Nice small towns near Medellin

IloveCidy says on Oct 16, 2008, 17:24:

Near the airport there are several really nice small towns. Cidy tells me that some of the richest people in Colombia live there. On the weekends they are really nice. Every town has a square. They have food vendors and music. It is a nice atmosphere. They won't stare at you being a gringo. Prices are really good too. Good lunch for 2 is about 10 US. You have the right idea. Everybody is in a rush to get to Medellin. I say stay a little while and enjoy.

I miss my novia!

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Rachel157 says on Oct 16, 2008, 18:06:

About 1 hour north of Medellin is a town called Don Matias. About 75% of Colombians living in Boston are from this town. Maybe a slight exaggeration.
My brother went there last year with a friend for a month and he had the best time. Plus he found quite a few people to speak english with because so many people had lived in Boston and then moved back there. He said it's a real small town but so much fun.

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BlueDevil says on Oct 16, 2008, 20:34:

Rionegro and Carmen de Viborral are worth a visit.

Blue Devil

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Swinn88 says on Oct 16, 2008, 20:40:

My Wife is originally from Don Matias and I have spent much time there myself. It truly is a beautiful place to visit. Small but Very Nice. Full of life.

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dwmte7 says on Oct 16, 2008, 20:57:

well the easiest to recommend are going from medallo, via las palmas, you come to el retiro, and interesting place, really rural colombia with a lot of furniture makers and a nice little bar restaurant in the park where you can hang and watch the world go by.further on down the road, you come to la ceja..another rural pueblo...unfortunately it's an enclave of paras and i don't recommend it as a place to either visit or hang. going on down the road you pass don diego, not much more than a whole in the road...you pass it as you enter llano grande.

llano grande is my favorite place of all. lots of ranches, some forested areas as you enter and lots of flat plains where cattle are always grazing. wonderful people...the best i've met in my years in colombia. about 5 miles into llano grande is a turn off to tablaso...that's where pablo was born, uribe was born and pastrana has family there. it's a tiny ass little pueblo with more history than you can imagine. the folks can be friendly and they can be offish. but it's well worth the see and visit.

as you continue through los llanos, you will finally come to gualanday, the greatest little centro commercio in colombia. it's set in a wooded enclave and has everything one could want for a corner store...art studios, antiquarios, painters (art) sculpters, a second hand store, a lumber yard, a market (fantastic one) a bakery a blacksmith, a fereteria, a tiny little food/drink stand out in front, a coffee shop, an ice cream shop, a pizza parlor with a fire place that's wonderful, galleries and more. i know everyone there for many years and can only say that all the folks are the best.

on down the street on your right is tutucan...a confama theme park..a great place to hang out and piddle around for the better part of a day.

on down the street, again, you turn to the right as if going into rionegro, and you'll pass through a very long street of artists and artisans, cabinet makers and wood carvers. a great place to buy souvenirs or appointments for your house. as you continue up the street and come to the glorietta, vere to the right and you'll enter san antonio. it's the best little party pueblo i know of. the weekly party starts on thursday and ends around monday. it's basically safe (as long as you're not a stupid ass and create problems for yourself). dancing, music, food, gifts, art and more.

then there's rionegro. it'll take you some good long days and nights to begin to get a handle on rio negro. there's a lot more than meets the eye. on the back side of rio negro, is por venir. that's where they have the festival of candles in late november. this i guarantee you, it's like nothing you ever saw. don't miss it. it will blow your mind.

out another side of rio negro, past national de chocolate, is maranilla. maranilla has more bars and clubs and dance places than any other place i've been in colombia and you can spend many a day and night just hanging out. i caution this. it's so cool, even the insurgents and paras and all manner of bad guys (and gals) like to go there and party too. so go with trustworthy friends and behave yourself. fuckin around can definitely get you dead.

out another side of rio negro is carmen de viboral. a rural farm community, open, spread out and lovely.

back up by the airport, is guarney..a bit of a boring pueblo, nice folks and it has the hippodromo. (horse racing) going out past guarney, you enter really rural farming areas with lots of insurgents...they're nice, but behave yourself and travel with friends. from their, you're headingout into eastern antioquia and ownership of land and the 'bosses' take on a different hue. keep on your toes and don't even think of being offensive. not for the feint of heart.

i'll continue on regions to the north and south of medello manana as i'm about to fall asleep.
douglas

dwmte

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Cheers Terry says on Oct 16, 2008, 22:17:

Douglas, a killer post, as always when you get on a roll...

Cheers,
Terry

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PBHjon says on Oct 16, 2008, 23:20:

thanks for the great posts, guys :)

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dwmte7 says on Oct 17, 2008, 06:04:

well, we left off in the regions east of medellin so now we'll take a rather brief journey north, above bello, maybe 18-20 miles to barbosa.

barbosa is surrounded north and south by fincas owned by capos....in the war-time hayday of the drug wars around medellin, all these fincas were inhabited by folks who made their monies in the trade. now--remembering the last time i was up there living on a friends finca, about 1998--my friend, jonas, a lithuanian immagrant to colombia in the 40's, a physicist and chemist that previously tought at both the univ of bogota and medellin, said that one by one, all his neighbors were killed off in 'turf' wars, leaving all these relatively nice fincas all but abandoned. and abandoned they were. it was kinda wierd.

the pueblo it self, is a bit on the edge of the wild west. it's rural antioquian colombia with a bit of the wild and wooly still in tack. it's an interesting place to visit, but, personally, i wouldn't recommend it as a 'hang'.

as you venture further up the road above barbosa...maybe another 25 miles, you come to the old spanish gold fields. you'll see folks, near naked, panning in the river and still ecking out a modest income from the ore they retrieve from their efforts. across the river, maybe a half mile is an old spanish mine shaft, still in operation, where the yeild is good, the ore good, but in a day of commercial mining...open pit, it's just not profitable on a large scale to extract ore in quantity. a friend of mine owns the finca where it's located and i went down the shaft about 400 ft and actually extracted some ore...about ten lbs. back up on the surface, one can see the amont of gold in the rock..it's actually impressive, but without contemporary mining techniques applied, it amounts to little more than a pasa tiempo for the owners.

the area is definitely interesting to see and hang out for a day, but the folks are really possive over their claims and i would not recommend trying your hand at panning. you might be among the 'tailings' found floating downstream.

there's what's left of the old railway that starts in bello and works it's way up north along the river and continues along to GOD knows where. you can still ride it and go whereever it is that it goes. i'm not sure how far it goes, maybe other's have taken their explorations further. it's just that the area and the folks aren't known for their cordiality and there's little to do but sit, eat and drink. i might add that by far, the prettiest colombiana i ever saw was living on a finca up by my friends. and when i say pretty, i mean drop-dead gorgeous. she was married and so i tethered my leash and just did some aesthetic appreciation.

if you go south outta medellin, you pass through sabaneta. the closest-in pueblo you can go to. it's very nice and i recommend any person visiting or living in medallo to make it one of their familiar haunts. great place.

now if you cross the rio medellin and continue on south you can vere west and go to itagui, home of one of colombias 'grand slams' (prisons) where the famous and infamous are living out their lives. i have relatives in itagui but find it deathly boreing.

if you vere to the right rather than turning to the left for itagui, you will pass along the river past the "ho"tels. short-time gettaways for highspeed lovers...... continuing now eastwards, you'll pass miles of ebanistas (furniture/cabinet makers).they are good, some great. two of my workshops in years past were there. you can order them to make anything you want at very reasonable prices. i recommend serious haggling. you're prices will be about a third of what you'ld pay in town.

further on up alongside the river, the stench in the air can be overwhelming. as the city dump is just across the river. zillions of gallenaso are in the air and on the ground. that use to be where the dead bodies would collect along the banks...those that didn't wash on down stream towards the center of medellin. in those days, the smell was intolerable.

along the way, before you come to primavera, you'll pass several very good estaderos (outdoor restaurants) and on days that there's little to no smell, a sit down meal in these restaurants is wonderful and the prices can't be beat.

finally, continuing on down the road, you'll come to caldas, a rural pueblo of not a great deal of interest, although i will add the folks are friendly. continuing on, you will come to primavera a much more provencial pueblo, more rustic and a bit more interesting. again nice folks and as usual a park in front of the church where you can eat and drink and wach rural colombian life tick by.

well, continuing on....which very few do, you'll come to a fork in the road...on the right is a string of ebanistas mostly of one family. i had two workshops there and almost a third. but because of such serious $$$ problems with the third guy--i had to threaten to burn down his business because he wouldn't honor his prepaid contract--i decided no more work done there. too, because as you continue in this direction on to amaga, maybe a mile down the road from the fork, to the right, you come to amaga......colombia's twilight zone.

amaga is built on a hill and when you turn down into the pueblo, you're driving down a very steep incline and the further you go, the wierder it gets. before we got to the bottom, i told my driver, "lets' get the fok outta here, the wierdness is just too wierd" i never went back. so, again, you adventurous travellers can pick up where i left off and see if you can make it all the way to the bottom of amaga. happy trails.

so friends, with the exception of the route fo st. elena (medellin to the airport) that's a pretty good lead on what you'll find along the roads north, south and east. i never ventured out west. and, reflecting on my night in the das slam, i doubt i ever will.

once again, happy trails. i hope each and every one of you who venture out into the outback of medellin finds as much interest and attraction as i have over these past twenty years.

douglas

dwmte

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lpdiver says on Oct 17, 2008, 06:25:

WOW Douglas...Great post. I recall parts of it from your prior posts. I will save it and refer to in on my next trip.

Could you expand on "weird". I am very intrigued.

ts

"cook some rice!"

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capt_j says on Oct 17, 2008, 06:48:

El Retiro is nice. I have been to La Ceja and it was OK, nothing special. San Antonio de Pereira is nice for the deserts on Sunday- all around and in the square people are selling and eating deserts.

It's kind of funny how much building there is between the airport and the city- lots of stores, some residential developments, the EAFIT branch. It's almost more like a thinly populated suburb than the country. I saw a Crepes and Waffles and an El Corral out in Llano Grande. Geez, Crepes and Waffles in Colombia is almost like Tim Horton's in Canada.

I have been south of the city as far as Versalles but only to briefly visit a finca so I can't say I saw much. But it's very beautiful.

I think the countryside is the best part of Colombia and if you're not partying it's the best place to go.

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island girl says on Oct 17, 2008, 07:12:

yes i agree the colombian countryside is wonderful ... on my last trip to medellin i did not get to visit these wonderful places listed above but i am bookmarking this for my future trip ... this is why i love pbh ... great info no lonely planet could even hope to supply. thank you to everyone!

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Swinn88 says on Oct 17, 2008, 07:21:

Barbosa is another place that I have enjoyed staying. There is a nice little all inclusive place there called los Lagos. Different but also very Nice. On the way there is another all inclusive place in Barbosa called Antioquia Tropical club. Sometimes when we want to get away we stay in these places. Here is a link for ATC http://www.antioquiatropicalclub.com/index.php Check it out and hope you enjoy.

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Swinn88 says on Oct 17, 2008, 07:28:

Barbosa is really nice wherever you you go. it's alot bigger than Donmatias and there is alot to do there. If you want to visit and need some connects let me know.

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tomtom33 (☼Travelguide writer) says on Oct 17, 2008, 08:10:

Swinn88 says on Oct 17, 2008, 08:29:

Tom Tom you should check out Los Lagos. I liked it alot. My wife and kids also liked it. They have Cabins a great pool area and its just plain relaxing. This is the only link I could come up with. http://www.galeon.com/cafeinternetsd/productos773253.html Actually here is a much nicer link with photos and all.

http://www.paginasamarillas.com/pagamanet/web/procesos/link.aspx?ie=28...

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dwmte7 says on Oct 17, 2008, 08:36:

having lived up there, i'm really curious what took you folks to barbosa in the first place?

i used to hang out with some grade school kids in the library off the park and help them with their english studies.

dwmte

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tomtom33 (☼Travelguide writer) says on Oct 17, 2008, 08:45:

Swinn88 says on Oct 17, 2008, 08:51:

Because we have family in Barbosa we visit whenever we are in Colombia. My wife and I were also Married in Barbosa and my daughter was baptized there. They have a beautiful church there where my wifes cousin is the Sacerdote/Priest.

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nueva york bombero says on Oct 17, 2008, 10:48:

Tarso, Jerico, La Pintada were all worth a visit, but Pueblo Rico was my favorite.
It is about 2.5 hours away from Medellin. It is joked as the town of Dos Mentiras.
It's not a pueblo nor is it rich. But it has a flavor all its own!

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Lisa Zee says on Oct 17, 2008, 10:57:

Did anybody say "Tamesis" this is where my new avatar is from. It is 2 hour by car, beautiful area!

Feliz Navidad!

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Mononoke28 says on Oct 17, 2008, 11:06:

I'm all for Guarne as well, last time we went I really liked it. When I was a kid we used to go to Cisneros which is where my dad is from. We used to take the train, which I don't think it's running anymore but it was a blast. Lots of rivers to go swim in.

I also have family in Cocorná but it's not as nice as the others, great, great rivers to go swim in.

Diana

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dwmte7 says on Oct 17, 2008, 12:10:

interesting you mention guarne, diana....what was it you liked about it? i found it a bit on the 'not too interesting' side. the hipodromo is there and one can go watch the juiced horses run their hearts out. but guarne itself i found basically uneventful.

dwmte

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Mononoke28 says on Oct 17, 2008, 12:55:

Well, when we go to small towns we never do it to see what they have to offer but just wander off and make it fun. We went twice to see the little Virgen statue they have up in a hill and it was awesome. It's quite a hike if you do it by foot but that's the fun of it and they have a pretty nice restaurant right before you start going up. We also stopped along the way and bought a couple of clay planters from the store that's on the side of the road.

We also like to walk around around the parks and have a few empanadas with gaseosas and talk to the locals, that's fun. But when going to warmer climates, we never miss out on swimming in the rivers, that's the best part.

Diana

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lpdiver says on Oct 17, 2008, 13:45:

Isn't Guarne where they have the Peñol shaped church?

ts

"cook some rice!"

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dwmte7 says on Oct 17, 2008, 14:07:

nope...that's penol

dwmte

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mkingston says on Oct 17, 2008, 14:09:

No, actually I believe it is Guatape.

Happy in Rionegro

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mkingston says on Oct 17, 2008, 14:15:

Sorry about that. My wife says the church is in El Penol Vieja.

Happy in Rionegro

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dwmte7 says on Oct 17, 2008, 15:41:

but you're right, it's guatape...penol vieja....that was my mistake..i was thinking about the rock. we're both right and both wrong. how's that?

d

dwmte

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MaFe says on Oct 17, 2008, 19:56:

I like visiting small towns too...I especially enjoyed all the small towns I saw in Risaralda..very impressed....

"All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsions, habit, reason, passion, desire. "-Aristotle

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Lisa Zee says on Oct 17, 2008, 21:26:

The new town, the one that replaced El Penol, has a church shaped like the rock. You should visit the museum, it has all the history, pictures and actual things from Penol viejo.

Feliz Navidad!

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papiChulo says on Oct 17, 2008, 22:24:

I would tell you the most antioquan town near medallo but then they kill both of us Jon.

avoid the unhappy and the unlucky

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larryrn says on Oct 18, 2008, 08:10:

Andes and Jardin -- oh, Santa Helena too.. (but Santa Helena is quite chilly because of the altitute.

Larry Snyder, www.rn.org

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dwmte7 says on Oct 24, 2008, 05:32:

peter autta post on st. helena......as i remember he used to live there.

dwmte

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