Medellin #6 (Apartment)

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Where to stay in Medellin? There are lots of choices as Medellin is a large metropolitan city. My first choice is always to locate an apartment in the area of the city I will spend most of my time exploring and whenever possible access to public transportation. Luckily for me Medellin has many options along those lines and at affordable prices. I have had great success locating homes or apartments using the website www.airbnb.com across multiple countries. The website again proved its worth with a 2 bedroom apt in a quiet part of Poblado for an average night stay of under $50US. The building, furnishing and appliances were all modern and in good working order. The security was excellent and the view outstanding as I was on the 24th floor. The apartment building was situated high up along one side of the valley so the location alone commanded a great view.

Most of these units on airbnb will have a property manager type available locally for keys, orientation, advice or issues that may come up during your visit. I am pretty self-sufficient so after I get the keys I am off exploring. First order of business is locating eateries close by then branching further out from there.

This building had excellent access to public transportation. Taxis and shuttle buses were stationed just outside the main gate most of the day. Shuttle buses normally ran less than a US dollar per trip and routes would take you to one of the large shopping malls or metro stations. At night you could call for taxi service using the landline and they would send you a taxi without giving directions as they use a caller ID system for addresses. After the call I would lockup then take the elevator down 24 floors and walk to the gate. Almost every time the taxi would already be there waiting or maybe it was someone else’s taxi. I always took it. Hehe

Taxi service would run me less than 5 dollars per trip. Medellin is one of the more affordable cities for taxi use and I found myself using them more and more during my stay. As with all Latin American countries, buses are the main mode of public transportation. I only used them for short hops as taxis and the metro served my needs most of the time.

If you remember from my earlier post the barrio Poblado (where I spent most of my time) is an upper-scale kinda place. I believe my apt building must have been along the limits of its boundary. There was a more low income neighborhood just outside the building’s security fence. The buildings were simple but far from slum-like. I was told not to walk there alone. I never tempted fate as I would have when I was younger and invincible. I’m kinda slow-footed now.

The pool was nice and very clean. Maintenance of the building was always ongoing. It had a small gym, aerobic class room and a small bodega (convenience store) on the premises. This was nice due to the fact they had servicio domicilio (home delivery).

Behind the apartment building was the top of the mountainside. I explored it one day and found private homes and a meandering walkway. I am told these walkways are found throughout the valley and connect neighborhoods to larger streets giving public access to the poorer areas of the city. I have not yet seen but I am also told some of these poorer neighborhoods even have escalators for stairs due to the severity of the incline. When my friend’s network gets going I hope to have them take me to these areas to see how the leaders of Medellin accommodate the poor with these public works. I think it’s fascinating.

After inventorying my apartment pictures I realized I forgot to take photos of the bedrooms. I will return to Medellin for New Years 2014 so I will update this blog entry at that time.

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Comments

[Stafford]

The view
Wow dude, what a wonder value and view.