Medellin

Before coming to Colombia, I knew very little about the city of Medellin. Since arriving in here, I have heard great things about this city and have learnt that it is the birthplace of renowned artist Botero, and burial place of even more renowned drug lord, Pablo Escobar. I had high expectations for the city however I found that it really lacks the buzz of Bogota and certainly lacks the beauty of Cartagena. I went to Pueblito, a small replication of an old Colombian town perched on top of a hill overlooking the city. Unfortunately it was cloudy when I went but it was clear that the only interesting piece of architecture in the city is the cathedral in the centre of the city. The rest of Medellin is a uninteresting mixture of concrete skyscrapers and red bricked buildings scattered across the surrounding mountains.

I was interested to find out more about Botero, since I have seen many of his pieces scattered around the country. The Colombians are very proud of Botero and his unique artwork in which he paints and sculpts people and objects with extra volume, and is so known as the artist that paints fat people. I was interested in seeing his piece ''The Death of Pablo Escobar'' which I found in the Antioqia Museum, sitting next to ''The Heart of Jesus''. I found it quite bizarre that they had chosen to put these two pieces together, given that one is claimed as the saviour as the world, whilst the other has unleashed death and destruction within the world.

I was however, pleasantly surprised with my visit to the botanical gardens which was much bigger and more impressive than expected. Despite being amongst all the hustle and bustle of the city, it was very peaceful, with my favourite section of the park being the tropical forest, a little piece of rainforest overrun with wildlife that made me feel like I was back in the Amazon.