Medellin. The city of transformation. What’s it like?
We heard from many travelers about how they loved it, so we decided to hang out here for a few weeks. Travel is exhausting, so our plan was to extend our stay in select locations from time to time to give ourselves a moment of ‘normal life,’ to get off the tourist circuit. This was our place to chill.
As many of you might know, only a few short years ago Medellin was considered one of the most dangerous cities in the world. It was mainly controlled by drug lords, including the notorious Pablo Escobar. But in the early 2000’s everything began to change.
Central Plaza’s Fernando Botera sculptures. The bird on the left had been blown up by a backpack bomb during a public event. When the city came to remove the remains, the artist quickly called the mayor and ask that it be left in place as a reminder of what violence has done to their city.
There was concerted effort to make life in Medellin safer and more accessible to residents and visitors alike. Not that life here is without challenges now, but the gates to the city have opened and travelers from around the world are visiting and loving the time they spend here. The fact that the weather is near perfect year-round doesn’t hurt either.
We have to say, our first impression of this city wasn’t great. It is a new-ish city, so there’s not a pronounced historical center to explore. Most of the buildings are basically the same color which looks great in photos, but as you walk around, none of them look interesting or unique. And, like Bogota, the food is just okay. But as we learned more about the city and its past, we became humbled by how far they’ve come in such a short time. Medellin’s transformation is a lesson for the whole world. They’ve modernized as a whole and embraced the varied economic areas of their city to pull everyone together. Now everyone has free access to wifi in public spaces and can ride the clean, modern tram system for a very low cost. They even have a cable car system that takes riders up and into the surrounding (and very steep) poorest neighborhoods. But the real eye-opener for us was riding the outdoor escalators into the Comuna-13 neighborhood; considered one of the poorest and most crime-ridden. This system was installed six years ago and its effect on the neighborhood has been transformative. Now the hills beside the escalators are lined with tourist shops, galleries, restaurants and coffee shops. We took a tour of the area given by a local resident and were truly moved by the experience. For the first time ever, residents are safe to travel to work and school. But more importantly, residents are no longer ashamed to say they live in Comuna-13.
Their pride shows through in many surprising ways. Homeowners painted their houses bright, cheerful colors. Artists painted wall art depicting messages of a bright future and a non-violent life where children are safe to be creative and dream of their future; something past generations weren’t able to do.
Our most unique food find?
Weed-infused ice cream! That’s right. We can’t believe Los Angeles hasn’t caught on to this one. Even the cops look the other way (they get theirs for free).
FOOD AND BEVERAGES (and Adult ice cream)
But let’s be honest, one of the many reasons we’re traveling to Colombia - and around the world - is to explore great food, coffee and alcoholic beverages. There, I said it.
In general, food is really inexpensive here. The Menu del Dias (menu of the day) is served at lunch and includes: soup with a protein (chicken or pork), rice or pasta, half an avocado, a simple salad and a fruit drink. Very filling for $2 - $4 each. Very bland, but makes it hard to complain.
We did enjoy a few really great meals, though. Some of these restaurants where located in Poblado and Laureles neighborhoods:
We finally did find exceptional espresso drinks at Cafe’ Rituales; where an excellent cappuccino is $2.
Ammazza - Pizza and fancy Gin Tonics - prepared at our table (the drinks cost more than the dinner, $15 each).
Alambique - We visited here three times and had pork nachos, a meatball-like dish made with ham, cheese and avocado, and a shrimp-rice dish. And fancy G&Ts. All were great! This restaurant has such a cool vibe that we just wanted to hanging out here.
Kai - Creative vegetarian food. Scott’s fav, the cauliflower appetizer. And next door…great gelato!
Also, we assumed we would find great coffee here in Colombia, right? Because, if Juan Valdez lived here….
Well, come to find out, Juan Valdez is a fictional character (and a chain of multinational coffeehouses), and the best coffee beans are exported to other countries.
LOCAL FUN
Getting to Parque Arvi was easy. We took the train and a tram to the top and then explored the windy streets on e-bikes.
Parque Arvi, a favorite local attractions in the city. We enjoyed a morning in this huge, 39, 500 acre park located at one of the highest points in the city.
FOOTBALL
To further our discovery of the Colombian culture, we felt it was ‘a must’ to experience a Colombian football game (a/k/a soccer). We signed up for an Airbnb experience. The game was a heated rivalry between the two local teams. If you’ve never seen Columbian football or the pre-game festivities, it looks similar to a gang riot. Parades of rowdy men and women march down the streets outside the stadium singing, chanting and lighting fireworks. Police, in full combat uniform, stand-by. Since alcohol is no longer served in the stadium, it’s obvious that everyone drinks before entering. Here’s what that looked like….
Our team lost but you literally wouldn’t know by the fan’s post-game chants.
Side note: For out-of-town games, many fans watch from the local malls. Rows and rows of chairs are lined up in the food courts and corridors to watch on a 50” screen. It’s all about the camaraderie, right?
DANCING
And then there was Salsa! A lifelong dream of mine — to learn to couples dance. And no better experience than to learn Salsa in Medellin. Scott was a great sport and signed us up for 6-hours of classes (we each had our own instructor). We can’t show you the video of us dancing together because there isn’t one. It’s for your own sake. Trust us.
BIKING (sort of…)
Since Ciclovia originated in Colombia, we would have been remiss if we didn’t participate here in Medellin. Unfortunately, Scott, with all his best efforts, was not successful in finding bike rentals in this large town (we think there’s a business opportunity here…), so we walked the course instead. Four hours later I decided I needed to purchase more comfortable shoes. And yes, there are some very nice malls here.
Pablado Mall’s interior dog park.
BOTANICAL GARDENS
We enjoyed lunch and a quick walk-through at the local botanical gardens. Iguanas everywhere!
ADDITIONAL TRIP NOTES
After three months on the road, this is the first city that we’ve been able to drink tap water without sterilizing it using our UV steri-pen (we’re trying to not buy plastic bottled water unless there are no other options).
No flushing of toilet paper. Ugh! This still has to go in the trash bin.
We still don’t know much Spanish but we’re getting by with a few select phrases.
Length of stay… 15 days
Where we stayed…
An Airbnb studio apartment in the Laureles neighborhood ($42 per night). New and modern, with a king-size bed and a washer. We were in heaven! Hot shower not guaranteed.
Climate here…
Very warm (high 80s) and very still, with occasional afternoon rains. Air pollution is a problem here but not as bad as Guatemala.
When we weren’t being travelers we…
Watched the Kobe and Gianna Bryant’s memorial service on our laptop through a pirated DirecTV account. Thanks Mitchell!
Watched Formula One on Netflix. We paid for this one.
Took yoga classes at Flying Tree ($9 per class) and we worked out at our Airbnb apartment gym.
People we met along the way…
Rachel and Emily at Alambique Restaurant. Two cute, young travelers from the states.
Sierra and her 4-year-old daughter Eden. Sierra started Flying Tree Yoga. She introduced herself at Ammazza Restaurant.
Cassie and Rob (we all took yoga at Flying Tree, however, we met them after class and at Revolucion cafe’). Cassie is traveling around the world. Rob is from Canada, traveling throughout South America.
And another couple (we didn’t catch their names) who randomly joined our group of expats at Ammazza Restaurant where they heard our table of six speaking English. We love the random times like this!
News from home…
Primary elections (watching dems drop out daily), the Coronvirus (we’re washing our hands often but this hasn’t effected our travel plans. Yet.)
What’s next…
Related posts:
Last week’s adventure in Bogota