Robert's Travel Blog

 Well, for an hour at least 😏.  20 y.o. student in Engineering Systems Venezuelan Daniel.  Fantastic, sexy, sweet.   Happy New Year to me, eggplant tears!

 Five (couldn't find any in Montevideo, otherwise boring) out of six cities.  Whose street art is best? Bogotá: Buenos Aires: São Paulo: Lima: Santiago: Medellín: Votes on a postcard to . . .

 When I say disappointment, I mean severe.  After all the great stuff by Colombian artists in the Museo de Antioquia, I was expecting more of the same from the Museo de Arte Moderno de Medellín.  (Hint: save your $9.) Nope, the permanent galleries had signs hanging from the ceiling with definitions of art terms, such as "photorealism" or "conceptual art," then somewhere in the vicinity might be an example.  But mostly instead of examples of the terms there were newspaper articles, photos and ephemera documenting the history of art exhibits in Medellín, which if you're interested would have been fascinating. I wasn't.  I took exactly one picture of the works on display, so I hope you like it.  I did! One unexpectedly odd thing about the museum is that on the 4th floor terrace they have a coca garden, documenting the various varieties in signage and living examples: Maybe the most interesting thing about the museum is the building itself: And the views, altho...

 . . . by which of course I mean Chinese! The Rappi delivery service (not just food) seems ubiquitous in the parts of LATAM I've been to.  Absolutely smooth sailing from placing the order to watching the little motorcycle driver (it's always motorcycles) icon.  When he arrived at his destination I just had to go downstairs and give them the code. Not my pic: My kung pao chicken + egg rolls came wrapped in mylar bags that certainly kept it hot!  And it wouldn't be Chinese delivery if they didn't foul something up -- I only got one eggroll instead of the promised two. But, you ask, how did it taste?  Disappointingly, not very good.  The cabbage-only eggroll was exceedingly greasy and had a weird sour taste.  The kung pao chicken was better, but tasted like yer average kung pao chicken, rather than the superior version you get at Sichuan rather than generic Chinese restaurants. Merry Xmas!

 I pretty carefully tracked my daily costs for a month to see how well I was doing.  Surely I've missed a few things, so I bumped up everything by 10%. Ciggies $79 Groceries $125 Restaurants $168 Snacks $36 ATM/Western Union Fees $38 Misc. $92 Clothes/Toiletries $59 Uber/Taxi $112 Entry Fees $54 Flight $354 So, even including the Clothes/Toiletries and the Flight, which wouldn't happen every month, that's $1107 for daily expenses.  Add on $969 for housing and that's still less than $2100, within my budget with some to spare! I was really curious as to how much I've been spending on housing and food.  Housing comes out to $32 a day.  If I'm in a place with a fridge, I eat a lot of sandwiches.  In any case, it's been a nice mix of cheap eats and foodie treats.  Oh, the number?  $329 or $11 a day! PS After 1-1/4 hours in line, I got my "personalized" transport card.  I feel special!

The Museum of Antioquia houses a large collection of Fernando Botero works, as well as a bunch of European works donated by Botero, and a large collection of Colombian art. It was a bit pricey ($12) but well worth it.  Way too much Botero, but much of the Colombian Modernist stuff, which of course I didn't know, was excellent.  Of all the modern art museums I've been to on my travels, this is my fave. It's housed in the former Municipal Palace, in a nice Art Deco stylee. Max Ernst, "Bottle Man" (undated): "Double Grey Scramble" (1973) by Frank Stella: You aren't allowed to take pictures in the Botero collection, but I surreptitiously snapped one. Rogelio Polesello (Argentina). Acrylic art, you couldn't get more wonderfully 70s. This one was cool - seemingly at random, little lights flash and it makes weird little noises.  I claim my right to be a monster!  

  Back to downtown, the city center.  Absolutely chock-a-block madness as usual. This is the Rafael Uribe Palace of Culture, done in a crazy Gothic Revival style. You're almost certainly familiar with Fernando Botero's work -- he's the "fat people (and animals)" guy.  He's Colombian, and there's an entire park downtown dedicated to his work. No, I didn't follow tradition and rub her tit for luck.

  #1: If you've had Peruvian chicken, you know how good it is! The chicken was tender and juicy, the fries pretty good. ($7.80 with an Inca Kola) #2: My splurge so far was Tanta, a mid-range restaurant: My first Pisco Sour!  I liked it, but the strong alcohol taste put me a bit off.  I think my body has developed a dislike for strong liquor. From left to right: giant corn with ocopa sauce (delicious), chicken with green rice (delicious), potatoes with huancaína sauce (delicious), fried banana (okay).  The chicken was even better than the previous one.  This was a great meal, definitely the best of my travels.  Also the priciest (so far):  $13.50 for the food, $9.40 for the pisco sour,  $3 for a bottle of water.  Still, given the quality of the food, a bargain. #3: I went to Quinta 91, which is a little odd -- it's like a smallish food court with multiple restaurants, but you order at the table.  My first 'causa', which is basically mashe...