Forbidding No More S2 极境之旅 S2 EP8 | Colombia Part 1 - Medellin

Forbidding No More S2 极境之旅 S2 EP8 | Colombia Part 1 - Medellin

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The forbidding not only refers to the destination itself, but it also includes everything you encounter in your journey Let's enter an ancient city together, and explore one of the New Seven Wonders of the World Riding a donkey up the hill Get up close and personal with wild animals here! Look, elephants! The people here use movement... to interact with the picturesque scenery Follow the cheers of the locals... and appreciate the football spirit here! Goal! This is known as "Killer Lake"...

and it's a great place to fish Follow us Let's take a trip together Forbidding No More ! Forbidding No More host, Alberto, sets off once more Where is he headed this time? Colombia is situated in the northwestern part of South America The native American Hispanics and African migrants have settled here, forming a rich and diverse culture Colombia is an important travel destination in Latin America It's known all over the world for guns, drugs, literary giants and Miss Universe Colombia fills travellers with both awe and curiosity Medellin, Colombia's second-largest city, is as popular as the capital, Bogota Medellin lies in a beautiful, fertile valley with great geographical advantages Located in the centre of Colombia, the city seems to be in spring all year round In the 1990s, Medellin was one of the largest producers and traffickers of cocaine in the world It was named the most dangerous city in the world, a Colombian city most notorious for its crime In recent years, it's done a complete 180... and became one of the most innovative and liveable cities in the world This is also Alberto's first stop in his exploration trip around Colombia Medellin has become a large and gleaming city, praised all over the world for its impeccable metro system How did the Medellin Metro... rejuvenate this formerly crime-ridden city? Today, let's have an expert on Medellin, Julio, tell us I'm here to experience the metro system that you have Absolutely Medellin's transformation is inseparable...

from the public transport system that the locals take pride in Medellin houses Colombia's first and only metro system to date It comprises trams, the subway and cable cars I got a card for you Thank you We have something very cool over here It's a top-up recycling machine So, you bring your bottles and throw them in, and it'll give you credit to ride the metro, the tram or any of the metro systems Medellin has a recycling system All you need to do is bring empty bottles and you can top up your transport card That's very intelligent, smart and eco-friendly Medellin's metro system started operations in 1995 Each year, it sees 155 million riders It's hard to imagine that the transport system in Medellin... is so advanced Medellin, more than any other city, needs a metro system, because we are 2.5 million people just in the city If we count the whole metro area, there are four million people benefiting from this system Medellin has the coolest cable car system in the world Why is that so? Because it's this very transport system... that rescued the city from the abyss of drugs and crime Using six cable car lines, the city made the bold move...

to connect the slums bordering the edge of the city to the centre of the valley Wow, what a view Yeah, the view is amazing But you know what's even more important? This solved a big problem that Medellin had What is that? Medellin is a city on the mountains, so transport has always been an issue The cable cars were designed not for leisure travels, but to allow the locals to commute It was also an important move that directly transformed Medellin Taking the cable car is an interesting experience, because you can see the whole of Medellin, all the houses packed tightly together that cover the slope It's difficult to imagine how they travelled before the cable cars How did they get up and down the mountains? What do you think are the changes that the cable brought... to the Medellin people? Well, actually, the changes have been tremendous in terms of time and money In the past, people needed one and a half hours to commute, and the fare would cost about US$3 Today, with the metro system, 350,000 people take the cable car daily, and they only need one metro ticket... to quickly get from the mountainous outskirts to the city centre It takes 45 minutes and they barely spend USD1.20 The metro system in Medellin is a source of pride The metro system breathed new life into this city 75 percent of Medellin's population lives in the slums untouched by urban planning The poorer live higher and further up I grew up right here With Medellin expert Julio by his side, the cable car brought Alberto to Comuna 13, once known as the city's most violent slum This is a very important place It's Comuna 13, a very special place for me This is the area Julio grew up in, and now he's showing me around Let's go Let's go, I'll show you my house All right, yeah! -Let's go! Comuna 13 is situated near major highways It was once territory that drug lords fought over, and it has always been controlled by gangs and guerrillas In the 1990s, it was once labelled "the most dangerous neighbourhood" Those who lived here had to endure ceaseless violence and war In the 1990s, when drug lords and gangs fought violently, the cleaners would stumble upon bodies every morning Julio once witnessed a death with his own eyes It was to the point where I saw a girl lying on the floor She was dead She was there overnight -No! And then I would just step over and continue on my way to university No, you didn't That's how bad it was Oh my gosh, I can't imagine how you used to live like that Following the dissolution of drug lords and gang powers, Medellin welcomed an immense change in the name of city development The transformation from the city of crime to the city of hope had begun It's really tiring climbing these stairs What a long flight of stairs It's hard to imagine... that the elderly had to take such a tiring route home back then Are we there? Almost there Oh my gosh -Keep it up I can't Come on! Let's do it We're there, we made it Where? There, that's the escalator Oh, there it is Very quickly, Comuna 13's pioneering invention... appeared before Alberto's eyes Since it's a valley, Medellin became the first city in the world...

to include cable cars and outdoor escalators as part of their mass rapid transit system This mode of transport was effective in solving their transportation issues How long is the escalator? We have six different sections, and it saves a total of 300 steps This outdoor escalator is 500 metres long After it was installed, the 35-minute travel time was greatly reduced to just six minutes This allowed the old and infirm greater ease of access Patients who needed immediate medical attention... could now get help quickly The escalator was not built for sightseeing purposes They never expected that it would attract so many tourists The escalator and the graffiti all around brought tourism, which has moved the economy in a different direction, and that has helped the community a lot Another feature of Comuna 13 is the ubiquitous graffiti The locals have turned this into a trendy and hip art district I brought him from Singapore to my house You already know how it is Go to Singapore! Singapore! Today, Comuna 13 is filled with graffiti, people and music Drawing on its unique historical background, the Comuna 13 slums have created several graffiti artists of international acclaim I think you should go meet Chota He's a friend of mine, and he's one of the rock stars of graffiti in this area Great, I'm so into arts Lovely, so that's something you should do Why is a notorious drug lord who murdered indiscriminately... still respected in the community to this day? The unique metro system in Medellin, Colombia, connected the fragmented pieces of this society, allowing the children from the slums... access to all the world has to offer Chota is a legendary figure in Comuna 13 With his unique mural and graffiti style, he's become a rock star in the art world, known far and wide Thanks to his relationship with Medellin expert Julio, Alberto is very fortunate to be able to visit Chota, the one behind these works, and create something with him Chota draws inspiration from gazes He thinks you can see someone's soul from their gaze We're here to paint that today I'm a novice I'm first going to learn from Chota how to draw with spray paint Chota grew up in the most violent slum Bloody conflicts and deaths were a common sight for him In the end, he chose to wield spray paint instead of weapons, breaking the curse of drugs and gangs, planting the seeds of urban art for the booming tourism industry The main message is to tell the world that it is possible, that dreams can begin here, and that dreams can be exported and proven That dreams can be dreamt It hasn't even been five minutes... but he has already finished this very lifelike eye Since 2008, Chota created art extensively to escape from his morbid reality Among his creations, those with the eyes as the theme...

were immensely popular and became his signature The eyes reflect something very beautiful The look, for me, speaks and describes a person's feelings and thoughts... without ever needing to hear the voice It's my turn to attempt it now That's a nice eyelash It's going to be an eye looking up That's a great perspective This is hideous! When I tell you it's going to be a nice eye... Yes? -Yeah I am convinced it'll be a nice eye Chota boosted my confidence He says it'll definitely turn out good Okay Artists have a sort of positivity to them I see a sort of change in all of them, and the feeling of having grown up in despair, then finding hope amidst that despair It's all really moving to me It's perfect It's beautiful! Under Chota's meticulous guidance, Alberto completed a piece of graffiti that depicted the window to one's soul This is the piece I completed today Now, I'm going to sign on it This is Medellin, hometown to Pablo Escobar, once the biggest drug lord in the world This used to be a city of drugs I can't possibly be here without growing curious about Pablo Escobar's life In 1993, Pablo Escobar was shot down by the government But many locals still revere him as a hero Why is that so? What is this area about? That is a place called Barrio Pablo Escobar or Pablo Escobar neighbourhood, because it's a neighbourhood that Pablo Escobar created... for the low-income community What kind of person was Pablo Escobar? He had wealth that could rival nations... and had his own army He was the biggest drug lord whose name struck fear in others At his peak, the drug empire he single-handedly built...

controlled 80 percent of cocaine trade in America... and he was once the seventh richest man in the world In the late 1980s, there was a huge income gap... between the rich and the poor in Medellin A lot of poor people lived in the slums, surrounded by rubbish Pablo Escobar launched the Medellin Without Slums programme... and built thousands of homes for the poor Moravia, where the Pablo Escobar neighbourhood is, was created under this historical context Original houses like this... had just one floor, a door and maybe two rooms That's it And he gave them for free? For free, yes Many said that Escobar was just making himself look like Colombia's Robin Hood...

because he was running in the elections How many neighbourhoods did Pablo Escobar create? He created only one There are no free lunches in the world after all Having accepted his generosity, the residents had to also allow... the Medellin Cartel to do as they please in the neighbourhood... and turn it into a base camp for their crimes Nonetheless, the people here remained grateful to Escobar In the Pablo Escobar neighbourhood, his likeness and the details of his life... are painted on the walls in the streets, the alleys and the homes There's even a small plaza that commemorates Escobar Residents and tourists alike are free to commemorate him or take pictures Many stores are also named after him The locals call him "El Patron" It means "the boss" It goes to show that Escobar lives on in the hearts of many here Today we are here where the Monaco building used to be This used to be Pablo Escobar's home They demolished it in 2019 It's now a memorial park The decade where drug cartels plagued Colombia... was the most violent and bloody period in Columbia's history This wall details all the bombings that happened during Escobar's drug reign It's difficult to imagine that so many bombings took place There are two greatly contradicting points Some people heralded him as a hero, while others treated him as a murderer In 1989, Escobar was directly involved in planning 300 terrorist bombings One, two, three, four, five, six, seven There were eight bombings in one day Wow All of these were known to have been made by Pablo's own hands It sounds really heartbreaking To think one person can wield so much power and commit something so cruel The most important part of this timeline is to tell the people... a little bit about how it was to live during those times in Colombia This is actually pretty recent We can see up to 1990 This corridor is too long It's so sad to see this The world is split into two camps He was not a hero, he was a big criminal He might have helped 3,000 people, but he killed more than 47,000 Wow! What is this? Off we go! Pablo Escobar, the most audacious drug lord in history, used drugs and weapons to control the world He also triggered the darkest and most bloody period in Colombian history And here is the other part of the history Why are there so many holes on these walls? Are they bullet holes? No, my friend These 47,000 holes represent all of the lives of people...

who died in the war against Pablo Escobar Every one of these holes represent an innocent life that was sacrificed There are many whose names we don't know, so they're here on this wall There are about 47,000 holes, in commemoration of them The importance of this tour is to understand the history of Pablo We don't want to show him as a hero We want to show the real killer that he was On 2 December 1993, Pablo Escobar was killed, and the life of one of the most notorious drug lords of this era came to an end This memorial park makes one feel heavy, shocked and heartbroken The guide told me that Colombia has no history lessons For a country to have no history lessons... makes this memorial park all the more important, because it reminds people and tourists alike not to repeat the same mistakes History can be forgiven, but not forgotten I'm here at Medellin's largest market Colombia is the country with the second most types of fruits Today, I'll be following fruit expert German... around the market to look for exotic fruits Are you ready to explore the market? Of course I am! Let's do it! -Let's go Colombia is a tropical country with the most rainfall in the world It produces a large variety of fruits... due to the wide range of altitude across the country How many fruits can we find in Colombia? In a market like this, you can find around 40 But in the whole country, there are more than... 365 different varieties of edible fruit It's these exotic fruits that make Colombia...

a very attractive tourist spot for international tourists I'd like them to come here and experience Colombia... through the fruits, the colour and diversity Good, right? Good This is the sweet passion fruit German is a very bubbly and interesting person He took me to try all sorts of uncommon fruits So, the first fruit we're going to try today is a very Colombian fruit Wow! The naranjilla, also known as the lulo, is a Colombian speciality It looks like an orange, and it's used to make juice and desserts It's very popular in Colombia It's extremely sour It's like eating jelly A lemon-flavoured one, the ones that are really concentrated It's super sour It is very sour Pitahaya, or dragon fruit German says that Colombia's yellow dragon fruit is the sweetest in the world Let's see how it tastes Look at the flesh It looks so bouncy This is the sweetest dragon fruit I've ever had It's yummy! It's the best This is really delicious! Colombia has such a wide variety of exotic fruits Are they expensive? It depends No, honestly, in Colombia, most fruits tend to be cheap For a fruit like this, you'll pay around US$0.70 A fruit like this for US$0.70? That's really cheap This is a fruit paradise! This fruit is probably one of the strangest ones on the market This strange-looking thing is called an algarroba It has a tough shell and doesn't look like fruit at all To try this one, we need a special tool We need a hammer to eat this Algarrobas have a really interesting name in Colombia They're called "smelly feet" What is this? Smell it It has a weird smell Like smelly feet I don't know how to describe it It does smell a little like smelly feet We normally don't eat it like this I don't like this This is my least favourite fruit My least favourite This is last place I need water Thank you very much for introducing this very exotic fruit I will never see you again This fruit smells very distinctly of oil This is a hugely popular fruit in Colombia, the chontaduro This one actually has been boiled It's cooked You cannot eat it raw because it's extremely hard With some salt...

Salt? Salt with honey This is how the locals eat it All right, let me try it now The salt accentuates the flavour of the fruit It makes it sweeter and more fragrant This is good I think this is my number one now I told you I found my number one This is it Aside from being affordable, the guide also mentioned... that the chontaduro has a special and amazing use In Colombia, this fruit is known as a natural aphrodisiac This fruit is really good for men Okay, let me have some more Following German on this fruit experience of a trip was really interesting I felt like I was treasure hunting And who knows? I might reap some unexpected rewards Guatape sits about 80 kilometres northeast of Medellin It's a beautiful Colombian town that boasts stunning views The Rock of Guatape, which stands tall by the lake, is hailed as the most unique landmark in the world Each year, it draws millions of tourists to see it Aside from that, Guatape also has a stunning lake filled with little islands Though in actual fact, it's a reservoir Today, we'll be taking a trip across this lake We'll try a different way of experiencing and admiring... the beauty of Guatape's natural scenery Let's go -Okay Life vest Come with us as we ride the waves! Let's go! It's a great day to be out in the waters The weather is amazing Sailing the lake is one of the best ways of experiencing Guatape Crystal-clear waters and endless blue skies This is the view you'll see at Guatape! Let me help you Thank you -Okay We're here on a deserted island They say that people camp here This view is stunning This man-made reservoir...

was created via the construction of a hydroelectric dam in the 1970s According to the plan, the Guatape dam was completed in two phases, and it created a lake that is about 74 square kilometres The dam was constructed to generate electricity, and it is currently sold to five different countries I see To Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia and Venezuela Initially, the government had to flood two towns to complete the plan This included Guatape and its centre After the reservoir was built, it changed the fate of the two towns and its residents The man-made lake became a water sports hub, which has made significant contributions to the tourist economy This is a fantastical island There are many tourist sights here In this area, people earning a living from tourism Guatape is a touristy town They all have boats Some work on boats, some are fishermen All of this transformed the town Wow, this is stunning It's a little like the Qiandao Lake It feels great to bask in nature Returning to nature's embrace is real blessing The tour around the lake ends with an exciting Easter egg What could it be? To those of you watching Forbidding No More , come ride the waves with me! You are crazy! That's 400 steps There's 200 more to go You can do this, Alberto! What is this? This is the sweetest dragon fruit I've ever had Let's go! We're here at a deserted island The view is stunning Forbidding No More host Alberto sits behind a local on his motorcycle... as they head on a 30-minute journey in Guatape, to a mysterious realm that seems to exist apart from the world This is the La Cazuela lagoon Many locals come here to frolic in the waters Standing beside me is Pedro I'm very thankful that he invited me to his hometown... to experience how the locals live This lagoon isn't big Aside from the stunning view, it also has an adorable name This is the place, Alberto The pool has the shape of a casserole That is why it is called "La Cazuela" See how the waterfall looks a little like a handle, and the lagoon is round, so it's like a casserole This lagoon is quite popular among the locals Whether on weekdays or weekends, it attracts locals and tourists alike... to frolic in the waters and bask in nature It is an ideal place to have fun and enjoy a good time with family They are having fun! Pedro says that the peaceful view before our eyes now did not come easy There was once a civil war in this area The violent conflicts forced him and his family to flee to Medellin Four years ago, Pedro finally returned to his hometown with his family... where they've since lived in peace What is the difference between life in Medellin and here? It's completely different Here, as you can see, looks like paradise It is very pleasant Life in the city is always stressful It is easier to live here than in the city He will jump from there! You are crazy! Life here is just so pleasant Moving to a place where everyone wants to vacation at, just as Pedro shared earlier, is a brilliant choice Very good It is our turn now! Let's go! Being able to return to nature's embrace, to freely interact with others, to breathe without needing to wear a mask These are all very precious things to me La Cazuela is undoubtedly the ideal spot to relax and spend your summer Alberto takes the auto rickshaw and hurries to his next date with Guatape Here, thank you very much Good, my pleasure See you later Hello, Beatriz Hi, how are you? -I'm Alberto She's my tour guide for half the day, and she'll be taking us shopping around Guatape town Guatape used to be a farming village Since the 1970s, it's become the main source of power in central Colombia Everywhere in this town, there are traditional decorations...

and buildings painted with vibrant colours It makes the town seem extra eye-catching Wow, it's so pretty Do you see the colourful houses here? Many say that this place... is straight out of a fairy tale Beatriz, why are the streets so colourful? Guatape needed to boost its economy Therefore they decided to paint the streets... and install zocalos to make it more attractive... so that people come to visit us Turns out, they wanted to boost their tourism economy, so they painted this town in vibrant colours to attract tourists Another huge attraction are the zocalos, which refer to the lower half of the wall of a house, specifically the colourful three-dimensional friezes The first one appeared around a century ago It's said that these friezes were designed to prevent floods There's that three-dimensional effect They painted these to represent the daily lives and faiths the locals had It's like that one, right? -Yes Let's look at this one It looks simpler But the colours are all very vibrant Are these all cement? Yes, all cement These are all made from cement Is it hard to do? There are only nine people in Guatape who are capable of making these friezes No! -Yes Under the craftsmen hands, Guatape's three-dimensional friezes... become more intricate and exquisite every year It turns this vacation town in the Andes into a spot tourists must visit This plaza that's surrounded by vibrant colours is one of Guatape's landmarks It's a hugely popular photo spot Cultural activities are hosted in this plaza Let me sing a song I'm here in Guatape I'm here at the plaza in Zocalos This place is really vibrant! And the applause? I love that people visit Guatape Guatape is not just brightly painted homes with friezes on the walls Guatape is a town filled with interesting people, happenings and sights, waiting for us to uncover and experience This is the Rock of Guatape that pushed the town to fame The z-shaped stairs in the centre look like a zip or shoelaces, don't they? It has a total of 659 steps, but will the view on top be worth the climb? Let me tell you after I get there The Rock of Guatape stands 220 metres tall Towering and magnificent, it is the most prominent landmark in Guatape According to geologists, the Rock of Guatape has a history of close to 6,500 years In the 1940s, the Colombian government discovered its tourism potential, and declared the rock a national attraction People first started climbing up the rock in 1954 The zipper-like stairway was mounted into the crevices of the giant rock Just the mere sight of it is enough to make your adrenaline spike Tourists have termed this the steepest staircase in the world Are you up to the challenge? It's really high up From afar, it looked quite small, so I thought it was doable But the closer I got, the taller it seemed I started having second thoughts about climbing all the way up 400 down, 200 more to go You can do this, Alberto! I've already climbed about 500 steps, and the view from here is already quite stunning I wonder what view awaits me at the top Let's go! I'm finally at the top! I'm at the viewing platform on the rock now Up here, we basically have a 360-degree view of the surroundings The view from the viewing platform is wide and unobstructed You can see the "thousand-island lake" in one glance The colour of the strangely shaped islands in the lake, the lake water and the isles... make for a brilliant juxtaposition that takes your breath away Climbing 659 steps up to this viewing platform was really worth it It wasn't tiring at all This is one of the most stunning views I've ever seen There's a rainbow! There are so many lakes and isles gathered here This isn't a view that you'll get to see just anywhere Plus, there are so many people who will be appreciating this with you It's truly a special feeling Hello, Singapore! Greetings from Guatape! If you ever come to Guatape, don't let the height of this rock scare you You must climb up and take a commemorative shot here Experience the magic of Guatape from up here You won't regret it I'm going to try one last thing here at Guatape And that is...

paragliding! Just saying it is making my legs tremble Come paragliding with me! Put on the helmet If you visit Guatape, you can't miss out... on a paragliding experience that will make your heart race! Are we ready? We will run fast towards the front Okay People coming here for paragliding can expect a wonderful adventure, because it's 50 metres high, so we can see the dam, the rock, and all the nature surrounding Guatape All right, run Let's go! Run... To think you can take in... the sights of Guatape as you paraglide It was truly an unforgettable experience! Flying in the sky is so freeing I felt like a leaf floating in the wind as we circled down I enjoyed the whole experience thoroughly As the paraglide flew further and further, Alberto's journey in Medellin and Guatape, Colombia, comes to a fulfilling end This is the main event! No! Look at it Why do I have to experience this? Subtitles: CaptionCube

2023-02-27 17:43

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