MEDELLIN IS A REMARKABLE CITY AND COMEBACK STORY!

Medellin is a remarkable city and comeback story! It’s infamous history is well known to the world but over the last 2 decades it has made incredible strides to remake itself into one that all of Colombia can be proud of. We had been reading for a while about the radical makeover and decided to vacation in Colombia to experience it for ourselves. Our journey got off to a great start in Bogota and we were excited to keep it going in Medellin. This is part 2 of 3 of our adventure.

Getting there from Bogota

We took a $22 per person flight (no joke) on Avianca that literally took about 40 minutes. It’s either 22 bucks for a flight or 9-10 hours driving, your choice. I mean I can’t even get an Uber to take me to the airport from my house for that kind of money. And that’s one of the great things about traveling to Colombia. You can take in-country flights for super cheap and visiting far off cities via regional air is very convenient.

One thing I’ll mention about the airport is that it is on the other side of a mountain from Medellin. You will have to drive through it via an almost 5 1/2 mile tunnel! The longest one in the entire continent. Truly an engineering marvel but also nerve wracking your first time. Once we entered, it seemed like forever before we saw daylight again. We had a new appreciation for the saying “light at the end of a tunnel”.

The Charlee Hotel – I didn’t want to checkout 😆🥳

The entrance and lower area were getting remodeled during our visit so I don’t have a pic from outside but trust me when I tell you that The Charlee Hotel is pretty sweet. Wonderful service, phenomenal views, and a spectacular rooftop bar made this my favorite hotel of the entire vacation. Not to mention the location is in the heart of the EL Poblado neighborhood (Parque Lleras). This area has no shortage of social and nightlife activities. The many bars, restaurants, boutique shops, and other attractions all concentrated in this super chill neighborhood keeps the area buzzing.

Welcome cocktails at check in? Don’t mind if I do. Striking views of Medellin, just open your room windows and have a look 🤩. Oh and they had full size liquor bottles for your “mini” bar selections! Good stuff too, lol. We also loved that they had sliding doors that separated the bedroom from the sitting area with long curtains. Helped with blocking out the noise at night. But the highlight is their rooftop bar and pool which I will circle back to.

Robin – Our tour guide, driver, and drinking partner

This time we had a tour guide and driver set up. His name is Robin and I’ll be mentioning him throughout this post as he was a big part of this portion of our vacation. He was recommended to me by a friend in Houston who had visited Medellin a few months back. When he caught wind that we would be heading to Colombia, he immediately texted me, “You have to book this dude Robin, he’s legit”. And now I am highly recommending his services to you all. I’ll post his contact info at the end of the post.

We had been communicating and speaking on Whatsapp prior to our arrival and negotiated his fee upfront. I also knew what he looked like from his Instagram page so when he arrived at our hotel to pick us up, it all lined up. “Como estas brother?”, he says to me as we make our first introductions. We all hit it off from jump street.

Medellin Graffiti Tour

The first thing on our sightseeing list was the famous Medellin graffiti tour in La Comuna 13. I had heard from some friends and colleagues who travel extensively that this is a must do tour. Since I trust their travel opinions, I didn’t do any reading on it at all. I figured it would be just a bunch of cool murals in a neighborhood like La Candelaria in Bogota. Slightly rolling terrain but very manageable to walk and not too many people, just as we had experienced a couple of days ago in the capital. I was wrong about every single one of those assumptions 😂. Except the part about the murals, those were awesome.

Comuna 13

It was once the most violent and dangerous neighborhood in all of Colombia. The government literally went to war there against the gangs, narcos, and paramilitaries that had wrecked havoc on the area in the 80’s and 90’s. The controversial crackdown in the early 2000’s led to hundreds of deaths, beatdowns, arrests, and people disappearing. After that “cleanup” effort, the government began making improvements to Comuna 13. This included installing cable car access and escalators to connect the tops of the neighborhood to the rest of the city.

And that gave hope to the people and inspired a revitalization that was led by the street artists. Between the raw talent of the street artists and the new government efforts to help remake the image of the battle scarred neighborhood, a rebirth took place. A new colorful makeover where La Comuna’s stories are now told in the murals.

What to expect – Starting at the bottom

When we first arrived to the bottom of Comuna 13, we were sort of shocked by how different this graffiti tour was from the one in Bogota. For starters, it was super packed with people and bikes everywhere! Finding a parking spot was like gladiator games for drivers. Secondly, this neighborhood is like a Brazilian favela. You are high up on a hill with houses on top of houses all the way up. And those inclines will feel like they are at 50 degree angles in some spots.

But once the initial shock wears off, you very quickly gain an appreciation for the scenes all around you. People literally from all over the world gathering to admire the street art, food, and performers in a place where 20 years ago this was unimaginable. As we made our way slowly up the main street heading to the escalators, there were murals and story telling on each side of the street. It really was a beautiful scene.

The Murals

So many murals, so little time. If you’re a fan of street art like I am, you will want to do this tour on a non-holiday work week. We did ours on a Saturday and as you can see in our pics and video clips, there were tons of people out. I don’t want to mangle or get the stories about the murals wrong so I’ll just share a few pics of the ones we liked. Believe me when I tell you that there is tons of them on this tour. You can also check out the tours offered on Viator as they offer them in various lengths and activities.

At the top there are even more murals and you get to see some other views of the city below. The comeback story of Comuna 13 is still ongoing as it is for Medellin. This place though, now gives the people hope that better times are ahead for them both. With the dark past now behind them, there is real opportunity for the people, Medellin, and all of Colombia.

Food, Entertainment, and the walk down

You definitely won’t go hungry or thirsty on this tour. Street food vendors line the main road up and there are also plenty of restaurants, coffee shops, and bars to choose from. Besides the murals, this area is big with street performers of all kinds and abilities. Breakdancing groups, rappers, dancing teams, etc. They are all well represented. Comuna 13 is also used as a popular backdrop for music videos so you might catch one being filmed if you’re lucky. Once we got our fill of the tour, we turned around and headed back down. I made a mental note to do this tour again during the week. I wanted a little more time with less people.

Envy Rooftop Bar

After the graffiti tour, Robin wanted to take us on a proper city tour and to the Botero museum. We told him to move those activities to Monday. It was Saturday and we knew if we didn’t get some nap time in, we would mess up our Saturday night plans. He dropped us off back at the Charlee hotel and we made plans for him to get us at 7:30 am the next day for our all day Guatape tour. We caught the tail end of happy hour and after a couple of drinks, decided we would skip the nap, lol. Y’all know how it is once you get started.

We changed clothes and went to the top floor of our hotel. The Envy Rooftop Bar and Pool was barely starting to fill in. Our arrival time was perfect as we were able to secure a good spot overlooking the lounge below. It’s recommended that you make reservations here if you want a sofa spot. The views from this open air bar were absolutely fantastic! Have a look here.

Vibe and atmosphere

During the early evening hours it is chill and the music is relaxing as you can see/hear in the video clip below. But when the night goes dark, that is when they kick it into gear and you’ll hear some EDM, reggaeton, and some salsa mixed in. Combined with the amazing views and all the beautiful people that show up in droves, it’s impossible not to have a great time here. We headed back to our room a little before midnight. I had a personal quest to achieve the next day and I couldn’t do it hungover. 😆

Day 2 – Guatape

We started with a big breakfast at the hotel (which by the way was our favorite of the trip, best servers too). And right on time, Robin was there to scoop us up promptly at 7:30. We had to get off to an early start because Guatape is about 2 hours away from Medellin and we wanted to beat the crowds and tour buses. It being a Sunday meant that many locals would also be out enjoying their day off so it was imperative that we beat them to the town.

The drive over there was scenic and about 30 minutes out from Guatape, we stopped to get waters and snacks at this little town that had a replica of El Peñón de Guatapé. We also made 2 other stops at points of interest which was frustrating in a way because I wanted to get to the main event already! But our guide knew what he was doing. He was slowly building up the interest. Slowly building the anticipation. It was all worth it when we finally arrived!

El Peñón de Guatapé 

This huge rock formation towers over everything in the surrounding area. What we see is only 1/3 of it! The rest is in the ground. When I was first looking up things to do in Medellin, this was at the very top. The way it just stands out is fascinating, like it was placed there by aliens (cue the X-files music). It’s not just modern day visitors that are intrigued by the unique rock. The Indians that used to inhabit these ancient lands used to worship it.

It wasn’t until 1954 that 3 dudes (probably after a night of drinking aguardiente) looked at it and said to themselves, I think we should climb to the top. It took them a whole 5 days to do it back then. Today there is a staircase built against the rock and according to most blogs it takes 10-15 minutes to the top. It took me 20 minutes to make the trip up. Y’all know I like to drink and eat good, don’t judge 😎

My mission was to climb it and shoot some pics and video from the top. I’ll be honest and say that when I was staring at it up close and in person, it was a bit intimidating. My wife had told me she wasn’t going up and Robin said he’d done it many times and would pass. It would just be me and rock going toe to toe.

The Climb – What to expect

Before I get to the climbing experience I have to touch on what’s around the base of the rock. There are observation decks, restaurants, souvenir shops, restrooms, and more. You definitely won’t be bored while waiting for those in your party to make the climb should you pass on going up. As I stood in line I looked around and there were several little kids and older people eager and ready to climb. This motivated me, lol. No way was I going to punk out. Plus I had posted the above video clip to social media so had to do it!

The climb up is exactly 700 steps and they are numbered too. Looking up from the bottom, the steps look to be all evenly proportioned and spaced. They are not! In some places you will encounter triangle shaped steps that are not very wide and are further apart from each other. You will also have to deal with water dripping from the rock and of course the altitude. One other hazard along the way is people stopping to rest and catch their breath. They will literally stop in place or move over to the side but it’s not a very wide path. Okay, it’s me, I’m people. 🤣

At the top!

I won’t lie fam, the climb was whoopin’ me for a while. I am out of shape and was feeling it. But I persevered! When I made it all the way to the top viewing area I felt like a champ. Felt like Rocky running up the steps in Philadelphia. The first thing I did was film a short video clip to post the after shot. You can tell that I was just catching my breath too.

The views were nothing short of amazing! In every direction you could see the beautiful archipelago of Guatape below and I wanted to explore them too. Getting on a boat and exploring the islands was not part of the itinerary but I figured I’d ask Robin to see if he could hook something up. But that would have to wait because for now, I was enjoying the scenery. The only thing that was missing was more sun so my pictures could pop more! Nevertheless I think these shots are good.

Back at the bottom

Walking down is obviously less strenuous and a lot faster. My wife was waiting for me and shaking her head. “How are you feeling?” she asked me concerningly. Like a million bucks I told her! Even though my legs had started to shake those last 40-50 steps, when I was on flat ground it felt good. This is how I was when I made it back down.

Exploring Guatape on a boat!

The first thing I asked Robin upon descending was how much would it cost to hire a boat to take us around the islets. He called one of his buddies and gave me a price that equaled to about $40 bucks. I countered with, if he doesn’t have a cold 12 pack of beer onboard, book someone else. Robin laughed and said it’s covered. We were all set now. After arriving at the dock we were given our life vest and were introduced to the boat captain. We then boarded and popped open the first cold one of the day.

The tour on the water was a raucous good time and very informative. Not only do you get some different and impressive views of the rock but you get taken by some badass cribs and celebrity homes. We were also taken by the home of Pablo Escobar which was burned to the ground by the government. The property still sits unoccupied and is abandoned. There is also a floating cross that represents where the old town used to exist before the flooding from the new dam.

The town of Guatape

It was now time to actually explore the colorful and festive town of Guatape. This is a warm and welcoming place with old world charm. The people here are inviting and genuine and we found it to be very peaceful while walking around. One of the first things you’ll notice is the the bright colors used on the buildings and structures of the town. Guatape is known as the most colorful town in Colombia and I’m not sure I can argue with that.

You could spend a few hours wandering around and it wouldn’t even seem like a lot of time had passed. We did a little shopping and then it was time to get some grub. We had worked up an appetite and were ready to eat some Colombian food. I already knew what I wanted. The classic “Bandeja Paisa”! I could eat this meal every day. It contains white rice, red beans, ground or minced beef, plantain, chorizo sausage, corn, pork cracklings, fried egg, an arepa and usually half an avocado. We headed back to Medellin after we ate.

Sunday Funday evening

When we returned to the Charlee hotel in the late afternoon, it was still gorgeous outside so we all decided to head to the Envy bar to drink by the pool. Management had the roof on (I had no idea it had one) but then soon retracted it. It turns out there were some dark clouds that had rolled in earlier. The day was a success and we didn’t want it to end. As the mojitos and beers kept flowing, the sun went down and we relocated to check out another spot.

We called it a night around 9pm. It was a long fun day but we had to prepare for the next day’s events. Tomorrow we had a 1/2 day city tour lined up plus a late afternoon flight to Cartagena to catch. We showered and packed our bags that evening. But just because we were done for the night, Medellin wasn’t. The people of El Poblado were just getting started.

Day 3 – Inflexion Park, Paisa Town, and Botero Museum

Our last day in Medellin would be at a slower pace. We had our breakfast, checked out, and took our luggage with us when Robin picked us up at 9 am. The original plan was to visit these 3 sites but we threw in a couple of more stops to get some last minute shopping done. Everyone back home that requested souvenirs wanted a bag of coffee so we stopped at a place to get several bags of beans grinded up and resealed.

The second additional stop we needed to make was due to a counting error back home. It was an honest mistake that could happen to anyone. Who hasn’t miscalculated how many pairs of underwear they need on a trip? Anyone? Anyone? Buellar? You see what happened was… Ah man, my wife would not stop roasting me about the mishap. “How long have you been traveling?”, she asked sarcastically. “Don’t you write a travel blog?” 🤣😂

Robin took us to some mall where I seen a billboard of Brazilian Neymar advertising some underwear. Superdry was the brand and I had never heard of it in my life. I didn’t care to look into them or spend any more time than I had to. Underwear is underwear right? I had the cashier ring up 2 boxes (3 in each). The amount was $80 dollars! I had literally spent less hiring a boat for a couple of hours and lunch!! Lesson learned kids, always take enough underwear.

Inflexion Memorial Park

This was a somber place and I’m glad we visited it. The site that this memorial sits on is no other than Pablo Escobar’s Monaco building which the government had demolished. It is dedicated to the more than 46,000 victims of narco violence between 1983 and 1994. An astonishing number of lives lost in that dreadful era and a wound that is still healing for the country. The memorial is a stark reminder that the glorified version you see on the many Narco series had a real human cost.

Paisa Town

After the memorial visit we moved on to a more cheerful place called Paisa Town on Nuttibara hill. This is in fact a replica of an Antioquia town. It’s pretty touristy and not very authentic but we found it to be nice and quaint. Definitely a spot for souvenir shopping. The best thing about this spot is the views of Medellin. Bring your camera as you will get some good shots of the city on a nice clear day.

Botero Museum and Plaza

Our final stop was the Botero museum and plaza. This place is dedicated to the world famous Colombian artist Fernando Botero Angulo. A true born and bred Medellin paisa, Mr. Botero liked to paint and make sculptures of people in large and exaggerated sizes. I think secretly he liked his women thick. The square plaza in front of the museum is full of his wonderful work. We spent some time here admiring the sculptures and learning a little about Botero and his preferred style of work.

The sculptures of various people, animals, and body parts are spread out through the plaza. There are actually 2 museums in this vicinity but we decided not to visit either. My wife and I are not really the museum type and make a few exceptions to spend our time in one. There was plenty to see and admire out in the open and we were pleased with the selections available to the public.

So just FYI, the area around the plaza is okay during the day but I wouldn’t be anywhere close to it in the evening or stay in these parts. It’s a little shady to be honest.

Time to Leave

Robin had one more trick up his sleeve. He took us to a hotel by the plaza and tipped the bellman some pesos to take us to some balcony close to their top floor. This is where we were able to take the cover shot of this post. It was a great spot to take pics and perfect ending to our time in Medellin. A remarkable city and comeback story to be sure. I needed more time here. This city fit me, my personality, and I felt at home here. I’m a Colombian paisa at heart!

Robin took us to the airport after this last stop. We had gotten to know him over these last 3 days and it was cool to have made a friend. As I stated earlier in the post, this dude wears many hats and was an excellent driver and guide. You’d be wise to hit him up if you come through Medellin. His Instagram is @medellinway.

As for us, Cartagena was waiting for their turn to host us!