ago represent the improvements this part of the city has undertaken. And now that the area is illuminated at night the amount of crime has decreased, but not completely disappeared. We visited the park during our morning city tour but did not return after dark to see the white lighted posts. However we could see the illuminated posts from the living room window in our apartment.

Plaza Botero – Fernando Botero, Medellin’s most famous artist, donated 23 of his bronze sculptures to the city and they are displayed in this plaza. His artwork includes human and animal subjects with disproportional attributes, which some observers might describe as rotund. Our city tour included this plaza and we returned a couple of weeks later to take additional photos of the sculptures. We enjoyed looking at the unique figures and one of our favorite sculptures was El Gato. The Rafael Uribe Palace of Culture displays a checkerboard type exterior in a corner of the plaza and we easily recognized this famous building during our many trips on the metro.

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Plaza de San Antonia – This plaza was the last and most vacant stop on our city tour. Even though it is right next to a major metro station and the city was bustling with people, the plaza was strangely empty. Four of Fernando Botero’s sculptures stand in the plaza and our guide explained that for many Colombians the plaza is a painful reminder of the difficult past. In 1995 a bomb was placed in Botero’s The Bird sculpture and it detonated during a large concert, killing 29 individuals and injuring at least 200 people. No group claimed responsibility for the explosion. Botero requested that the original bird statue, which he named Wounded Bird, remain in the plaza as a reminder of the city’s violent history. And he created a new bird sculpture to represent Medellin’s tranquil future, which he fittingly named Bird of Peace.

Parque Explora – This is one of the first spots we visited in Medellin. It is a fun combination of an aquarium, terrarium, and indoor/outdoor interactive science exhibits about physics, how the brain works, music, communication, and perception. Quite a few chatty middle school students also visited the exhibits while we were there.

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Parque Arvi – Medellin has a great deal of concrete and bricks! So many residents like to visit Parque Arvi, 16,000 hectares up on the high, forest-covered hillside on the west side of the city. Our visit to this nature reserve began with a ride on a metro cable car that definitely made us wonder how high the car was above the forest floor. We hired a guide to lead our hike (really more of a walk) in search of orchids, bromileads, and anthuriums. We saw many beautiful orchids, but very few blooms in the other two plant categories. Our afternoon at the park was a very nice break from the sounds, smells, and up close views of Medellin.

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