I Made It To Colombia! My first few days in Medellín

Teneals Travels
Feb 20, 2020
3 min read

Wow! So I made it to Medellín, Colombia and it is sure living up to its amazing reputation of being filled with art, culture, food, amazing people and more!

I am staying in a hostel called Casa Kiwi and it’s pretty cute and super clean! It’s nice and quiet and is just tucked on the street next to where the main bars and restaurants are. It costs me $13.50 per night and I sleep on the bottom bunk in my room. My first few nights I was in an 11 person dorm while my last few are in a 6 person dorm which is a little better. The beds were not comfortable at all in the 11 person but the beds in my new room are way better. I personally love the pool and hammock area - they’re so great to just hang out and read or connect with people back home.

The first afternoon that I arrived, I dropped my things in my dorm and then proceeded to check out the area a little bit. I got a craft beer at Medellín Beer Factory, read my little Spanish phrasebook and people watched for a while there.

I walked to see where my Spanish school was and took photos of the different artwork along the street. Beyond that, I stopped at a mini supermarket and picked up some fruit and peanut butter to add to my food collection.

My first afternoon/evening here was a bit rough, if I’m being honest. I was super overwhelmed with my backpacking stuff (Ugh, I should have packed like 30% of what I have with me!) and I felt so rushed to get settled and my bag wasn’t organized that functions well for backpacking. I suppose the main contributor to feeling so all over the place was that I slept poorly the night before and didn’t sleep on the second plane ride due to a chatty neighbour. Kurt encouraged me to just relax a bit at the hostel and head to bed early and you best believe that was the recipe to a successful second day!

I am enrolled in Spanish school which I am thoroughly enjoying. We attend classes each day from 9am until 1pm and I really feel like I’ve been placed in the correct course level. I’ve been working on a free app, DuoLingo, for quite some time but am really getting more in-depth answers to some of my questions that the app just can’t explain. My group has six students in it and we‘re all between the ages of 21 and 34 so it’s easy to chat and get along with everyone. We work at a fast pace that makes you feel challenged but not overwhelmed so it’s really lovely!

The first day of classes, we were all treated to a welcome lunch to get to know other people from other classes and to try local food as well. I met a girl from South Carolina (Monta) and a guy from Berlin (MV). I ended up spending my afternoon with Monta and her dorm-mate from Brazil (Julianna) and we made our way to the metro to explore some parks in Medellín.

Beyond that, we went to Botero Plaza where we looked at the different statues around the area as well as the stunning architecture of the main building. This area has all sorts of interesting sculptures created by the artist Fernando Botero who donated the statues when the museum of Antioquia was being renovated. The Botero Legend says that if you rub the statues, it will bring you love!

It’s so interesting walking through the streets. You have vendors of all sorts: food carts with local food and fruit, electronics, drinks, books and more. There’s a lot of poverty in this neighbourhood (well, and everywhere else) but we felt safe nonetheless. The people here are so helpful and kind!

Here are a few assorted food items I’ve had over the last few days! From left to right: a homemade meal in my hostel (cabbage, chicken, rice and carrot) with a beer, a churro filled with a caramel sauce, Obleas (a crunchy wafer with Arequipe (caramel sauce) and cheese), one of their beers (the red ale is amazing!), & empanadas (which you can find on any street for cheap)!