People watching in Sabaneta, Medellin

I am sitting outside a bar in Sabaneta, a small and developing community just beyond the city of Medellin but within its boundaries. It is Saturday afternoon, people are drinking, eating and passing by. I am on my second beer, one Club Colombia Roja and the second I haven't tried before called Costeña, each accompanied by bowl of salty free popcorn, called here crispetas. I have also eaten a plastic bag fully of slightly unripe mango laced with salt and vinigaret. People are drinking a wide variety of beverages including Coca Colas, tequila and beer. There is bottle service for rum and aguardiente, half a bottle in an ice bucket costing about £10. This is Colombia and it is the weekend, for some this can mean fairly hard drinking but generally people here just seem to chatting with families and friends and taking the edge off. 

There is much to take in. Pavement culture and people watching abide and even in the early evening, at an altitude of more than 5000 feet, it is nevertheless pleasant to be sitting out without a jacket. The music is predominantly male crooners, songs of romance with some Mark Anthony thrown in. Near me there is a man selling balloons and another passing through with several fists full of campecino hats. A young man just tried to sell me a lottery ticket and realising I was English proceeded to practise his english by asking me what I thought about our position on the Falkland islands - hmmmm.... Bachata music has just started up and all  is well here,  just another rather pleasant afternoon proving, if I didn't know it already, that quiet uncomplicated enjoyment is readily available here in Medellin Colombia.