![\"outskirts-of-Medellin\"](\"https:\/\/www.tucan.travel\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/outskirts-of-Medellin.gif\" "\\"outskirts-of-Medellin\\"")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
When I decided to pack-up my bags and spend 9 months travelling around South America, exploring Colombia and more specifically Medell\u00edn was my no.1 priority.<\/p>\n
Medell\u00edn was of course home to the most legendary cartel kingpin of all time \u2013 Pablo Escobar.<\/p>\n
Thanks to the hit Netflix series Narcos, we\u2019re all aware of his excessive & indulgent life but here are my top 10 truths; facts I learnt about him whilst in his hometown:<\/p>\n
There\u2019s an abundance of articles online about Escobar\u2019s crazy world but if you really want to understand the impact of his legacy on the community today, you need to visit Medell\u00edn in person.
\nAside from being an incredibly vibrant and safe city nestled in a quaint mountainous valley, it\u2019s fascinating to see that his legacy is still well and truly alive despite being killed over 23 years ago.<\/p>\n
A polarized character<\/strong> Uncle Sam: \u2018Here is the a list of our most wanted Colombian drug lords\u2019 Opulent facilities around Medellin<\/strong> Narco Beauty<\/strong> Why visit Colombia?<\/strong> About the author:<\/em> Laura is a Tucan Travel customer that is \u00a0pursuing a career in travel photography. In August she\u2019ll be off to Africa – camping & photographing her way down from Nairobi to Cape Town then working on a Great White Shark project in Gansbaai. Keep up with her adventures here<\/a><\/p>\n
\nTo this day there is still a real love\/hate divide for Escobar from the \u2018paisas\u2019 (locals from Medell\u00edn ). For many he was an egotistical maniac who littered streets across the world with cocaine. A guy who terrorised Medell\u00edn throughout the 80\u2019s and sole-handily tarnished Colombia\u2019s reputation to the outside world. A reputation they are still desperately seeking to shake. I remember taking a photo of where he was born and a local paisa lady in her early 50s\u2019 yelled at me \u201cHe\u2019s not a hero, he was an evil man!\u201d Emotions are still riding high over 20 years on.What striked me the most however was that for others, Escobar was and still is a modern day Robin Hood; a guy who looked after the lower-class by taking from the rich and feeding the poor.In this case, the rich were the US who, at the time, were the biggest consumers of his \u2018product\u2019. Whilst I don\u2019t condone what he did, I saw this satirical poster in a local bar which did raise a valid point:<\/p>\n
\nColombian government: \u2018Well here\u2019s a list of your 22M cocaine users\u2019<\/p>\n![\"Satirical_poster\"](\"https:\/\/www.tucan.travel\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Satircal_poster.jpg\" "\\"Satirical_poster\\"")
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nSigns of Escobar\u2019s Robin Hood-esque status are still everywhere in the city. From fresh flowers and notes still being left at his grave to lavish out-of-place sports facilities in the poor parts of town. After a few days exploring the city you\u2019ll soon be-able to recognise what was funded by Escobar! I\u2019ll never forget getting the cable car up to picturesque Parque Arvi. It rides over a huge barrio then out of nowhere appear this enormous black marble building right in the thick of a shanty town. It\u2019s of course a luxurious library that Escobar built for the local community. That guy never did things in half measures!<\/p>\n![\"Escobar_grave](\"https:\/\/www.tucan.travel\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Escobar_grave-1.jpg\" "\\"Escobar_grave")
<\/p>\n
\nColombians are often known as the most beautiful women in South America. However plastic surgery does play its part. The level of silicon hit me as soon as I flew into Colombia – they were advertising plastic surgeons in the in-flight magazine! Enhancements were noticeable in Bogota <\/a>and Cartegena <\/a>but it\u2019s on another scale in Medell\u00edn. I was once told that most girls will receive a new pair of breasts for her 16th birthday. I thought it was a joke but it is indeed true. Plastic surgery is rife and a very normal part of life over there. Why? The legacy of Escobar\u2019s cartel culture. We\u2019ve all seen the hip-hop videos \u2013 gangsters with guns surrounded by a bevy of beauties. Well Escobar\u2019s cartels were the OGs (original gangsters). Back in the 80\u2019s, cartel members wanted the most beautiful girls on their arms and with money being no object, they were able to buy their ladies silicon enhancements. It\u2019s been coined \u2018Narco Beauty\u2019 and the legacy continues today.<\/p>\n
\nHaving explored 9\/12 countries, people often ask me where they should visit first. My answer is always the same – Colombia. It was easily my favourite country on the continent for a multitude of reasons but here are the main 3. Firstly, Colombia is still haunted by its cartel reputation which on a positive note means it\u2019s not crawling with tourists therefore you have the opportunity to get off the \u2018gringo trail\u2019 and really explore the country. Secondly, you have everything you\u2019d want in one country \u2013 Caribbean beaches, vast coffee regions, adventure towns & cultured cities. Finally and most importantly, Colombia is home to the sweetest people you\u2019ll encounter in South America. They\u2019re extremely welcoming and will go out of their way to show you their country in a bid to eradicate their unfortunate and unfounded bad rep. If you\u2019re planning a trip to Latin America, please head here first!<\/p>\n![\"Medellin-views\"](\"https:\/\/www.tucan.travel\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Medellin-views1.gif\" "\\"Medellin-views\\"")
<\/p>\n