It was only an hour flight from Cartagena to Medellin, but it shot us almost 5,000 vertical feet from sea level to a deep hollow high in the Andes Mountains. The view from my window seat over the undulating terrain was breathtaking. Between huge, green-black swathes of jungle, there were bright, fertile valleys dotted with coffee plantations of all sizes, and clusters of villages, always with a church at the center. And field after field of what was no doubt coca plants - the source of cocaine and most of Colombia’s reputation as a dangerous, corrupt, and heavily divided country.

 We decided to take an Uber from the Airport to central Medellin. We did find a ride, but because Uber isn’t “legal” drivers have to keep a low profile, so the meeting point was obscure. Once again, we sought the kindness of strangers and asked a young man to help. He took Michael’s phone, talked to our driver, and walked us about five minutes out of his way to where our driver had parked - definitely not somewhere we’d have found on our own. We thanked him profusely, and he said he was happy to help and proud that we’d chosen to visit his country.

The drive from the airport to our Airbnb took about 35 minutes with about ten minutes of that ride inside a five-and-a-half-mile hole drilled straight through a mountain. This massive tunnel was finished in 2019 (after decades of delay) and cut the drive from the airport to the center of Medellin almost in half. The most amazing part was the view once you broke into daylight. It was like being shot from a cannon high over a sprawling metropolis of high-rise apartments, skyscrapers, parks, and undulating barrios that flowed into the crevasses of the foothills.

Our sleek Airbnb was the absolute opposite of our “authentic” Cartagena bungalow. We were on the eighth floor of a new building with every mod-con you could ask for. It was clean, bright, well furnished, and in a great location. We could feel the tension leave our shoulders as we unpacked and took long, hot showers.

The closest supermarket was called Exito! and it anchored a modern shopping mall. The mall also had a food court where KFC stopped me in my tracks and Michael was giddy when he spotted the Subway logo across the hall. Sometimes, especially on a long travel day you just have to give in to the urge for the easy and familiar. No judging.

 Our leafy, Conquistadores neighborhood was adjacent to Parques del Rio, a beautiful, mile-long greenbelt that straddled a cocoa brown river. There were a couple of really great al fresco restaurants inside the park including an ice cream and coffee shop. Colombian coffee deserves its excellent reputation, but here you could also dive into a dark chocolate brownie with a molten center (baked to order) topped with hand-churned vanilla ice cream. Just to be sure it was as mind-blowing as we thought it was, we had it twice. Yes. Mind-blowing.

The park was also a hang-out for designer dogs and hip kids in equal measure. The dogs all seemed to be “breeds” - no mutts allowed. The kids all seemed to be “mutts” but rocked the latest brands and the coolest gear.

 Medellin has a rich and complicated history. Michael did research ahead of our visit, but until we actually arrived and started to dig into the culture and the politics I did not fully understand the situation. For example, on our Free Walking tour, the guide asked how many of our friends and family were terrified we were visiting Medellin? Um. Not mine - in fact, since Michael and I seemed to be the only people on the tour who hadn’t watched Narcos on Netflix, I wasn’t sure what she was talking about.

 Michael had read more background on the drug cartels that terrorized this city just 20 years ago, but I soon caught up. Fortunately, this tour didn’t focus on Escobar and the extreme violence of the past, but it did touch on how the gangs and corrupt politics have shaped (and continue to shape) this fascinating city. Instead, we delved into the culture, the food, and life in Medellin today, but there is plenty of Narcos Tourism if you want to know more. Our guide discouraged us from supporting those kinds of tours and instead focus on the future! And the food! Just like Cartegena, the locals love their cuisine.

 The tour took us through the hectic central marketplace and onto Botero Plaza where sculptures by Colombia’s most famous artist lounge larger than life. Literally - if you know Botero, you know what I mean. Prostitution is legal in Medellin so there were plenty of ladies competing with the artwork for attention along with street vendors and artists. 

We learned a great deal on that three-hour walking tour, but we also took an exceptional Airbnb Experience called Walking Tour, Cable Car & Fruit Tasting. Our guide Oscar had worked in New York as an tour guide so his English was excellent, his attitude was upbeat, and he was great company. He also loves his city and had a head full of facts that put any guidebook to shame.

As sometimes happens - we were the only guests on the tour, but he treated us like VIPs. We met on a vast plaza in front of two more Botero sculptures called Birds of Peace. One of them had been blasted open by dynamite in a terrorist attack during a crowded festival in 1995. Thirty people were killed and over 200 injured. The mayor wanted the statue removed, but the artist insisted a new one be installed right next to the destroyed version to show that terror never wins.

From that somber beginning we moved on to taste some delicious street snacks before taking a cable car up to one of the revitalized neighborhoods high above the city.

The citizens of Medellin are very, very proud of their gleaming new metro system. It took a long time (and many millions of dollars including those that went missing) to complete, but now the entire city is accessible to everyone by rail and an impressive number of cable car lines. We climbed into a gondola just like you’d find at a glitterati ski resort and moved up and away from the center (watch our video below).

Sometimes we swooped so low you could see what was for dinner through open doorways, but other times we were disconcertingly high off the ground. All the while, Oscar was sharing stories about how these renegade neighborhoods were cut off and without basic services until recently, and how these cable car lines changed everything.

After we returned to the city we spend an hour in the Remembrance Museum where we learned more about the darker side of Medellin. The museum is designed to be a place of healing and reconciliation for victims’ families and survivors of the drug cartels' violence against farmers forced to grow Coco plants or be murdered.

During this part of the tour more was revealed about Escobar and his grip on the city. And also the dangerous and tangled world of politics here. Running for office often meant running for your life! We were in Colombia just ahead of the presidential primaries where a systemic shift in Government was on the ballot. I won’t do that justice - but suffice it to say it was a hot topic.

 On a lighter note, Oscar took us to a sprawling food market where we had a fruit tasting. The variety of fruit grown in this region is mouth-boggling. They look strange, they taste strange, and they probably are not on the shelves of even your most adventurous gourmet grocery store. (Watch the video above to see how to open a Granadilla so you can slurp out the “alien brains’ inside)

 We were not done with Medellin yet. We took a tour of a formerly notorious neighborhood called Commune 13 and attended a professional football match. Both were Airbnb Experiences - which by now you might think are paid endorsements, but they are not. We just find them a good alternative to the usual tourist offerings, often with a different twist. And sometimes they are less expensive!

Our tour guide for the Commune 13 Graffiti Tour was 24 year old Kevin. He was born and raised in the neighborhood, and from the stories he shared with us, it was a brutal and scary childhood. He managed to dodge both bullets and becoming a gang member - mostly due to the fierce protection of his grandmother, with whom he still shares a two-bedroom shack. Only a hand full of years ago this dangerous neighborhood began transitioning block by block into a haven for street artists. The city administrators took notice and more services and security were provided until “13” became a place where adventuresome tourists dared to travel. Now it is the number one tourist attraction in Medellin.

Our next Airbnb adventure, a football match between Atletico Nacional and Deportivo Pereiro was worth the price we paid in aggravation. First, we had to cross the entire city by bus to meet our guide and eight other intrepid guests. Then by van, we drove all the way back past our neighborhood and beyond to the stadium. It would have been impossible, however, to connect at the match. Did I mention it was pouring rain? Our driver dropped us off next to the stadium (another plus) and even as we climbed out of the van vendors were hocking thin plastic ponchos and seat cushions in team colors. I’d have paid whatever they were asking - so 3 USD for both was a Godsend.

We hustled to the nearest ad hoc bar where they handed out beers two at a time because our Airbnb Experience specifically said you could have “all the beer you could drink”. The nuance was that beer had to be downed before we entered the stadium (our host’s, not the stadiums). The proffered snacks were piles of tiny streamed potatoes drenched in vinegar and salt, bowls of boiled peanuts, and chili-powder-covered mango skewers. Once we’d had all that - we crammed through security, ladies to the left, gents to the right, and regrouped. There was standing water at least three inches deep in the row of seats just below ours so we stayed relatively dry - at least from the knees up. Eventually, the rain stopped and we shed our ponchos. The match was close and the fans were crazy! Our trek home was challenging as well but I lived to write about it - and we will continue to attend “futbol” where ever we can!

Our last outing was to Pueblito Paisa, a replica of a typical columbian village that sat on a hill above the city. The setting was quaint, but it was really about the view. We decided to walk from our place to the site, about a two-mile journey. Medellin is not a pedestrian-friendly city on any level so it was tricky. We had to cross a lot of busy roads and climb through a park to the top of the hill that wasn’t a particularly safe place to be on our own.

We enjoyed the view, but we could see thunderclouds building in the distance so we turned back. Why not walk home Michael said? Why not take this short-cut I asked? Why? Because it was a dead-end that left us at the entrance of a small abandoned circus It was very creepy - but we could see the road that led home just beyond, so we called to see if anyone would let us in so we could cross over to the exit. A wiry old caretaker stepped out of the tent and stared at us for a while…but first to arrive was a snarling black dog. As the man drew closer we could see he had a large machete hanging from his belt. He growled something in Spanish as we gestured with “happy hands” that we wanted to “go out” the other side. He stared a bit longer, and then called off the dog. He let us in and relocked the gate (gulp) behind us. Of course, now we were alone with this character with no way out…and we were no longer confident in “the kindness of strangers”. This really was a horror-movie situation - just cue the manic clown. He did let us out - and we did make it home!

That wrapped up Medellin for us. The city made an incredible impact on us both - and we will look back on our visit as one of our most memorable Senior Nomad experiences. Up next - Bogota!

Thanks for following along,

 Debbie and Michael Campbell

The Senior Nomads