As I continue on my Latin American adventure, working to improve my Spanish and to experience all of the things, my latest stop has been Colombia. I spent six weeks in Medellin and although it didn’t strike me as a place I’d want to live on an ongoing basis, I had a ton of fun and a great experience. To me the ever-present street art and the lush green hills of the city were beautiful (I once described it to a friend as feeling as if I was constantly in a tree house, or amongst the trees). There was always someplace to go dancing. And the people were endearing. I may not have done all of the typical touristy things, but I want to tell you about the things that shaped my experience. 

• The City is Beautiful
• Fun Activities (Diversiónes)
• The Food

The City is Beautiful

Medellin is a beautiful city. It’s dubbed the “City of Eternal Spring” because it’s warm year round. While I was there it rained constantly, which although inconvenient, explains the lush green trees and beautiful flowers all over the city. It’s located in a valley, so depending on where you are in the city, you could be up a hill. I stayed in El Poblado area of the city, and lived up a hill, so I always felt as if I was living in a tree house. This area of the city is where a lot of foreigners stay, as there are a ton of restaurants and clubs located here, as well as a higher stock of Airbnb’s. It’s also the most expensive area of the city.

Greenery

If you enjoy greenery, I recommend checking out the Botanical Garden. It’s free, unless you want to go into the butterfly house. It’s also very easily accessible by the metro. One thing that really surprised me was how clean the metro is here. A local explained to me that Paisas (inhabitants of Medellin) have a lot of pride in their metro system (which includes a train system, bus, and metro cable and has only been around the last 15-20 years), so they wouldn’t dare trash it. It’s worth it to give it a try.

City Art

I didn’t find the architecture of the city particularly appealing, but street art is a huge part of the culture here, so I was in awe of all the wonderful murals I found throughout the different neighborhoods. Comuna 13 is the area particularly known for its street art.

If you go downtown, you can check out some of the interesting artwork there, including many Bolero statues, which are famous for their odd proportions.

Comuna 13

Comuna 13 is an interesting place. It’s one of the poorest areas in the Medellin and was very isolated due to its position up a steep hillside. It was also considered one of the most dangerous areas in the world when it was run by drug traffickers in the 80s and 90s. Some violent altercations between these organizations and the government came to head in the early 2000’s, leaving the residents caught in the crossfire. In 2011, with the building of a large electric elevator that would allow more accessibility in the neighborhood, as well as efforts to reinvigorate it through art, the Comuna has become a popular tourist destination.

I took a tour there in the morning, and there were already swarms of people. By the afternoon, the streets were so crowded that you could barely move. The art is amazing and the place is very high energy with music all around, food, and dancing. But honestly, I imagine it would be very difficult to live there being constantly bombarded with tourists. 

Fun Activities (Diversiónes) in Medellin

Here are some fun activities that stuck out for me, in no particular order.

Exotic Fruits

It may sound a little odd but I went on an Exotic Fruits tour through Real City Tours, and it was a blast. Colombia is the second most plant biodiverse country in the world and so it was amazing getting to learn about and sample so many fruits. We went to the Minorista Market (Plaza Minorista), which you could do on your own, but I feel like it would be so overwhelming and you probably wouldn’t know what a lot of the fruits were or get to sample many of them, so I highly recommend the tour! I also made some great friends in my group.

Some fruit highlights:

• Chontaduro: apparently this fruit is an aphrodisiac. It’s so funny because men kept coming up to the stall and giving that wink wink look like, “you know why we’re here”. And the guy running the stall was the son of the owner, who had like 12 kids, so everyone was like, clearly the owner uses his product. The fruit itself is interesting because the taste really reminds me of a sweet potato. It’s not super amazing on its own, but our guide told us to try it with a little salt, which made it really good, and then to try it with salt and honey which made it delicious!
• Tomate de arbol: it looks like any old tomato on the outside, but the flavor is surprising. It’s sweet – not like a tomato at all…very good
• Guanabana: this one was a crowd pleaser. I don’t really know how to describe it, but it’s a popular fruit used in agua frescas, so I highly recommend you order it if you see it on a restaurant menu

Paragliding

As usual, before I set off on this trip, I made some trip goals, and one of them was to do something that I’m afraid of. I had heard that paragliding was a thing in Medellin, so I settled on that. I found a company through Airbnb Experiences. They picked me up, as well as two other ladies, and from that moment we bonded over this shared experience that was pushing us all out of our comfort zones. All I can say is that things happened really fast. One minute they are strapping you into some equipment, and the next minute you’re being told to run, run down a hill, and then a few seconds later your feet are leaving the ground and you’re in the air. AMAZING!

Guatape

Guatape is a town about two hours from Medellin. Its claim to fame is “La Piedra”, a huge rock with 720 steps that you can climb in order to take in the beautiful views of the surrounding town and lake. The town is also known for its colorful buildings and zocalos, which are painted panels on the houses that portray their trade or history. I went on a tour with a friend, climbed la piedra, took in the sites, and also took a boat ride. It was a fun and chill day out of the city.

Dancing

Another one of my trip goals was to dance salsa every week. After catching the bug for it in my Mexico City trip, I knew that I just had to keep it going. Before arriving in Medellin, many people had told me that it was a great place for salsa, and so when I got there I signed up for lessons. I took lessons at two places: private lessons at Dance Free, which is in Poblado and was just a ten minute walk from my apartment, and group lessons at Estilo Cubano, located in the Laureles neighborhood. The lessons were definitely a highlight of my trip. And just about every week I went out to a club or a social to try practice my moves. Some places to check out for dancing are:

• Son Havana
• Social Club
• Selina (salsa nights)

The Food in Medellin Wasn’t the Best

Don’t get excited. I saved this one for last because overwhelmingly, the food was underwhelming. I found that in general, Paisa’s like their food pretty bland. Also, they don’t like spicy food at all. Every time I’d go to a restaurant, if I’d order something that said spicy, the waiter would always give me this worried look, like “it’s spicy you sure you want this”, and I would say yes, I like spicy. When they would bring the dish, it would have no spice at all. It was kind of hilarious. Paisa’s also really like sweet things. One of their popular street foods is hot dogs (go figure), and they like to put a sweet sauce on it. I just couldn’t get with it at all. 

Signature Dishes

Even the foods they’re known for are a bit underwhelming. People will tell you to try bandeja paisa when you visit Medellin. It’s basically a huge platter of meats and beans and some other things…it’s just a very hefty meal. The first time I tried it, it didn’t have any flavor. I told a friend and she convinced me to try it again at another place. It was better, but definitely not something that I ever need to eat again.

Other foods that are signature here are empañadas, buñuelos, and arepas. The locals like to say that empañadas represent all the parts of their culture. The corn that makes the dough comes from the indigenous. The frying technique is indicative of their African roots. And the empañada itself tells of their Spanish history. The best empañadas I tried came from a shop, La Catedral, in the Envigado neighborhood. I think it has more than one location, but this place had the best ones I tried.

Arepas de chocolo, made with fresh corn, were my favorite. They’re kind of sweet and you can get salty cheese on top. The best arepas de chocolo I tried were from a restaurant , Dejameq’ Tecuenta, in the Laureles neighborhood. I went on street food tours in both Laureles and Envigado. I think they were good for the exposure/knowledge, but the food definitely will not blow you out of the water.

Some restaurants that I would recommend are:

• Cafe Zorba: this is a pizza place in El Poblado. Their food actually was REALLY good. Try the papas bravas and the pizza espinaca…you will not be disappointed.
• Mekong: Thai restaurant in El Poblado. We had the cauliflower appetizer and I had the fish of the day with pad thai, it was pretty good.
• OCI: some things here were good, and others didn’t quite hit the mark, but it was good enough. I tried the tuna tartare (ok), beet salad (overdressed), and pork shank (pretty good)
• Alambique: tried the tacos negros and avocadoes wrapped in bacon. Food was good.
• Cucayito: Costeña restaurant in Laureles. I went there and tried the fried tilapia and coconut rice for lunch. Very good
• Seré: solid place for breakfast and coffee

Some restaurants to absolutely not waste your money on:

• Restaurante la Provincia: I had the sea bass (catch of the day. It was so salty that I literally could not eat it. This restaurant is also expensive, so definitely pass on it.
• La Matriarca: the food was very bland. I ordered pulpo parillada and they clearly didn’t season it with anything
• La Malsentada: Mexican restaurant in El Poblado. I wouldn’t say they were horrible, but they definitely had some weird takes on Mexican food. I ordered enchiladas, and they tasted more like lasagna than enchiladas. It’s because they used mozzarella cheese!

The Worst Things About Medellin

Since we’re talking about the lackluster food, I may as well go ahead and tell you some of the other cons I observed in Medellin. It’s not a super walkable city. Because of all the hills, a short distance can still equal a lot of effort. I think this is one of the reasons that I was not able to develop a super close connection to the city.

Another downfall is the crime. Although I felt relatively safe, I got many warnings not to walk around certain places alone, like downtown and Parque Lleras. This made me feel very self-conscious and also probably contributed to me not building a strong connection to the city. Also petty theft is huge. I even witnessed a Colombian woman get robbed in broad daylight! A motorcyclist snatched her purse and phone off the dining table in the outside seating area of a restaurant.

Fin

For all its cons, Medellin is a vibe. It’s very beautiful and I met so many cool people. A lot of those people were fellow travelers, off on their own adventures. But also I met some very cool Colombians that took me under their wing, gave me their perspectives, and showed me a good time. This trip I got to learn a bunch about Colombian culture, tackle a fear, and dance dance dance. I highly recommend.

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