Thank You, Medellín. Te Quiero, Colombia. [Medellín, Colombia]
After spending our first week in Colombia running between Bogotá, Armenia and Salento, we finally settled into the gorgeous city of Medellín for a longer stretch ~3 weeks. As I mentioned in my last post, landing in this isolated valley of wonder was a very special experience. It was just the beginning… Medellín has had many more moments just like it, which I can best describe as “physically emotional.”
Our Airbnb is located in the borough of El Poblado, maybe the most touristy part of Medellín, but the one we felt most comfortable with when we were planning our stay here. The apartment is quite beautiful. Perched on the hills of Poblado, it’s a little farther from the center, which has been both a blessing and a curse. It’s a newer development — these hills have seen a lot of recent growth and gentrification — and our host has been the sweetest, most helpful and friendly host to date.
The blessing of the apartment is its view of both the beautiful mountains and the panorama of the city. Every morning when we leave via the Edificio’s main terrace, our heads turn right and linger for a few seconds in appreciation. Medellín is a red city — kind of how Tel Aviv is a white city. Most of its buildings are built with bright brick and looking over its expanse, the color stands out so beautifully against the greenery of the peaks. My first thought that first day was “I think I’m going to like it here.”
(If you’re wondering, yes, I did think that to the tune of Annie’s “I Think I’m Gonna Like It Here.”)
And like it, I did. Soon the concerns about safety faded — while still keeping our intuitive street smarts, of course — and along came a deep emotional connection with the city and the people. When we were in Berlin, I spoke about how rich in history the city was. Medellín shares this as well, except its history is even more recent, even more palpable at every turn.
Neighborhoods which were once too dangerous for even locals to venture in are now open for walking tours. Squares which were known to be crime hubs have been turned into beacons of hope and positivity. People are wary of touristic intentions (many still come just for drugs and sex), but once you share your story and curiosity, they open up quickly and honestly. They are eager to share their evolution, their progress, their innovation. They are inspiring in their ability to move forward. They are generous in showing you their culture, feeding you their (very fried yet delicious) food, bearing with your sprouting Spanish. It’s been so heart-warming and often chill-inducing even, I can’t recommend coming here enough.
Exploring Medellín and familiarizing ourselves with it was a bit more difficult than in our previous stops, because it’s not so easy to walk around. That’s the curse of our apartment I mentioned — we can’t really walk anywhere from where we are, and if you’ve been reading my posts, you know how much I love discovering a city on foot. So we’ve had to take a lot of taxis or Ubers, my Fitbit step count average has gone dramatically downhill, and it’s taken a bit longer for us to fully orientate ourselves.
But, less than a week before we head to our last Colombian stop — Cartagena — I feel pretty good about our knowledge of Medellín’s various neighborhoods and our record of visited local gems.
If we were to come back, Nat and I both agree we would stay in Laureles over Poblado. It’s less touristy — which actually also means there are fewer petty thieves looking to take advantage of you — but still lively. It has a nice mix of locals and expats staying longer-term. And it has the best salsa clubs in the city: Son Havana and El Tibiri.
Our favorite coffee shops with good WiFi to work and healthy, delicious fare for lunch are in Poblado. I’m sure there are other great ones in other neighborhoods, but due to proximity this is where we’ve been working from for the most part. They are Rumah Soul-Up, Café Velvet and Pergamino (though the latter doesn’t have lunch, but delicious coffee and desserts).
I can’t say I have a favorite restaurant yet, but I admit we’ve been cooking more here given the distance from our place to the heart of the city and thus haven’t explored all the “want-to-go” spots on our map. I’ve heard great things about Café Zorba (good for a romantic dinner, veggie options and local food), La Causa (Peruvian and sushi) and Ganso & Castor (French food and good brunch — we tried going Sunday but it closed early, sadly for us). Hopefully we’ll make it to at least one of these before we go! [*Update! We made it to La Causa and Ganso & Castor, both rather good, though the one I definitely recommend is Osea, a small, adorable and absolutely delicious restaurant near Parque El Poblado.]
As for things to do and see, in order of preference, here’s what we picked and how we felt about it:
- Real City Free Walking Tour: We did this on Friday afternoon and it was maybe the most touching and profound activity we did here. “Just another walking tour” is what you may think when signing up (which you need to do on their website a day and a half before your desired your date as it fills up fast), but it is way more than that. We had the good fortune of landing Pablo as our tour guide, the founder of the tour and hands down the most passionate and knowledgeable tour guide I have ever encountered. He went over history, stigma, politics, geography. He shared personal stories about growing up in the city terrorized by “the criminal that bears his name,” objective facts about controversial “loving providers” and the eternal “soap” of religion that is a big part of locals’ customs, and honest opinions about the peace agreement with the FARC. He made us feel so valued and cared for, cherished by the Colombian people as a symbol of their recovery and growth. We ended the tour of the historic center at San Antonio square, where two Botero statues stand side by side. One was partially destroyed by a bomb in 1995 that killed more than 30 people and wounded hundreds more; the other was erected next to it as a symbol of the new, the whole, the hope in contrast with the past and the horror which must not be forgotten. It was a powerful moment and an emotional way to say goodbye. I got a bit teary, I admit, and in that moment felt the most grateful I have been so far for choosing to come to Colombia and for opening ourselves up to what this country has to offer.
- Comuna 13 Tour: There are several tours of this notorious neighborhood which was once the most dangerous neighborhood in the world. This one was a bit pricier but we decided to go with it because the reviews were excellent and in the end, pricy meant ~$23, which was definitely worth it for a great guide, a return-metro ticket, an empanada/jugo snack and a local fresh mango helado dessert. Learning about Comuna 13, the struggles of its inhabitants, its transformation into a colorful barrio full of street art, small tiendas and motivated youngsters dancing for a buck or two, was very enlightening. Engaging with the locals and understanding the art by graffiti artists like Chota 13, Yes Graff and Paola Delfin was deeply moving. Learning about Operation Orion — a military operation which rid the community of local guerrilla fighters but at a very high cost for its inhabitants — was a perfect example of the grey areas of war, tragedy, hope and renewal. Stopping by Comuna 13 is a must-do if you’re visiting Medellín.
- Guatapé and La Piedra del Peñol: There are many towns outside of Medellín to explore if you’re in the area, including Jardín, Santa Fe de Antioquia and Guatapé. We couldn’t do them all, so after surveying several locals, we picked the latter. A day trip was plenty for this cute town about 2 hours from the city. We started with the main attraction: climbing the 740 steps to the top of La Piedra del Peñol, a giant, steep rock from which you can view the many arms of the Embalse del Peñol (the Peñol reservoir). It’s a much faster climb than you might think, and aside from the hundreds of flying ants (those things bite and are hard to swat, so be careful!!), it was positively stunning. The town itself was not disappointing, either. A quaint and relaxing place to lunch, walk around, drink coffee and admire the bright colors, cobblestones and street lights, Guatapé is simply adorable. (Shoutout to KAFFA Café Bar who made us the best coffee art I’ve ever seen.) If you’ve got time, you can also zipline above the water, try Flyboarding at your own risk or just take a cozy boat ride.
- Tejo: The official sport of Colombia, Tejo is a mix between bowling, pétanque and darts and it is SUPER FUN. You throw a heavy rock at a target set in clay, which has a metal ring at the center decorated with a triangle filled with gunpowder. You hit the target: fireworks. We got a lesson and two hours of game town with the only official American Tejo player on the Colombian team, and though Nat and I were definitely not the most talented players in our group, at least one of our Australian buddies was a natural and gave us a good show. :)
- Soccer: Colombians love soccer! And Latin Americans in general are so passionate about it! We just had to go to a local football game and hope for a big goooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal. We came at the right time for a momentous game, getting tickets to a Medellín derby featuring the current champions, Atlético Nacional, and their local rival, Independiente Medellín. Sadly, no goals were scored but the energy in the stadium was palpable and we had a fantastic time.
- Everything else: There’s Pueblito Paisa (a replica of an old school Antioquia town) which is cute but wasn’t my favorite; Botero Square, which is a must-see but was part of our Real City Tour and that was enough to get the feel for it; Parque Arví, a nature preserve about an hour and a half outside the city which we hope to do on Friday before we take off; and the Museo Casa de la Memoria (Museum of Memory), which is free and was surprisingly engaging with interactive installations including a digital archive of old newspaper clippings and TV segments dating back decades. Of course, there are many other great spots, but in terms of what we prioritized and enjoyed, this is it!
As our time in Medellín winds down, we find ourselves feeling similar to how we felt at the end of our stays in Copenhagen, Berlin and Vancouver: like the city has captured part of our hearts and become a little bit of home. We’ve made many friends, both local and international; found our CrossFit home base at CrossFit Origen, where we took our first open air CrossFit classes in a foreign language (“Eso es!”); and developed a sincere appreciation and esteem for a heavily misunderstood and judged city and country which is, in fact, one of the most beautiful, rich and inspiring places I’ve experienced so far.
Thank you, Medellín. Te quiero, Colombia.***
