Hop-on hop-off around Medellin

This is my last day in Medellin, I'm flying to Cartagena in the evening. Today I planned a hop-on hop-off ride around the city. It was supposed to last four hours, so I thought I'd make it just in time before my flight.

I took a taxi to the El Poblado district, where the bus departs, and we set off. Unlike the hop-on hop-off buses where you get headphones and can choose the language, here our guide Katerina rode with us. Throughout the entire route, she talked in Spanish through a microphone about the places we passed. But I have to admit that she's a chatterbox, she broadcasted for four hours non-stop, and still you got the impression that she wanted to say even more 😆

Among other places, we went to the Parque de los Pies Descalzados, or the barefoot park. You walk there barefoot on paths covered in small stones. Supposedly, it cleanses and energizes the barefoot walker. It was inspired by the Japanese, as I learned from Katerina. There are also cork trees growing there, the bark is peeling off and they are soft and dry to the touch like a wine bottle cork. I also drank lime juice, the cup of juice was filled with limes cut into stripes, and the juice itself was terribly sour and sweet 🤪

We also went up the Cerro de Nutibara hill, where there is something like a small open-air museum. There are old, colorful houses there and a city museum.

And that's it, we returned to the starting point, where I caught a taxi to the San Diego shopping center, from where buses leave for the airport, which is 20 km away. A taxi costs 100,000 COP and a bus like that only 17,000.

Before I got on the bus, however, I went to lunch at a local bar. The line in front of the entrance was inviting and I stood in it for about ten minutes. A basic lunch costs only 6,500 COP 😆 The basic version included rice, fried banana, a small arepa, boiled beans and a vegetable salad. Of course, everyone chose something additional, including me. I added two fried eggs and a fried sausage. With corn water, white as milk and practically tasteless, and a bottle of water, I paid a total of 12,000 😂 And now I'm at the airport waiting for my plane.Read more