Category: Travel

We arrived on a 8 hour day bus from Salento, and settled in for a five night stay. Compared to previous destinations, what we saw of Medellín felt like more of the real city (even if we did mainly do touristy things). This meant seeing more plainly the substantial inequality present in Colombia, seeing both rich areas and real poverty. In our stay we got to learn some of the history of the city and the transformation it’s had in recent years.

We enjoyed visiting the botanic gardens, the Museum of Antioquia (more Botero) and playing cards in cafes around El Poblado, the neighbourhood where we stayed.

Weather:

It was hot and sunny, but it still rained most days given April makes the start of the wet season in Colombia.

Where we stayed:

We opted for a hostel that promised to be ‘quieter’ and more chill than some of the party hostels nearby, what we didn’t know was it would mean our room was tucked behind the cleaning cupboard. Whilst not as quiet as we’d hoped, we had a great time exploring the Manila neighbourhood and El Poblado, and came to love our basic room.

Best thing we ate:

Mexican food seems to be popular at least in El Poblado and some tacos and quesadillas from the Criminal Taquería near our hostel were probably our best meal there after a long tour in the sun. However, the only photos of food we have are from our meal at the vegetarian restaurant Guvindas in the centre which was good humble menu del día.

Coolest thing we did:

One of the main tourist activities I knew about before coming to Medellín was visiting Comuna 13. Medellín is a city that’s had a pretty big turnaround, from being Pablo Escobar’s stomping group to becoming a popular backpacker destination. Comuna 13 is one of the neighbourhoods that epitomises this transformation, having once been the centre of violence between guerrillas, paramilitary and the military to now welcoming thousands of tourists every day.

We booked a tour that happened to be with Sergio, a man who grew up in Comuna 13 in the nineties and now runs the Insider Foundation to support local kids to develop their hobbies and be occupied rather than in gangs. He gave a brilliant tour, explaining to us the context and history, as well as his personal story, before we walked around the community. The area of Comuna 13 that tourists now visit feels like it is all put on especially for us with street art, street performance and street food all in abundance. Sergio was keen to balance this by showing us the ‘normal’ parts of Comuna 13, including where he grew up and where his dad still lives.

The tour gave such important context to the place that we’d have entirely missed if we’d visited on our own, and it made me enjoy visiting much more because I can understand why it is the way it is. It’s easy to think that tourism can ruin a place, and gentrification as a result of tourism is and will be a real problem in Comuna 13, but it’s equally undeniable the benefits it brings, with Sergio suggesting that if tourism went away, then the violence would likely return.

Bonus:

Medellín’s wonderful public transport. The metro was lovely and wide and clean and occasionally had enough air con it felt cool. Even better, cable cars form part of the same system so you can hop on and get a great view of the city on the same ticket.

Our next stop is a quick hop over to Guatapé for a couple of nights lakeside 😎

Besos,

Florence & Chris

We arrived in Salento exhausted after an unexpectedly short night bus to Armenia dropping us off at 4am. Chris didn’t believe me when I said we’d arrived. We then had to wait in the bus station for our connection to Salento.

Weather:

Warmer than Bogotá but still very mixed – sun early in the day but the clouds roll in around the mountains and break into storms. We heard the loudest lightning ever which struck really close by. We spent a couple of evenings watching water rush down the streets while we ate dinner.

Where we stayed:

A cute hostel with a traditional paisa style courtyard, just off the main square (once again Plaza Bolívar). Mattress was amazingly hard but surprisingly comfy.

Best thing we ate:

Probably Chris’s arepa con queso, which was freshly made and covered in butter, much better than the dry pastry Florence chose.

Coolest thing we did:

The main reason for going to Salento was to hike the stunning Valle de Cócora, home to the otherworldly forest of wax palms. We caught a Willy (ex-US Army jeeps) from the main square where we were sandwiched between frenchies, apparently the number one nation visiting Colombia.

We set off on the hike from Cócora, it took us about 6 hours (with lots of stopping) and it was 750m of elevation gain. We went anti-clockwise to save the viewpoints to the end, to feel like we really earned it, and on balance we’d say they were definitely worth it!

Bonus:

While we mainly came for the Valle de Cócora, we found that Salento town was a charming place. It felt really safe and pleasant to walk around and was clearly popular with local tourists as well as backpackers.

Bonus bonus:

Cool fungus.

Our next stop is Medellín – hasta luego!

Besos,

Chris and Florence