Estadio (Stadium)

This whole week here in Colombia is a holiday called Santa Semana (Holy Week), so almost everyone has time off. Unfortunately this means all of the stores are closed. In the United States, it's the same feeling as Thanksgiving or Christmas/New Years time when stores close down for a day or two and you have to find something to do with yourself for a little while. Well there is a stop along the Metro here that we always pass by but never visit, and this was the perfect time to do it! The station is called Estadio, or Stadium in English.

It was built in 1953, and has been host to the World Cup soccer, and the 2012 South American games. There is a lot to do around here if you like to exercise, grab something to eat, or watch sports.

View Estadio in a larger map

Metro station marker

Here's the Stadium! There is a nice jogging/cycling track around the outside. 

View of the Estadio area from the metro station. We love the architecture!

This is one of the first sights you see when you walk into the Stadium complex.

There are plenty of vendors walking around to sell you something. These snow cones looked amazing!

Steph opted for the Mango slices with salt and lime 

This stadium complex is among the finalists for hosting the 2018 Youth Olympic Games

The surrounding area is very well kept up with plenty of shady spots to rest under a tree.

Apparently the fountains are kid friendly. This is every kid's dream!

Take a look at the building in the background. What is it for? It looks like there is a design or some texture on the walls, so we went to check it out.

A closer view reveals a nice modern and natural looking texture...but wait....

Getting a closer look, we realized that the design wasn't painted, but it was actually holes punched out in the metal tiles! Genius! Very few buildings have A/C installed, so there are many "open" buildings. There was surprisingly a nice cool breeze coming out of the holes in the building. 

Looking inside the holes, you can see the individual sport areas.

There were two floors on the inside. This place was a LOT bigger than it looked from the outside.

Had to take this picture quick...I think they saw us. 

There's even a little skate park for the kids

Some of the things we didn't take pictures of were: Sand volleyball courts (It looked like a Speedo was required for entry), baseball fields, a few olympic sized swimming pools, cycling track, outdoor soccer fields, outdoor weight training area, rows of vendors selling plenty of different food and drinks.