For the Love of Medellín
“Traveling is like flirting with life. It’s like saying, ‘I would stay and love you, but I have to go; this is my station.” — Lisa St. Aubin de Teran
Seeing All Medellín Has to Offer
Lately I’ve never wanted to be another nationality so bad as I lately want to be Colombian. Every time I look out onto the rolling green mountains of Medellin, eat a Buñelo, or hear someone roll their ‘rr’ I have a small pang of jealously. Part of my immense affection for this city may also stem from finally adjusting to the euphoric realization that I really did quit my job to travel the world. That really happened. I was so busy with Spanish classes the first few weeks of traveling in Panama, I don’t think I fully absorbed this new reality.
Regardless, my time in Medellín is coming to an end. I’m both ready to try a new destination and sorry to go. I feel pretty satisfied with the sites I’ve seen and the people I’ve met. My last week in Medellín was also highlighted by many shared experiences with new people and fellow travelers I encountered along the way. After all, half the fun of traveling is not the things you see but the people you meet. I’m also left with lingering sensation that I just brushed the surface of everything this city and it’s people have to offer. This only makes me think it’s likely I’ll come back here one day, and for that matter you should too. If you need convincing, I will gladly take the rest of this blog post to do that for you.
City Sites Outside the City Limits
First of all, I have to talk about Parque Arví. I went to this Park on a solo outing, and it is the one place that I would have loved to re-visit if I were staying a few days longer. Arví is accessible by public transportation, but it’s no small trek to get there. It involves taking the metro train, and transferring to a cable line to get up one of the many mountains surrounding the city. Once you get to the end of the first cable line, you need to transfer to a second metro cable just to get out to the Park. It’s easy enough. Even a directionally confused person like myself can figure out these transfers and you don’t even have to leave the station. But it took me a good 2 hours one-way from my Airbnb in Poblado to get there. All this effort, and I still wish I had more time to go back.
Even if you don’t want to visit the park to hike or see any sites, I would recommend the metro cable just for the views. The first line shows amazing views from the city as you climb up the mountain. The second cable line carries you for a half an hour over dense forests and uninhabitable wilderness out to the national park. It was a stunning and relaxing ride.
Once you get to Parque Arvi, there are several hiking trails available to take though the vast green wilderness. I had read about the park beforehand, but didn’t read closely enough to fully comprehend its size. As a result, I didn’t come with the right clothes or shoes for a full day of hiking and didn’t give myself enough time to explore. By the time I arrived, I only had a few short hours before I had to make my way back to the city to meet up with a language exchange for dinner.
I only had enough time for a short 45 minute hike to the closest picnic area before turning around. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed my time here. The ride on the cable line was memorable for it’s super impressive construction and views. And for a few short hours I got to leave the city limits and hear nothing but trees blowing in the wind and birds chirping.
Still Trying this Spanish Thing
After Parque Arví I got back in the city with plenty of time to make my first of two language exchange dinner/happy hours I attended during my stay in Medellín. I found the first exchange through a Meet Up group online (I’ve always been a fan of these). I heard about the second one through a friend I met at the first exchange. The concept is simple enough. Foreigners show up to practice their Spanish. Locals show up to practice their English. Everyone has a beer or two, eats some food, makes a few language mistakes, and has a good time. The first exchange I went to was at an Italian restaurant not too far from my Airbnb, and the second was at a nearby language school. Both were in Poblado and walkable from my Airbnb so I could not have asked for more.
What I enjoyed most about these exchanges was that I ended up talking to more local Paisas (Piasas: people from Medellín/Antioqia) than foreigners. This is all fine by me, because it makes for better Spanish practice. However this experience also taught me that the Colombians are a lot better at learning English than I am at learning Spanish.
You pay attention to the words people use a lot more when you’re trying to learn another language. This makes me endlessly impressed by locals who knew the most random words in English which I could never translate. How did you ever learn the english word for barley or hops? Or how to say someone is sulking? Or the word for a draftsperson? I’m always left wondering these things. It’s all so specific and used so infrequently. And once you learned it, how did you remember it? Memory is the part of language learning that currently escapes me. I learn lots of new words every day, but if I don’t have a reason to use it 3 times in the first hour, it leaves my brain forever.
Once again, I’m also left with a feeling that Colombians are incredibly warm and welcoming. They showed immense patience with my beginner Spanish, and helped me learn a lot more than I think I ever taught them in these exchanges. At the end of the night I exchanged What’sApp information with a few of them. Within 24 hours I had messages from people asking how my day went, and giving recommendations of things to see in the city. Major props Colombians.
Past and the Present of Medellin
Another highlight of my week was taking walking tour Comuna 13. I know….this sounds like dystopian sci fi movie title. The long and short story is that, until about 15 years ago, Comuna 13 was an illegal housing development on the edge of the city. As the city grew in population, its citizens simply needed more places to live and started building. But the Colombian government initially refused to recognize the development, and made the homes illegal. For years, the city refused to service Comuna 13 with electricity, plumbing, or police presence. And you can guess what happened. The same thing that would happen to any part of a major city without police or city services. It became a hotbed for illegal activity and violence.
After years of strife and public outcry, in the 2000’s the government finally changed its tune, and accepted the neighborhood as legit. What followed was a major clean up effort and new city services. One of those services included installing several outdoor escalators to get into the inner workings of the neighborhood. This sounds strange, but if you’ve ever lived in a town surrounded by mountains, those escalators are huge. It recognized the residents as being worthy of investment, made the area more accessible, and changed the public perception of the entire development. Along with this project, the city also commissioned several graffiti artists to paint murals on the streets around the escalators.
The end result of all this is huge revision of the area, maybe even a sense of pride for its residents, and an intended/unintended tourist attraction. To see the area, I met up with my German friend Antonia from earlier in the week for another walking tour of Comuna 13 given by a local living there. Much like the rest of the city, Comuna 13 has a dark past, but the graffiti commemorates and remembers these events through art. Here’s just a taste, but it is a beautiful and impressive that I would recommend to anyone visiting the city. Which in case you haven’t gotten the hint, you should definitely visit Medellin.
Ending on a High Note
My last few days in Medellin were by far the best of all and that’s because they were highlighted by two events. One, a visit to the Piedra and Guatape just outside the city limits (we’ll get to that in a minute). And secondly, I was joined in my Airbnb by another traveler, although a much more local one. Juan is a 24 year old Venezuelan living in Bogota and is renting the other open bedroom in the Airbnb apartment where I’m staying.
I met Juan just before the weekend late in the evening as I was coming back from a long and tiring day of city walking. We didn’t talk much aside from a casual introduction, but I got the chance to chat with him much more the next day. He was in the city for work and his job and put him up a the Airbnb. As we were talking he mentioned he was hungry and asked if I wanted to get food. Lucky for him, my answer to this question is always yes. We ended up getting coffee, checking out the Saturday morning market at Bolivar Park, walking through the local Botanical Garden, and drinking until one in the morning.
Throughout the day I try to talk in broken Spanish to get in some practice. Juan mostly understands what I’m saying, but whenever he speaks back to me I unfortunately understand nothing. As a result he’s patient enough to talk to me in English for most of of the day. In a relatively short amount of time Juan and I get to be pretty good friends. I learn about his family and his job, and he learns about my life and why I decided to leave some of it behind to travel. Juan is one of those people that asks genuine, but somewhat personal questions that your best friend might not even ask you. And then he listens to your answer. Ultimately it all gives the impression that he’s legitimately interested in having a real conversation and getting to know someone. Yep, he’s a good kid. Lol.
Guatapé and La Piedra
One thing on just about every must visit list for Medellin is a trip to the tiny lakefront town of Guatapé and El Peñon de Guatape, otherwise known as La Piedra, otherwise known as ‘the Rock’. In truth, I was less than motivated to go. Not because I wasn’t interested, but touristing is damn exhausting. You’re looking at maps and trudging all over the city all day. I was KILLING it in my fitbit step count, but by the end of the week I was tired. I originally planned to go to Guatapé on Friday, but pushed it to Monday out of exhaustion. When I woke up on Monday morning to be greeted by rain and dark skies, I almost backed out. It’s a 2 hour bus ride to the town, and 2 hours back. Part of me wanted to watch Netflix and hang out at a coffee shop all day. But no. I dragged myself out of the apartment relatively early and made it to the bus station. I bought myself a ticket to Guatapé and I took a good nap on the bus. And it was well worth it.
When the bus drops you off at the Rock, you’re already a few hours outside of Medellin in a very different landscape. While you’re still surrounded by green mountains there are also several lakes, and tourist resorts. The trek up the rock begins by a 20-30 minute hike to the base, followed by just over 700 steps to the top. I know the step count, because they wrote it on the stairs. If you want to know what all that looks like, here it is.
The views at the top do not disappoint. While the day started grey and drizzly, the clouds parted just as I reached the top and it turned into a lovely sunny day. Proud of myself for making it, I enjoyed what many other tourists have at the top: Michelada. Beer with fruit in it, in this case mango.
Upon descent of the Piedra, it’s a short wait for another local bus to carry you on the final 10 minute drive to Guatapé. A small, but colorfully painted lakeside resort and tourist town. I met another German as I was getting off the bus, Inga. We bought our return ticket to Medellin together and the agent gave us the receipt on the same ticket. As a result, Inga was my newest friend for the next three hours in this small town.
Guatapé is known for its’ colorful paintings on its buildings. It’s also on one of the many lakes, meaning you can rent a boat or a kayak. Inga and I opted instead to have lunch at a restaurant balcony overlooking the lake, and enjoy some local trout. It was one of my favorite meals so far in Colombia.
After lunch Inga and I got a coffee and hit up some tourist stores. You can walk around all of Guatape in about 25 minutes. So while beautiful, it’s not a place where you need to spend more than a few hours. We caught the bus back to Medellin, and continue talking all the way until the metro. I didn’t get back to the apartment until after 8, but I can’t think of a better activity for my last day in Medellin. I’m glad I got my a$$ out of the apartment that morning.
