Blogs from Medellin, Colombia, South America

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South America » Colombia » Medellin September 11th 2023

Buenos Dias Minca From Cartagena I got a bus to Santa Marta which got in at half 8 so I had a sorting out evening and morning in Santa Marta. Thankfully, it was a little cooler than Cartagena but there is not much to do and the city lacks much character. I got a bus or ‘collectivo’ in late morning from Santa Marta to Minca. I have been staying at a super cool hostel called Casa Loma which is on the hill. There are private 1 bed huts which were a bargain so booked one of those. Minca is a village in the Sierra Nevada mountains and a backpacking haven, nice coffee shops, food and hostels. Lots of good walking and nature to enjoy. In the afternoon I got there I went to the Marinka waterfalls ... read more
Cabo San Juan
Medellin rooftop
Guatape

South America » Colombia » Medellin November 10th 2022

Plans often change as many of us have realized throughout our travels. The plan looks good and appeared to be manageable….but then….the universe strikes. For us it was our route to Medellín. As we were driving from the airport in Pereira on our way to coffee country, our guide mentioned that the route to Medellín could take up to 20 hours.What?.... how can that be? We were to be driven there in a few days. It would normally take about six hours, but apparently some truck drivers are quite upset about increases in fuel costs by the government and have taken to blocking the main highway to Medellín. The thought of spending 20 hours in a car wasn’t a pleasant one, so we contacted our fixer and they put us on a one-hour flight from Pereira ... read more
Guatupé, Colombia
Botero Statues
So much death and chaos

South America » Colombia » Medellin July 21st 2022

Time Out’s top 10 cities of the world: Edinburgh, Scotland I think a revisit is in order, since I was golfing most of the time on my previous visit.Chicago One of my favorite US cities, great food, music, easy to navigate, Wrigley, Mag Mile.Medellin, Colombia Very interesting, with great food, interesting neighborhoods. But too highly rated!Glasgow, Scotland I plan to go back, soon!Amsterdam One my favorite EU cities, always interestin... read more
Bangkok skyline
Back to Vienna?

South America » Colombia » Medellin April 29th 2022

It turns out two of the three places the Digital Nomad is recommending are places I have visited. Here they are: Medellín, Colombia Colombia has been squarely on my RETA beat for nearly a decade. And livable, internationalized cities like Medellín are drawing in mobile, creative, and productive remote workers untethered by the Zoom Boom. Today, the old cartel and bad reputation that dogged this beautiful city in the days of Pablo Escobar have faded into history. But the street where he was gunned down is a bit of a tourist attraction. They have been replaced with a hip, “must visit” city that has much to appeal to the Zoom Boom crowd. Modern Medellin is one of the most modern and sophisticated cities on my beat. Young digital nomads huddle in trendy watering holes plotting the ... read more
My wine cellar

South America » Colombia » Medellin February 14th 2022

Poet, novelist, and travel writer William Graham lives in Stowe, Vermont. He newest work of fiction is called url=https://www.amazon.com/Darkness-Paradise-Colombian-Mystery-American-ebook/dp/B09QZ49LZF/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2OTTBZ192ZNTY&keywords=darkness+in+paradise+colombian&qid=1643034517&sprefix=darkness+in+paradise+colombian%2Caps%2C71&sr=8-1Darkness in Paradise: Colombian Tales of Mystery & Horror, which is part of his url=https://www.amazon.com/dp/B098F73ZXF?binding=kindle_edition&qid=1643034517&sr=8-1&ref=dbs_dp_rwt_sb_pc_tuknSouth American Novels, inspired by the people, history, and culture of the region. Colombia has had a poor reputation for many years, fueled by media coverage of the drug cartel wars that featured kingpin Pablo Escobar and the decades-long guerrilla war. For many people, what they know about Colombia derived from watching the Netflix series... read more
Barrio in Medellin
Medellin Cable Car
Coffee Plantation

South America » Colombia » Medellin August 24th 2021

Another great experience on heygo garden festival programme. http://www.heygo.com The tradition of silleteros has its roots back in the 19th century when people in the rural areas in Antioquia used these silletas (chair-like) devices to carry the sick and elderly. Santa Elena flower growers were the first to use the silleta to carry flowers, vegetables and herbs to market in Medellín. And they used the silleta to take food and household items they bought in Medellín back to their homes. The first Feria de las Flores, or flower festival, reportedly took place in Medellin in May 1957. The idea behind this event was to help promote the flower industry in Colombia. Colombia is the second largest flower exporting country in the world after Holland. The first festival in Medellín lasted for five days, the first silleteros ... read more

South America » Colombia » Medellin May 7th 2021

3rd May - Throughout the 80s and 90s, Comuna 13 was considered one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the world. It was run by violent drug trafficking organizations, who used the poor, sprawling hillside barrio as a transit route in and out of the city, and served as a stronghold for guerrillas, gangs, and paramilitaries. Santi spoke about the raid on Comuna 13 in 2002 where the residents were caught in the crossfire and the atrocities that followed. During the first week of the raid, at least 18 people were killed, 34 wounded and almost 250 arrested in Comuna 13. The neighborhood’s 100,000 residents were caught in the crossfire, resulting in arbitrary detentions, disappearances, and hundreds of injuries. The following decade the government set out to improve the commune & in 2011 a series of ... read more

South America » Colombia » Medellin May 1st 2021

Medellin’s annual Flower Festival is one of Colombia’s most important regional festivals. Every year the country celebrates its success and the stars of the show are always the silleteros, who have their very own parade. The silleteros in the festival are flower vendors. They spend the rest of the year farming small plots of land on the misty mountain slopes around “The City of Eternal Spring” — Medellin in Antioquia — where they harvest their blooms and bring them to sell in nearby markets and plazas. The word silla means seat or chair in Spanish and comes from a time when local men, usually peasants, strapped wooden chairs on their backs to carry their produce, children and even local noblemen. Nowadays the word silletero is applied to anyone who carries something in a wooden frame on ... read more

South America » Colombia » Medellin December 7th 2019

Heute blieben wir Tagsüber im Hostel, es regnete. Dem Plan gemäß bewegten wir uns Nachmittags zur Bushaltestelle und nahmen einen Bus nach Medellin. Zum Einen wollten wir nach Salento, wozu wir in Medellin umsteigen mussten, zum Anderen war uns gesagt worden, dass heute in Kolumbien und insbesondere auch in Medellin Maria Empfängnis gefeiert wird. Dabei stellen viele Leute Kerzen vor die Tür, außerdem markiert dieser Tag den Beginn der Weihnachtsfeierlichkeiten. Deshalb wollten wir, bevor wir einen Nachtbus in Richtung Salento nehmen würden, erst nochmal ein bisschen durch Medellin laufen. Wir kamen am Busterminal an und fanden eine Gepäckaufbewahrungsstation, an der wir unsere großen Rucksäcke lassen konnten. Dann fuhren wir mit der Metro eine Station weiter, zur Haltestelle Universidad - dort hatten wir bereits vor ein paar Tagen die Weihnachtslichter gesehen, irgendwie dachten wir,... read more
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South America » Colombia » Medellin December 3rd 2019

Heute wollten wir, wie auch gestern schon gewollt, die Stadtour machen. Diesmal nahmen wir einen Uber in die richtige Richtung, doch es dauerte 20 Minuten, bis er auftauchte - so waren wir etwas zu spät dran, als wir den Startpunkt erreichten. Soch glücklicherweise sahen wir unterwegs eine Gruppe von Touristen, die aussah, als könnte es die Tour sein, zu der wir gehen wollten. Also liefen wir ihr hinterher, wurden einmal weitergeleitet und fanden schlussendlich doch noch die Walking Tour, zu der wir hatten gehen wollen. Bei der Tour wurde die Geschichte der Stadt und ein paar andere interessante Dinge erklärt, zum Beispiel das merkwürdige Erscheinungsbild des Kulturpalastes. Ein Belgischer Architekt hatte angefangen, einen schönen Kulturpalast zu bauen. Es gab jedoch Streit mit den Kolumbianern, der darin gipfelte, dass der Architekt einfach zurück nach Belgien ging und ... read more
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