Medellin has a great name along the backpacker trail and rightfully so. Night buses on the other hand have a very different reputation. Night buses in Central and South America are beyond cold. It’s not uncommon to see people sporting huge jackets and blankets in an attempt to combat the excessive air conditioning on a twelve hour bus ride. Having learned my lesson last summer in Guatemala, Meredith and I piled on all the clothes we could before boarding the bus from Santa Marta to Medellin. While I was still cold the ride was tolerable. Across the aisle Meredith was taking off layers as she sweated out a fever. Poor girl was pretty beat by the time we made it to the terminal.
When we got out of the taxi at the Pit Stop Hostel, Meredith was ready for a proper bed and immediately crashed on the couch. We arrived on Sunday morning around 10am to backpackers still going from the night before. Among them was our friend Tom who we’d met in Cartagena. Medellin is known as a party town with beautiful women, but it’s a great city all around. It’s the only city in Colombia with a metro system, making it very easy to get around. There are lots of parks and green space, which are widely used by locals. I spent almost a week there taking it all in. Here are some highlights:
- Our first full day in Medellin was a complete failure. The streets aren’t on a grid and it’s very easy to get turned around. Meredith and I spent the entire day lost. We had planned on visiting a few sites around the city, but couldn’t find any of them. To make matters worse it was a holiday so nothing was open. It was good practice for Tuesday though (also known as Day One 3.0)
- Once you do figure out your way around there’s a lot to do in the city. Our first outing was to the botanical garden. It’s pretty, but there’s not too much to see. I was especially excited about the squirrels and birds, but Meredith was not impressed. She wanted to see a monkey, but a statue was the best we could do.
- On Tuesday night we went out for Leroy’s 24th birthday. A local recommended that we go to El Eslabon, a salsa club in the city center. There were some amazing dancers there. Unfortunately we were not among them. We still had a great time making fools of ourselves on the dance floor.
- Wednesday afternoon we ventured out from the hostel around 3pm for food. On the way we were stopped by a local TV station who asked Al to do an endorsement for them. I still haven’t seen the final footage, but it was good fun watching Al try to string some sentences together after a late night.
- Throughout Medellin there are sculptors by Fernando Botero, a Colombian artist, known for his “exaggerated proportions.” The majority of them are in Parque Botero and they make great photo ops.
- After posing with the statues Meredith and I sampled the local beverage of oysters with miscellaneous mixers. I went for tomato juice, while Meredith had brandy and milk. I know oysters, brandy and milk sounds disgusting, but it was actually quite delicious. You can hardly taste the oysters.
- Medellin is a huge city with a population of almost 4 million. Despite its size, it’s very easy to get away from all the hustle. Thursday afternoon Meredith, the Aussies and I took the cable car up to Parque Arvi, which is less than an hour outside of town. We were ill prepared for numerous hikes that are available and opted to grab lunch instead.
- And finally, Medellin is not complete without the infamous Pablo Escobar. Post to come.
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