Medellin, the city of transformation
Medellin used to be the world’s most dangerous city back in the late 80ies and early 90ies. Drugs, robberies, murderers and crime were everywhere. It was not possible to move freely within the city and some corners in the centre had to be avoided at all times of the day.
I did not know any of this before coming to Medellin. And to be honest I don’t know if I’d gone there if I’d known in advance. Nowadays you only hear positive stories about Medellin from fellow backpackers. Great nightlife, colorful street art, friendly people, interesting culture and a fascinating history.
A short introduction
I personally prefer smaller villages and towns over large cities like Medellin, but still the city was a great experience. It was probably the place, where I got closest to an authentic Colombian feeling. Mainly it was due to the Free Walking Tour and the great guide, who explained a lot about Colombia’s history and culture as well as past and current struggles.
Of course, in a large city like Medellin you also get in contact with locals. And Colombians are the friendliest people we have met on our entire trip. At the beginning you have to give up any idea of room of privacy. Colombians don’t know such thing and come very close to you in public areas. They may even stare at you. I admit it felt very strange and uncomfortable at the beginning. I always thought someone tries to do me harm. But this is only the Colombians curiosity as we learned later. In Medellin you will be friendly greeted as “Gringo” (=foreigner) by the locals, who are referred to as “Paisas”. They are truly grateful and honored that you visit their country. It still has the reputation of being a dangerous travel destination and yet tourism has still to grow.
Medellin is a city offering various activities. Here is what you can easily do and see within a 5 days stay:
Join a free Walking Tour
Like in any other city we visited before, this was a must in Medellin too. It was also one of the best ones I joined so far. Our guide was a former teacher and did a good job in providing interesting information and conveying an emotional authenticity at the same time. He continuously emphasised, during the 4 hours of the tour, how much Colombia struggles with being reduced to sololey (producing) drugs all over the world. He has a point when he said, that drugs are not a supply, but a demand problem. And the majority of the Colombian produced drugs, are obviously not consumed in Colombia, but in Europe and the US instead.
We also got to see the so called “democratic architecture”. These are special constructions and buildings on places that used to be especially dangerous throughout the city. For example Medellin’s main square was once dominated by drug dealers and consequently an extremely violent area. Today you find at the very same, safe place a construction of hundrets of modern laterns, that light up beautifully at night.
In order to fight the crime, the city’s councelor back then had built very good looking buildings in the middle of the poorest and dangerous neighboors. These were mainly libraries with the purpose to attract children and teenagers in order to give them education. And to show and teach them alternatives, they would not have gotten otherwise.
With mainly these initiatives (as well as the construction of the city’s metro system), Medellin was able to accomplish a turn around. And now they want to spread word of their beautiful and somewhat liveable city.
Please note: compared to the Free Walking Tours anywhere else, you have to sign up for this one in advance. Registration is easy and can be done here. Make sure to be in time for the tour! People in Medellin are veeery punctual and even though you are signed up, the tour will start without you in case you don’t show up in time.
Join a Comuna 13 tour
Comuna 13 used to be the most dangerous district (=comuna) of Medellin. Today it is the city’s proud showing-off rolemodel of the turn-around of Medellin. Various walking tours, from tip-based to rather expensive, are offered to explore the comuna. Make sure you join a tour, that is guided by a local who grew up or even still lives in the Comuna 13. Only then you get the real authentic stories and emotions.
The district is mainly known for its escalator, thanks to which the 12.000 inhabitants of Comuna 13 could become part of the rest of Medellin and had new job and education options. Secondly, it are the artistic graffitis that made Comuna 13 a touristic hotspot. You find graffiti at almost every wall and almost all of them deal with the district’s dark past and flourish future.
When you walk around the colorful comuna 13, overlooking the whole city of Medellin, you can now hardly believe the horrible history of that very neighborhood. Children were attracted to join the military force, neighbours became spies and enemies, shootings were daily routine and up til now countless people went missing. But the comuna’s inhabitants did not give up their homes and have been fighting the violence, corruption and crime. You can feel how proud they are today, that they made it through their darkest days and with how much optimism they look into their future today.
Go to Parque Explorer
My friends and family know: I am not a big fan of museums. Consequently I was not too enthusiastic about visiting Medellin’s enigneering museum, called the Parque Explorer. However, I was positively surprised by the modern and interactive layout of this place. The entrance fee was not too cheap for Colombian standards with 8 EUR per person. But you can literally spend the whole day in there. There is too much to see and explore just within a couple of hours. Good Spanish skills can be plus though 😉
Hang around Botanical Garden
The botanical garden in Medellin is for free and a popular spot for locals too. On the weekend you find lots of families enjoying a picnic and playing in the grass. The garden is beautiful, clean, informative and simply a very nice place to take a break from the noisy and busy city life. Every other Saturday the garden hosts a handcrafts market with lots of culinary and artsy treats. If you happen to be there at that time, I definitely recommend having lunch at one of the several food booths of the market too. It is all fresh, homemade, farily priced and really delicious.
Take a ride in a cable car
Besides the Metro and buses of Medellin, the cable cars belong to the city’s public transportation system. The ride costs slightly more than one with the Metro (0,6 EUR per ride). It opens your eyes to the huge extent of Medellin and brings you to remote living aras of the city, which you otherwise would not come up to that close.
Dinner reco: The pizzas at Cafe Zorba rank among our best dinners during our entire 6 months journey. You can easily get dinner for far less money in Medellin, but every cent is well spent in these yummy tasting, mouthwatering pizzas. The most creative mixtures of ingredients make the best tasting ones.
Do bar hopping in Poblado
As soon as you research for hostels, bars or restaurants in Medellin, you will stumble across the district of Poblado. It is the place, where you will find most tourists and backpackers. And when they tell you about the awesome nightlife in Medellin, it is also Poblade where it all takes place. I cannot even point out a special bar, because there are so many of them so that everyone will find the perfect one to his or her personal taste (and budget limits).
Hostel reco: we stayed at Be Okay Hostel, which has clean and nice rooms and a rooftop terrace. Price with 8,5 EUR per night in the dorm is pretty fair and even includes an omelette breakfast. However, there are countless hostels in Poblado to suit every taste.