All the way south

One day, I'd love to do a big trip dedicated to soccer. I'd start in Europe, going to some games (including seeing Manchester United of course) in England, then maybe go see a big game in Portugal, Spain, Italy, Germany...then on to lesser-known leagues in central and eastern Europe. And then? Well, the only real destination after that is South America, and besides Boca vs River Plate, catching a big game in Columbia would also be on my fantasy iteneary. I could barely hide my glee then, when I decided in the airport before my Thursday flight to Cartagena to check if there was any games on in Medellín that weeked, and learning that it was only the El Clásico, the Medellín derby, on Saturday. Atletico Nacional versus Independiente Medellín. Not long after landing, I quickly acquired tickets to the game. Fuck yes. The excitement I felt the day before the game was not matched on the morning of, mostly due to a bastard of a hangover having been out until 5 am on pub crawl shena...

Irish people like to think that we can spot other Irish when we're abroad just by looking at them (which is true, we can). I think after living two years in the Netherlands, I can now do the same for the Dutch. I've been using this skill a lot in Colombia, because there's a whole lotta Dutch here. I shared a taxi from the airport to the centre of Medellín with two meneers from Amsterdam and The Hague. Yet another night time approach to a new place, but this one was the best yet. Medellín is located both in a valley surrounded by hills, and on the sides of the hills themselves. The airport is outside this urban basin, and the area where I was staying (Poblado, where most of the hostels and nice restaurants/bars are) is located on a mountainside south of the centre. When I got to my hostel rooftop the view was incredible. I spent five minutes with a beer in hand just drinking it all in (along with Martin, my dorm roommate - Dutch of course). A really nice, modern hoste...