Medellin - What A Place

My plan was to take a bus to Bogota and then fly to Medellin. In practice, that was more difficult, as all the truck drivers in Colombia went on strike and blocked all roads in and out of the big cities all across the country.

At the bus station, three other people were facing the same problem. At some point, we were even considering taking a helicopter into Bogota. Luckily, we found a private taxi that drove us, but the expected time or arrival was anywhere between 3h-8h given all the roadblocks. Anyway, it turned out not to be too bad, and l even made my afternoon flight.

l arrived in Medellin in the evening and the drive from the airport to my hostel offered some of the best views I have ever had over a city. Medellin is located in a valley and the city not only stretches out for a large portion of that valley, but houses are also built up the hills on pretty much all sides. It really is a sight to behold.

I started my visit by visiting Comuna 13, once the most dangerous area in the world. Nowadays, it is a quasi-open street art museum, with a happy and joyful vibe - people dancing, selling, partying, and just generally having a good time. Our guide told us all sorts of stories, including about the infamous military operation 'Orion' in 2002, in which almost 100 people were killed. Nowadays, it is worth a visit as it holds so much truth about the development of Colombia since 1990 and serves like a microcosm into wider Colombia, its history and society.

That evening, I met up with an old friend, Naty, that I studied in London with and who I visited in Medellin a few years ago. Together with her boyfriend, we sat down for dinner and caught up about the old times.

I wasn't done for the day, though, as I signed up to go partying in Medellin. Specifically, with a party bus, or Chiva as they call it here.The clubs we went to were mediocre at best, unfortunately and I did not really experience a good party.

The next day, it was time for the Pablo Escobar tour. It was a highly interesting tour, in which we visited important places where important events took place (bombing of the place he and his family lived, the jail he built for himself, a football field where he made big announcements and finally his grave). It put a lot of things in perspective, debunked some myths and our guide was very knowledgeable about Netflix and Escobar that helped to get a better understanding of not only Escobar, but also about how the people in Medellin felt.

It was just the right ending to my time in Medellin and Colombia. It is a country that is really fascinating and that I definitely want to return to one day. This time I focused on getting to know some more off-the-beaten path destinations (Cabo de la Vela, Barichara, La Ciudad Perdida, Villa de Leyva) and had a great time doing so.Read more