Of course, we looked for the phone first thing today.  Find My Phone app said it was on Carrera 50, 53-54, a legitimate address here.  What could we lose?  We knew the area. We were just there yesterday.  Maybe the owner of the establishment would like a reward instead of having to deal with a locked, blocked phone.  We arrived at the address just as the place was opening only to find that the address is home to probably 50 mobile phone stores.  They are like booths in a winding hallway in a single building, one after another.  Ha!  Well, we tried.  Se la vie!

The good news is that we were exactly where we needed to be to complete the walking tour.  We hit the Basilica Candelaria, the Edificio Coltejer, Parque Bolivar, Iglesia Metropolitana, Teatro Pablo Toban Uribe, Parque Boston, Casa de la Memoria, Placita de Flores and more.

Here’s what I have to say about that.  Just yesterday, I commented to Stan that I have not seen nearly as many homeless people here in Medellin as we saw in Panama City.  We found them.

Almost as we began our walk from Carrera 50 and turned right . . . there they were.  In Parque Bolivar, they laid out asleep, passed out, wandering around and pestering people.  It was a gathering place for the homeless.  A police substation was there and get this, they made a cocaine and crack bust while we were there.   We got outta there. 

Pretty much all of the rest of the walk was a little freaky.  There were a few exceptions.  Casa de la Memoria on Boston Park is lovely, but of course, being a museum, it was closed today – we shall return another day..  Then we walked through Placita de Flores.  Oh, how I would love to be here in August when they have the Festival of Flowers.  Now, though, it is a market of fresh food items for the wholesale and retail market.  Here is where beef and pork carcasses hang for butchering.  Here is where markets and restaurants purchase their meats for the day.  It was completely fascinating.  I kept wondering . . . how many people does it take to ever consumer this much meat???

On our way back to the metro station we passed the little white church, Basilica of our Lady of Candelaria where the hookers hang out.  Yes, prostitution is legal here.  A guy with a microphone had a crowd of people around him.  I wanted to see what was what.  I’m short; Stan is tall.  He could see and said to me, just keep walking.  He’s selling porno.  That’s when I noticed the crowd was all hombres.  I did not get to see it.  Phooey!

It was easy to find the “girls;” they wore short-shorts, had big eyebrows, very rouged cheeks, and deep lip stain.   I’m sorry for them.  I did not take a photo.

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