We started the day bright-eyed and bushy tailed. Everyone was ready for a BIG ADVENTURE DAY!
Well, almost everyone. I'll take three out of four.
We packed waters, swim trunks, and PB&J sandwiches. Since the last several days had been upper 70's to low 80's, we opted to leave coats at home.
The park is directly accessible via the Medellin Metro and Metro Cable system, which in its self is quite amazing. We left the apartment around 10am. The thought was we would grab a bus to the Metro and be on our journey. After seeing several of our intended route buses turn the block before reaching us we flagged a taxi. The driver explained that the bus routes change on weekends, so we were SOL. He was very helpful with information however, so the ride was more than worth it.
The Medellin Metro is clearly a source of pride in the city. It is immaculately clean, speedy, and safe. The Metro Cable was built to service some of the poorest areas of the city under the leadership of then mayor Sergio Fajardo. This was both an experiment in social justice to integrate these poor neighborhoods with the city, and a way to reduce the rampant violence and killings. By all accounts the project has been a great success. In addition to the MetroCable, an impressive public library was placed in the neighborhood.
While the houses are still fairly ramshackle and clinging to the side of the cliff, there are bustling public areas and children outside playing. Things in this neighborhood may not be the ritzy Poblado, but they are not without hope either.
The trip from our place to the last MetroCable stop lasted a little over an hour, but there was a lot to see along the way. Most of the peanut butter sandwiches didn't survive the trip, however, being gobbled by hungry kids along the way. Our family of four spent 8000 pesos (about $3 USD) on this leg of the trip. A second MetroCable line (Line L) took us up the final and sometimes harrowing leg of the trip to Parque Arvi. This leg cost the four of us (two adults, two kids) the princely sum of 18,000 pesos (about $8 USD). The views back down into the valley are quite breathtaking. Then the car continues another mile or so over a mixture of coniferous forest and jungle plants. Lots of bromeliads were growing off the various trees.
It was a beautiful sunny day when we arrived at the final station and disembarked. Clearly the government takes the security of visitors seriously. There were at least five heavily armed police at the station. Additionally, there were two or three teams of military security on motorcycles patrolling the park (one rider, one to hold the assault rifle).
There was a food fair at the top and information booths. Various bits of information put the walk to the "park within a park" that had the ziplines at about a 30-40 minutes. The info desk gave Kristen all this information as well. As it turns out there is also a bus that runs between the Metro stop and the Adventure park (I forget the name), but no one thought to share that with us at the info desk. The walk started out nice, but is along the road with no sidewalks to speak of for most of the way. Small food stands dot the way, so we grabbed some snacks.
At about 30 minutes in with no clear end in sight tempers were starting to get short. We finally broke down and flagged the (third) taxi to come by for the final bit to the ziplines. The name of this park starts with a "C", but I can't think of it. We paid 45,000 pesos for the family (about $18 USD) and hustled to make our 1:30 zipline entrance. I had to throw Reece over my shoulder since his little legs were just plumb tuckered out.
When you get to this park make sure to get your "Aventura" wrist band for entrance. It has a timeslot marked on it which is when you are allowed in for training and the course. Make sure to wear closed toed shoes. Kristen wore sandals and had to rent some nasty looking Crocs. The platforms and obstacles are super cool. Some are 30 feet in the air and 80 feet between trees. Your group starts out with instruction on how to use all the safety equipment (in Spanish). After some practice rounds they turn you loose. Clipping and unclipping was a challenge for the kids, but they got it for the most part.
We got across the first few low platforms and maybe three ziplines and were starting our ascent when the afternoon rains began. For safety the instructors pulled everyone off and we waited it out for maybe 10 minutes. The kids were super disappointed and there were a few tears. Thankfully the guides let us back out when the rain let up and we got across another zipline. Then it really started to rain. And I mean pour. Back down we came, but being soaked to the bone, the kids didn't complain this time.
Once we got back to the Adventure Park entrance we were delighted to discover that a free shuttle bus moves you between this park and the MetroCable station. It's about a 10 minute ride.
We were very happy to see the station and head home with our soggy tails tucked between our legs.
Reece won the prize and yanked the irritating tooth free along the way.
The ride home was uneventful. Just a little worn out.
As it turned out, this was our dry run to Parque Arvi. When Heather, Dave, and Zak visit we'll have a much better plan to enjoy the day and cut out the wasted hours.
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