Medellin
A Bamboo Forest in Plaza Mayor
Medellin was a surprise and turns out to be my favorite big city I’ve visited. The Colombian economy has been growing really rapidly over the past 10 years, and Medellin has grown rapidly as well. It may be the cleanest most modern city I’ve ever seen, the weather is perfect and stays mostly the same year-round (leading to the nickname City of Eternal Spring), there are tons of good bars and restaurants, amazing ripe fruit is sold by street vendors everywhere for 50 cents per large cup, beautiful girls are never out of sight, and a new modern metro system makes getting around easy. The perfect weather and relaxed atmosphere made me feel like I could have just dropped my pack there and never left.
Quiet Residential Street in El Poblado
I stayed at a hostel called Black Sheep, which is well run and in great shape. There was a really fun group of people there during the time I stayed which can make a huge difference in how much I enjoy a place. The hostel is in an upscale neighborhood called El Poblado. I loved the area because it has a narrow river that runs down one of the main roads and the side streets have grass, trees, and sometimes even lawns. Most big cities when you think about it are completely paved over, and it’s amazing how much a bit of grass can do to make a neighborhood feel like the kind of place you’d enjoy living.
The central city areas are designed nicely as well. I could tell they really put a lot of thought into architecting good common spaces, with lots of plazas and mixed-use buildings. Many places in the city have small bamboo forests with paths and benches, which are great places to relax in the shade or eat lunch. There’s almost a zen feeling in some places!
A Butterfly Enjoys the Flowers in the Botanic Gardens
A few highlights that stood out to me were the Botanical Gardens, the cable cars, and a day trip to Guatapé. The botanic gardens are the best I’ve seen, they’re free, and they include a jungle walk, butterfly house, and an orchid area that is covered by a massive 50-60 foot high sculpture that provides shelter to crowds for concerts and other live events. The cable cars go up into the hills and have great views of the valley the city is built in. They’re not the typical pricey tourist cable cars, instead they are functional part of the metro system and you can transfer from the metro trains. Some of the poorer neighborhoods are built on the tough terrain of the hills, and the cable car stations serve these areas. I really enjoyed the neighborhood at the top station of the cable car. It had winding streets packed with small food stalls and one-table street bars, tons of children playing, and some great viewpoints.
Guatapé
Guatapé is a lush green area full of lakes (artificially formed by a dam). It has an attractive town brightly painted and with storefronts covered in frescoes, as well as a massive rock that you can climb almost 1000 steps to summit and enjoy the view. Definitely good for a day trip.
