24 Hours in Medellín

Thursday, February 17

Originally we had played to stay 2.5 days in Medellín and have read that maybe we should’ve stayed even longer but we had a flight to Peru that got canceled so we had to reschedule to a day before to make sure we don’t miss the train to Machu Picchu. So, we had only about 24 hours to see Medellín AND the weather forecast predicted rain for most of it.

We landed about noon and got a ride to our hotel. We were staying in the Poblado neighborhood which is a popular spot for foreigners and tourists to Medellín. We dropped off our stuff and set out right away to not waste any daylight. We walked down the main road in Poblado, Calle 10. We got some street food -arepas and empanadas- so we could eat but keep moving.
We then went to the metro because we wanted to ride the famous cable car up to the top of the mountain to see the park up there and take in some city views. Well (of course) the highest cable car, line L, was closed until Tuesday due to annual maintenance. We could still take a lower cable car to a neighborhood so we opted for this option. Carl purchased a metro card and 6 rides for us and we joined the early commuter traffic. The first part was riding the blue line for a bit and then we transferred to the cable car which was just the gondolas they have in ski resorts. At this moment Karen reminded us that she is afraid of heights. We tried to do our best to tell her when we were approaching the next station so she would be prepared for the jostle and bump. She handled it well.

We rode to the top and got out and walked around a bit. There were street vendors but otherwise the area didn’t feel touristy, it felt like any neighborhood in a big city. From the street we noticed a rooftop bar that looked like a good place to have a beer and people watch. To get to it we ended up having to go through a two-story grocery store and up an iron, spiral staircase. The bar was deserted but we were able to order a couple beers and a passion fruit juice.

We headed back down and admired the view of the whole city below us, and the rain clouds threatening ever closer from the South. We made it back to Poblado without rain and spotted a craft brewery spot. The owner? manager? was very nice and invited us to sit down outside. Carl had an IPA and I had the hoppy amber and they were hands down the best beers we’ve had in Colombia. While we sat outside and chatted we watched three different people pay off the parking police so they wouldn’t get a ticket.

When we hiked Ciudad Perdida we heard some of the Colombian women mention El Rancherito (a local chain) as a good place for Colombian food in Medellín. We noticed there was one of these within walking distance of where we were staying so we decided to make the trek for dinner. It was then we realized how steep the hills of Medellín are and that we should’ve studied a topo map before making our dinner plans. As we trudged up the hill Karen said ‘I bet ya God’s waiting at the top of this hill! And his tapping his foot, looking at his watch”

We finally made it and were surprised how close the outdoor tables were to the freeway. Still, we ordered the bandeja paisa – the traditional Colombian dish with everything on it, and some Refrajo, the beer shandy honey mix we had tried before. The food was good but the waiter forgot we were there so we had to eat off one plate with only spoons.

We were able to walk downhill back to the hotel and it still hadn’t rained!

Friday, February 18

The weather forecast said it wouldn’t rain until the afternoon so we left our rain jackets behind and set out for a morning adventure (foreshadowing). We got a taxi to a museum called Casa de la Memoria. The museum is a tribute to victims of armed conflict that have plagued Colombia in recent history. There was a surprising amount of information in English but there was also heaps of documents in only Spanish,like newspaper articles, that could be accessed through interactive displays so we did our best to read through and understand.

After the museum we got a taxi back to Poblado to get some lunch and make sure we had time to get to the airport before our flight to Peru. We decided to eat at a gastropub called Gato which catered to English speaking tourists and had too much on their menu. I got a passion fruit soda which was like someone had peeled a passion fruit and plopped it into soda water. We got chorizo that was good but made the mistake of thinking Thai noodles would be interesting to try. They were fine but we should’ve stuck to our rule of only Colombian food in Colombia.

Of course, as we wrapped up our meal and contemplated the walk back up the steep hill to the hotel, it started to rain. It didn’t rain hard so we tried to speed hike and made it back mostly dry and in time for an airport taxi.

¡Vamos a Peru!