Downtown Medellin, Colombia is where you will find the Botero Plaza with those wonderful eponymous, enormous statues, a major tourist attraction during the day. But in the evening the streets return to the locals.

My hostel, however, was only two blocks away so I took this opportunity to walk around. I was the only foreigner in sight.

The atmosphere was lively.  Just beyond the plaza there were street vendors hawking fruits, vegetables, clothing, toys, and household goods  along  a pedestrian mall with shops on each side. The residents were bargaining and strolling: families, couples, teens.

I was thirsty and bought a papaya drink. It was quite large, too large,  and with the cup -half empty- I threw it in a trash can.

Within seconds, the drink was snatched up by a thin young man who clearly lived on the streets. The color of his clothing was indistinguishable from the color of his skin.  Dirt was so deeply embedded into both.

He quickly took a sip from this cup -half full- said one word, “papaya”, gave me the biggest smile and, cup in hand, continued on his way.