I woke up to the sun shining thru my window.Always a good start to the day especially my first day in Medellin.I meet my first Brit.A girl from Bristol.She is in my room.She seems nice as she tells me she is on the last few weeks of her journey of south America.I decide to go out and get a feel for the city.The weather is hot.Not hot like Spain in the summer,a nice hot.Like a warm May day back home.Straight away this feels and looks different than Bogota.I jump on the metro that runs thru the city.Everything seems cleaner and new compared to Bogota.I am the only Gringo on the metro and I catch a few people staring at me.This is a regular occurrence.They don't stare in a nasty way,just out of curiosity.My pink skin and blue eyes is a novelty out here,and I am a lot taller than most of them.The Colombians are a small race and they all have dark hair and brown eyes.They are a mixture of indigenous people and Europeans.There are very few black people,most of them are up north on the coast,where the weather is excessively hot.I get off at Poblado station and decide to walk around.This is nice.Really nice.Lots of bars and restaurants.Little boutiques and nice hotels.I don't need to see the fancy cars to tell me theres money in this area.The nice weather makes it even better.I walk some more and come across a Hooters Bar,and its showing the Man U game live.I look at my watch and its half one local time.Must be the half 5 game back home.I decide to treat myself to a few beers and watch the game.I haven't seen any football since I left the UK.To say the Colombian girls serving me were beautiful was an understatement.This beer is not gonna be cheap I guess.I scan the menu.Its only 5500 pesos (£1.80)for a bottle of beer.Very cheap considering the service.I order some food and I am starting to like this city already.I head back to the hostel after the game.The yank who owns the hostel tells me he is going out with a few friends tonight and do I wanna go.Yes.We meet in the hostel bar around 8 and the Bristol girl is there with a German guy from the hostel.Everyone is friendly and I can tell the Yank is up for a good time.A few of his yank friends turn up who live in Medellin.Then 4 or 5 Colombian girls turn up that he knows.One of them is the Salsa teacher at the hostel.The yank tells me we are going to a locals bar.No gringos and no techno shit music.I start knocking back the beers.I know how it works out here now and I ain't getting caught doing salsa sober.We jump in taxis and head downtown.The yank tells me not to walk about here on my own.One of his yank friends is Colombian but spent most of his life in America so hes got the American accent.The yank speaks perfect Spanish so he organises a table in the club.The customary giant bottle of rum is ordered for everyone to share.This is no fancy night club.Its plastic chairs and cheap tables but its packed with locals and the dance floor is full.We are not in there 5 minutes and I am being ordered to the dance floor.Ive had a few so I am up for it.The night gets messy.The rum is flowing.I go to the toilet and a Colombian guy is trying to give me some coke.He is off his face.He is pulling all sorts of faces.I tell him No Gracia's but he insists and pulls out his bag of coke.Theres more than a few grams in there.This could be awkward.I tell him No Gracia's and leave.I think he is to wasted to take offence and head back to the group.Its gone 2am and the Yank is up for going somewhere else.We head outside to get taxis.Theres a lot of people hanging about.Women in tight jeans and trainers.Lots of make up and big hair.Men in tight jeans and trainers with mullet haircuts.Strange place.We jump in taxis and head off to the next place.This is ten minutes away and we are up the mountain.The Yank tells me he hasn't been here but he has heard its good.That's not what I wanna hear.Anywhere up the mountain is dodgy according to my guide book.We all turn up and this looks like a giant wooden cabin.We go in and the place is packed.Not a gringo in sight.Theres people dancing everywhere,on the tables ,on the bar.More rum is ordered.The salsa teacher is giving me some free lessons but she has got her work cut out.I am making up some new salsa moves.This place is wild.No one drinks beer everyone is on the rum or tequila.The music turns to reggaeton for the last hour,its music derived from hip hop with a Caribbean and Latin influence. Its basically sex with your clothes on.They love it out here.There is some serious bumping and grinding on the dance floor.We pile outside and the Yank is kissing one of the Colombian girls.Chicks as he calls them.Its 5am and I am up a mountain in Medellin.I don't know where we are.There are a few shifty characters about but thats normal out here.The yank finds me and we grab a cab.Theres no shit like this in the guidebook says the yank.Not the one Ive been reading.
In the words of Marliyn Manson "Follow the crowd and a crowd will never follow you "
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