Having somewhat recovered from the onslaught of returning to work in a busy period, we moved on from Columbia’s capital to its second largest city – Medellin. Medellin is known as ‘the City of Eternal Spring’ because of its perfect climate (although my sun-loving self couldn’t help but wonder if there’s a City of Endless Summer somewhere in the world that might be more up my street). Upon landing in Medellin, I was pleasantly surprised to find it much warmer than in Bogota.
Another thing that Medellin, and indeed Columbia, is known for is its friendly people. We could attest to a positive vibe so far but what really makes the difference is the chance to get to know some of the locals. As luck would have it, Darren had a Colombian colleague from work, Diego, who didn’t live in Medellin but a five hour drive away. Diego and his mum had benevolently offered to meet up with us and be our travel hosts for the weekend. We were greeted at the airport like long lost friends and the welcoming hospitality continued from there.
In the 80s and 90s, Medellin was considered the most dangerous city in the world, with urban war declared between drug cartels leading to violence and terror on the streets. District 13 in particular was one of the poorer barrio communities that embodied Pablo Escobar’s Medellin. Further political troubles ensued in the early 2000s but over the last twenty years, this place has seriously reinvented itself.
With a Spanish speaking local guide (and Diego for handy translation!), we spent a good few hours touring District 13, learning about the troubled history and experiencing what it had now become. The community was vibrant and buzzing, street dancers shaking their booty and anything else they could with such vigor and energy.
There was also a flourishing art scene, with a super cool glow in the dark genre. My inner 80s chick (the one of mismatched fluorescent socks and sweatbands) was awakened; I was in my element.
Urban escalators took us into the heart of District 13. Just re-read that sentence one more time. I mean there were actually escalators in the streets, i.e. outdoors, leading up the steep valley slopes. We could probably do with some of those in Scarborough! The rooftop view down over the city and the forested hillsides really topped off the afternoon.
At the other end of town, they’ve gone one better than escalators with a Metrocable system – six different lines of gondola style cable cars extending up the hillsides, providing transportation to the masses.
A popular day trip from Medellin is the nearby town of Guatape, less than 50 miles away. But when it comes to Columbia, you have to re-think your expectations on times and distances. This would supposedly be a two hour jaunt each way. But that was before they threw in some roadworks. Add to that the creativity of Waze’s driving app and we found ourselves pootling along narrow winding dirt roads in the back of beyond for three hours. Diego, as designated driver, had the job of avoiding potholes and rocks and dogs, while keeping his fingers crossed that his car would make it. Safely tucked away on the back seat, I didn’t mind the country scenery and colorful wildflowers one bit.
For some time as we approached Guatape, we could see the iconic granite rock formation, el Piedra del Penol towering 200m above its surroundings.
The rock is nestled amongst lakes and rolling hills, a very pretty area indeed. We made it up the 700+ steps up the side of the rock to amazing views. It was the coming down that finished me off. This brought on a bout of ‘jelly legs’, which I think needs no further description. Luckily, lunch with a view was right around the corner.
Spending a week working in Medellin was just awesome. Our home for the week was another Selina – so co-working, hotel, cafe and nightlife all in one. We were based in the affluent El Poblado area, surrounded by chic cafes (and indeed they redeemed themselves on the coffee front after a poor initial showing in Bogota), cosmopolitan restaurants, museums, shopping, and boutique hotels. And all this was immersed in rainforest greenery, with native trees, tropical plants, bamboo and palms providing green corridors of shade. Like a city and a jungle at the same time.
Darren’s persistence in negotiating the most convoluted baffling booking process ever eventually scored us a reservation at the fine dining El Cielo restaurant in Medellin. The executive chef, Juanma, is somewhat of an icon in the gastronomic world, with Michelin stars for his unique culinary experiences.
I don’t have the time to walk you through all 18 courses of our tasting experience here; suffice to say an experience it was. A phenomenal one. OK, maybe just a little insight into one of our favorite courses.
Note, we already had clean hands from a previous table-side hand washing ritual, followed by a few courses that involved some hand-food interaction. At this point, we were presented with large bowls on the table in front of us and I was requested to remove my rings. With our hands cupped over our respective bowls, the waitress poured warm melted 70% chocolate from a height into and onto our hands, some of it dripping teasingly into the bowl below. We ‘washed’ our hands in the slick chocolate, to which was added generous spoonfuls of sweetened coffee grains. This was designed to evoke a joyful childhood sensation of playing in a sandpit! There was a seductive cacao aroma in the air as we massaged the silky smooth chocolate and the fine grains of coffee ‘sand’ into our hands, and only then were we invited to taste and lick the deliciousness from our hands. I have to tell you… probably the best chocolate I’ve ever tasted. We both did a very decent job of licking our hands clean until the waitress returned with a jug of warm water to finish the job.
And now you see why I don’t have the time to cover all the courses of ‘La Experiencia’!
Not quite to the same level of gastronomic delights as El Cielo, but there was no shortage of great food and drink across El Poblado.
By this time, we were halfway into December and it wasn’t feeling very Christmassy. I rather like to be inundated by festive Christmas songs, decorations and lights in the run up to the big day – but the samba beat was definitely winning out against Chris Rea.
We tried to address this with a visit to the Christmas lights at Parque de la Luz in Medellin. As it turns out, Christmas in Columbia isn’t all about Christmas trees, snowmen and Santa Claus. Time to readjust our expectations and just enjoy the lights. Quite spectacular lights at that, although I struggled to quite dig the Disney Encanto theme, all boats, flowers, and larger than life characters.
All in, we managed to fit a huge amount into our Medellin visit. And we’d go back in a heartbeat. If Columbia is even remotely on your radar, then the City of Eternal Spring is where it’s at. Oh and give me a heads up if you’re going, I’ve got a favor to ask… there’s a certain denim jacket back there with my name on it.
