Who hasn't heard about Pablo Escobar? He was increadibly famous in the '80 and in the '90 and his "popularity" had a big comeback after Netflix series Narcos a few years ago.
In Colombia there are 4 "places of pilgrimage" in Pablo related tourism: Hacienda Napoles, la Catedral, the place were Escobar was killed and his tomb.
Hacienda Napoles is a luxurious estate Pablo built in Puerto Triunfo, Antioquia Department, 150 km east of Medellin.
The estate included a Spanish colonial house, a sculpture park, and a complete zoo that included many kinds of animals from different continents such as antelope, elephants, exotic birds, giraffes, hippopotamuses, ostriches, and ponies. The ranch also boasted a large collection of old and luxury cars and bikes, a private airport, a bullring, and even a kart-racing track. Mounted atop the hacienda's entrance gate is a replica of the Piper PA-18 Super Cub airplane.
After Escobar death, the estate was confiscted and most animals were donated to zoos, with the exception of hippopotamuses, that escaped and became ferals.
I never visited Hacienda Napoles, but I was able to visit La Catedral.
La Catedral was a personal prison overlooking the city of Medellín, in Colombia. The prison was built to specifications ordered by Medellín Cartel leader Pablo Escobar, under a 1991 agreement with the Colombian government in which Escobar would surrender to authorities and serve a maximum term of five full years and the Colombian government would not extradite him to the United States.
In addition to the facility being built to Escobar's specifications, Escobar was also given the right to choose who would guard him and it was believed he chose guards loyal only to him.
La Catedral featured a football pitch, giant doll house, bar, jacuzzi and waterfall. Escobar also had a telescope installed that allowed him to look down onto the city of Medellín to his daughter's residence while talking on the phone with her.
La Catedral remained deserted for several years. In 2007, a group of Benedictine monks from the Benedictina Fraternidad Monastica Santa Gertrudis arrived at the site and transformed it. The monks came there because it is a great place for meditating and away from the city. They built a chapel, a library, a cafeteria, a guest-house for religious pilgrimages, workshops and a memorial to victims of the cartel in the prison.
Reaching La Catedral was an adventure in itself: we (I was with a friend) took a bus and the driver had told us we eould have to walk some 10 minutes uphill. After half an our walking, we asked for information a couple of guys that were standing on the roadside and they told us the place was several km far. They gave us a motorbike ride until the top, where La Catedral is. We came back to the bus stop walking: downhill was easy!!
I wasn't able to find the place where Pablo was shot: I was nearby but the exact location escaped me.
Finally, I visited Escobar tomb.
Escobar used to say that I preferred a tomb in Colombia than a jail in the USA: be careful with what you ask for...
Anyway, he had a songwriter make a song about that: Prefiero una tumba en Colombia (I prefere a tomb in Colombia) I uploaded it on 3speak but I wasn't able to post the link here.
That's all for now, I hope you will enjoy.
