Bonus adventure: Pablo Escobar

                     Bonus adventure: Pablo Escobar 

I mentioned Pablo before during the Comuna 13 tour.

But I couldn't leave it at that yet, as my fascination for Pablo's persona is strong, I need to share some of it - today I’m talking Pablo Escobar, or in Spanish - Hablo Escobar! 

So, first step, get my sweaty bum to Pablo's former ranch Hacienda Napoles, find a guy who knows more about Pablo than he could potentially tell me in a day and keep the camera rolling. Check! 

Second step, don't fall asleep. They would call that Narco-lepsy... 😜 

Ok, enough of that! This place used to be wild, and I mean full of wild people and animals. Pablo acquired 20 sqkm/5000 acres of land from a number of farmers, in an honest manner from those who agreed to sell for a good price, or the typical "plata-or-plomo" style for those who resisted. 

With over 500 exotic animals that were housed here, this place wasn't just Pablo's party estate, place of business, and personal refuge, it also operated as a zoo, open and free to the public of Colombia. 

These guys created their own history in Colombia after the Pablo era. Where most animals died after his death, the Hippos escaped and settled in the Magdalena river. Around 200 are still alive and free today. 

With it's own air strip for helicopters and planes, swimming pools, race tracks, dinosaur sculpture garden, bull fighting arena, and Pablo's private collections of classic cars and motorbikes, the place was heaven on earth for all those who called Pablo their amigo. 

The notoriously short airstrip that only the best pilots could fly (especially with all that precious cargo on board)!

     The bullfighting arena - musicians from all over the world came to play here, when there was no blood shed. 

Some of the leaders of the Medellin cartel in their Heydays. The only one alive today still is Carlos Lehder, the german. He lives in Pereira. 

Pablo was known as Mr. Two-Face in Colombia. There was the Pablo that helped transform Medellin into a thriving metropolis, adding soccer stadiums, malls, apartment and business complexes, hospitals, parks, rec centers, and approx 30k trees. He also developed housing for the poor and gifted around 525 units to those in need. 

Now all that money had to have come from somewhere. That cashcow was called the Medellin cartel, which employed around 3/4 million people in its prime, and which at the time was probably the biggest private enterprise in the world. It's all seeing eye at the tip of the pyramid, Pablo Escobar, the biggest and richest Narco Gangster of all time.

Now you don't just get to Pablo status by playing Mr. Nice Guy. After 1985, he developed a dark side driven by anger, paranoia, and revenge. After getting kicked out of the Colombian Congress and having his US Visa status revoked, he orchestrated the first bombing in Medellin against the US embassy. Things only went south from there, and quickly. No more philanthropy, no more charity. In the next 8 years, a minimum of 46.000 lives were taken on Escobar's count. Some of them innocent people, through terrorist attacks. 

I've been hearing the opinion that if Congress had let Escobar run for president (which he started) he would have become president as he was extremely popular around that time. It is said that all the bloodshed could have been avoided this way. Obviously this is one of those "hätte-hätte-Fahrradkette" moments, but I thought it was interesting to hear from locals.

One of the vehicles used for the 500+ domestic bombings in Colombia in the 80s and 90s. 

An era of fear and hopelessness in Colombia came to an end on this roof in 1993. The picture I'm holding up shows the special police unit "Search Bloc" victorious over Escobar.

And as if it wasn't already a special day for me, I ran into Escobar's grand nephew and SISTER at one of the museums about his life. I couldn't believe how much the junior looked like Pablo!!

This felt extra special that day having just learned that some of his family left Colombia to never return after 1993. 

One thing I cannot get over is how they talked about Pablo being a family man, coming home to his loved ones, sitting down with them and demanding head scrubs and foot massages. 

Nowadays, Pablo, some of his family and his last body guard, “Lemon,” lay right here in Medellin. The graves are still cared for every day with fresh flowers. 

An estimated 25.000 people attended his funeral.