What to do in Medellin?

dwmte says on Apr 26, 2005, 09:41:

friend.... i suppose the first thing to do is not put n.y, los angeles, paris, etc, in the same sentence when wondering what to do in medellin. you have to see medellin for medellin, not try and compare what you might do there with what you did in paris or l.a., etc.

medellin is marvellous. i--a gringo married to a paisa--lived there for years and enjoyed it. i lived there when i had a lot of moneyand i lived there when i had none (funny how life changes) none the less it is a truly wonderful place in it's own right. it is full of great modern architecture, there are art galleries, museums (you mentioned botero) but there are others. for instance museo castillo and a writers museo in envigado. et al.

too, i used to rent helicopters from helicol. i don't know if you can still rent them, they have them at the municipal airport and have established routes here and there like from the rio negro airport. but renting one and flying around the country and going to lunch up in the mountains (i used to go to la trucha in llano grande with my secretary, or el retiro) you'll have to call and find out.

there's pueblito paisa, a kind of non plus activity on a hill in the middlw of the city. cute, but not overwhelming. there's nite life in poblado that's good enough to entertain. too, el poblado is the best that medellin has to offer...generally speaking. you have to live there a while to discover other areas thay you, personally, might find interesting.

shopping, there's several malls that i and my wife like. the best (our opinion) is oviedo about a 1/2 mile from the center of el poblado. then there's san diego going towards downtown. also good. and the newest is tesoro up on the hill behind poblado and envigado. also ok.

for a place to stay, i'm old school. i like the hotel intercontinental above all else. it's in las palmas above el poblado and is the best. there's four or five resonably new up scale hotels in poblado that are nice. but for me, i want to be up the hill in las palmas where it's quiet and where they have everything. that's where the president stays. i lived there for a few months years back and found nothing to compare with it for convenience, accomodation, safety, and atmosphere. now, with the newer places down in poblado, which are nice, the good places are spread about. however, for me, the i.c. is still the best. it's 3 min by taxi to poblado and 5-10 min by taxi to just about anywhere in metropolitan medellin.

one of the nice things about medellin is the closeness of nice pueblos. el retiro (30 min), la ceja (35 min can be a bit dangerous) maranilla (wonderful but go with friends 45-50 min), llano grande, 45-50 min) the very best. san antonio and rio negro 1 hr. pinol but it's now in the hands of the guerillas. nice place but go at your own risk. i like it there and i don't give to much of a crap where the guerillas are. i lived there a long time and lived amongst them. they never bothered me, nor i them. i did teach english to their kids...that was a kind of ins. policy.

you can pm me for any particulars you might want. we have a home in envigado (south end of medellin) and are currently in florida. will be back there later this year. we'll be there for the summer months visiting the family.

medellin has changed so much over the past ten years as to be unrecognizable. it's safer, much safer. you don't have to worry yourself crazy about going out. now it's so much more civil. your wife can no doubt remember the pablo days. i can. wild and dangerous. now it's really safe and all you need to do is use common sense to keep yourself safe.

good luck

dw

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vladimiro says on Apr 26, 2005, 10:07:

Medellin As mentioned above, you should visit some of the quaint colonial villages around Medellin like El Retiro, where hand made furniture is the main industry, its full of small carpentary shops to peruse; or Santa Fe de Antioquia a beautifully preserved colonial town. Maybe go to a bull fight.

Don't expect to see the same type of material attractions in Medellin as the major capitals of the world like New York, LA,London. Medellin is much more modest (Colombia is not a rich country and has never been one, not even during pre-Colombian times as were Mexico and Peru, so there are no Taj Mahals in Colombia - maybe in the future:), but at the same time it offers some unique attractions:

It has such a colorful pleasure seaking culture that makes the place a really fun place to hang out have a drink, listen to thier music, or dance in one of the clubs with magnificient views located on the hills surrounding the city. The main attraction, though, in the opinion of many are the paisas with thier endearingly transparent personalities. They are so "descomplicados" that they make us foriegners realize just how unnecessarily "fastidiosos" we are:) So, If you speak spanish you'll meet interesting people, make good friends, and get invited to a fincas in the country-side; if not you might miss the main attraction.

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dwmte says on Apr 26, 2005, 10:09:

i forgot... about 2 1/2-3 hrs out of town is a wonderful colonial pueblo, sante fe de antioquia. great place. nice for a week/weekend. the best places to stay are the fincas on the side of town that you enter on. just drive up and talk to them. pick the one you like and just drive up to the house. they wont have too many guests.

also. medellin has it's own symphony, ballet troup, and opera guild. is always some production you can see. and there's a place called 'tutucan' in rio negro/llano grande. just a fun get a way like a theme park fun for all ages.

lots of areas for hiking if you're of a mind.

the clubs and restaurants have changed a lot in the past couple of years and you can check them out when there, from you're hotel.

again, good luck..

dw

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Malito71 says on Apr 26, 2005, 10:14:

Thanks. Thanks for the information. I didn't mean to compare Medellin to those other cites, just mentioning things to do in them. I know we will be visiting family so I am sure they will be able to guide us in the right direction. I don't mind going to a city just to see and enjoy the city, I went to Santa Cruz, Boliva last year and had a great time just hanging out.

When my wife was there she grew up in Boston and then moved to Envigado when she got married (1st one, I'm the 2nd and last one). She didn't experience any of the problems. She said that before she left all the drug dealers were just having a good time and spending money (her ex-husband used to sell his paintings to Mrs. Escobar). Right after she left all hell broke loose though.

I am probably going to do a Medellin, Bogota, Cartagena trip when I go. Thanks again

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sandramoreno80 says on Apr 26, 2005, 12:11:

Go on the Metro, on the Metrocable, go to the Cerro Nutibara and visit Pueblito Paisa and take in the panoramic views of Medellin.

Best shopping centres: Unicentro, San Diego, Oviedo (the best). These last two are half enclosed and half open air, so you can sit down and catch the sun rays while you have some coffee and cake. El Tesoro in the Poblado is similar, catch the views of the city airport and the rest of Medellin from this mall that is perched high on the mountain.

You have to go to Envigado, to the plaza de Bolivar and eat at one of the restaurants "morcilla" (a type of black pudding (UK), don’t know if they have that in the US) with picada (finger food) and aguardiente.

Plaza Bolivar, La Catedral Metropolitana, Museo Interactivo del EPM, the "Edificio Inteligente" de EPM is a pretty unique modern building that stands right out in Medellin. Los parques Berrio y Norte. The football stadium and the surrounding sports facilities Atanasio Girardot are considered one of the best in Latin America.

Museo de Antioquia with the Botero collection, Medellín Museum of Modern Art, Jardin Botanico, Parque de los Pies Descalzos.

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Malito71 says on Apr 26, 2005, 12:21:

Thanks for the info Sandramoreno80 Forgive my ignorance but I keep hearing about the shopping centers in Medellin, are they like the malls here in the States or are they different? When I was in Panama everybody kept telling me to go to the shopping centers and when I went they were just regular malls, kind of disappointing. I am not very interested in shopping while I am there but if they are the place to go I will go. I will go to some of the other places you mentioned, Thanks.

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dwmte says on Apr 26, 2005, 12:23:

morcilla.... GAWD!...does no one remember what it says in the bible? dont eat the blood! it's the life. no no no

my wife loves it...when we're in switzerland, my swiss partner loves it..i can barely sit at the table sorry paisitos..not me, no morcilla.

but! there's a ton of other irresistable delicacies to eat there. the food abounds and it's all good.

by the way, i was at a friends gallery when mrs escobar came by wanting to sell some picassos...in poblado. those were the days, lots of dope, lots of money, parties that didn't end. and murder on every corner. every coin has two sides.

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sandramoreno80 says on Apr 26, 2005, 12:47:

Sorry Malito but I can't really say as I'm not from the States and can only talk about the cold UK, we don't have open air shopping malls, there all enclosed and all the same, long corriders, with shop after shop and the lifts and escalators in the middle, usually two/three floor high.

But in Medellin (apart from Unicentro) all of them have open air sections and you feel the sun and the breeze, they are huge and are usually irregular shapes, So you just walk and walk, feeling as if you're in a huge maze!

Dwmte: I'm not so keen either but you can't miss Envigado's because they are supposed to be good, go on a Sunday afternoon and it's packed. My whole family love the stuff,

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platano says on Apr 26, 2005, 12:50:

Look, you have an incredible treat awaiting you because... Medellín is one of THE best cities in Colombia for bookstores! You can meet all kinds of interesting people in bookstores. Check out the bookstores!

Platano
Oxigeno Verde
Foto de Platanito chinito

plátano

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dwmte says on Apr 26, 2005, 14:07:

1956 it was.... i grew up in a cultural backwater in central california...a farming family. the town was named dixon. between grades kgd to 12, there were about 260 kids. really a culturally undernourished environment.

one day, my mom had to drive to the big city to go to the phone co. the big city was sacramento. cars, buildings, even stop lights. wow.

well anyway, while mom was in the phone co. i sat in the car in front of a book store waiting her return. i had never seen a book store, never even imagined one. but there was one, right in front ofme. so i got out of the car and went in. i never imagined that many books in the world!, much less in one store.

i walked through the place isle after isle and found myself taken by virtually every title.....until one...a strange small paperback called: A CLOCKWORK ORANGE.

a clockwork orange? i said to myself, what the f**k does that mean, what kind of book is called a clockwork orange?

i went back out to the car and sat there until my mother returned and when she did, i told her that i had gone into the store and had found a book; and, maybe she would buy it for me.

we went into the store and i showed her the book (of course it had an orange cover) and she asked me what it was about. i have no idea i replied...i just want to read it.

she bought it, we went home, i read it, it really fucked with my most innocent and ignorant, agrarian brain. i became totally confused, and then soon there after, a friend of my brother's younger brother brings another paperback over to my house and says, "man you need to read this" what was it? ON THE ROAD by jack kerouac.

after i finished those two books, living where i lived, growing up as i grew up, i was finished. my life had been prematurely destroyed. i'd never be the same again. it's true, look at me today, 50 years later. still out there, still looking over the horizon and wondering what's next? a line, a new president, more kids, what's the new pope like, how will i die, should i fart in public, how do i tell someone in their home i don't eat morcilla and should i be honest in all things?

all this crap's too heavy. why can't i be like the rest of the people i grew up with in that back water...they're still there. but me, i had to work all over the damn world, do all kinds of drugs, spent too much time in univ. have a bunch of kids and experiment in areas where 'wise men fear to tread'

now, i'm an old man, but i still want more....more of all of it. and you? what got you here, out in front of the bookstore? it's a hell of a place to find yourself.

with a house and wife and kid (s) born in medellin. my friends back in california don't even know any four or five sylable words, or why arabs and jews want to kill each other...or for that matter, where they even live.

half of them believe in segragation and the other half doesn't know what it is. most hate illigal aliens (??) and thought at the last class reunion because i dressed a bit like don johnson (miami vice) that i must be bisexual (?) a truly deep community. it has produced many scholars and scientists...the likes of which the world has never known. point in demonstration...they actually figured out that if you fart on a match, it'll ignite. now that's what i call rocket science.

now what, you ask, does this have to do with, 'what you do in medellin?...absolutely nothing...or, maybe a lot. it's what got me to medellin; and you?

dw

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viewpoint says on Apr 26, 2005, 16:10:

DWMTE Good Post !!!

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dwmte says on Apr 26, 2005, 16:20:

heh viewpoint... didn't imagine myself wandering off on such a tangent, but when platano got off on bookstores again, it brought back to me my 'bookstore' experience and how it somehow played into the 'dice roll' that ended me up in my favorite place...medellin.

it's a bit of a secret, but medellin beats the ever livin shit outta lagos, addis abbaba, tel aviv, and a shit load of other places i've had the fortune to call home for a spell. don't let anybody know, though, as we wont be able to keep em away from medellin...that gorgeous lady of the valley.

thanks again, friend.

dw

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platano says on Apr 26, 2005, 17:47:

Ay, dwmte, I share your love for medallo..... it is WONDERFUL and I wondered as I wandered the streets of Medellin. Medellin has a great downtown. We used to play tag in Parque Bolivar at night! There are theaters in downtown I walked to at night. I lived on Avenida Oriental so I could walk to restaurants, salsa clubs, banks, parks, universities, bookstores, etc. I love the beautiful library Biblioteca Central Comfenalco. Cuantas horas entre los libros!

I have walked all over that city in barrios like La America, Belen, Boston, Buenos Aires, etc. and even in "dangerous" neighborhoods like Manrique, Kennedy, Aranjuez, Robledo, etc. and others near the Medellin River that were basically "invasions" or what are called "tugurios", very poor housing, but everywhere, whether rich or poor, they invited me in and shared their genuine paisa hospitality.

Platano
Oxigeno Verde
Foto de Platanito chinito

plátano

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utopiacowboy says on Apr 26, 2005, 21:51:

I just love to sit in the square across from Nuestra Senora de Belen and watch everyone. Eating ice cream with all the nice fresh fruit. Getting my hair cut from the woman who owns the beauty salon that my wife always went to - right on the square. Eating a nice cheap lunch in one of the little restaurants. I just like hanging out there.

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

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platano says on Apr 26, 2005, 22:02:

UTC, I've been to West Texas. Medellin is....
Nothing like Lubbock, is it?

Platano
Oxigeno Verde
Foto de Platanito chinito

plátano

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lpdiver says on Apr 27, 2005, 11:20:

two sites not mentioned
el penol and rio negro.
tony

"cook some rice!"

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utopiacowboy says on Apr 27, 2005, 13:37:

At first glance one might say that they are nothing alike. One is a medium-sized city set out on the plain where duststorms and tornados are common and you can smell the feedlots outside of town. The other is a very large city set in a valley surrounded by towering mountains with a lovely year-round temperate climate. However both of them are places where people are rather conservative in their personal lives, where religion is important, where people know the value of hard work. They are both very family-oriented places and although maybe not so glamorous to the jet-set, good places to live.

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

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platano says on Apr 27, 2005, 18:00:

UTC, You are very perceptive. Yes, now that I reflect upon it with your insight I do see how West Texas and Medellin have commonalities. Thanks for your post!

Platano
Oxigeno Verde
Foto de Platanito chinito

plátano

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lpdiver says on Apr 28, 2005, 04:40:

I grew up a cajun where they make blood boudin. Never would touch it though. I was given some in Medellin and loved it. I didn't realize what it was until I returned home. I will have it again when it is a possibility.

T

"cook some rice!"

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dwmte says on Apr 28, 2005, 04:48:

lp... cuidado...

my stomach's comin up...

dw

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Lionheart says on Apr 28, 2005, 22:39:

it is a delicacy I remember it from Germany - frische Blutwurst and Leberwurst - normally served with the Schlachteplatte - Slaughterplate. It is made up of potatoes, Sauerkraut, Ripchen (smoked pork chops) and the two fresh sausages. They haven't hardened yet and are crumbly. You cut the ends off, squish the blood and/or liver content out onto the potatoes, mix, and eat. The color of red and grey mix well with the color of the mashed potato ... delicious and a great visual ....

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lpdiver says on Apr 29, 2005, 04:25:

dw... Ahhh stomach and speaking of them. Stuffed pork stomach..cajun shodan. I have a strong stomach; but, I did instruct my wife at the roadside grill outside of Zipa (after touring the salt cathedral) to eat her fill of intestines there as she wouldn't be getting them at our house in Louisiana.

T

"cook some rice!"

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dwmte says on Apr 29, 2005, 17:51:

lp... with a name like shodan, who wouldn't beware?

black folks eat chiddlins (sp) and colombians eat menudo...all of these go beyond my grasp. food? good LORD!

although i don't to the letter follow kosher guidelines, they are simple rules for very sane eating.

i was a religious macrobiotic for years, eating flesh or animal biproducts ie, milk, cheese, eggs, etc. were never on my table, for years. it wasn't until my religions master commented to me that i needed to worry more about what came out of my mouth than what went in it, that i changed postures and organizational thought forms.

dw

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lpdiver says on May 2, 2005, 04:06:

longevity and vegetarians There are no vegetarian centurians.

T

"cook some rice!"

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pappasito says on May 2, 2005, 05:09:

Morcilla lpdiver,I grew up in Louisiana too,& when I encountered Morcilla,I immediately thought... wow,blood boudin! But I didn`t partake as I never did like blood boudin,or for that matter,shodan.. But I will take my share of crawfish,thank you... How does your wife feel about those? I grew up in Lafayette,and you? I am headed for Medellin in June for a month & a half, hope to have a good experience... I`ve been to Bogota many times,so my castellano is okay,y yo conoces no dar un papaya..

Pappa

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lpdiver says on May 2, 2005, 08:30:

My wife is not crazy about crawfish or shrimp or any seafood for that matter. However, she eats them and insists that she needs to learn to eat spicy foods. OTOH I don't intend to leard to eat intestines or tripe soup...just call me a bigoted gringo. I ate the morcilla not knowing what it was and like it. Thew tripe soup I can eat but it just reminds me of hot potted meat.


T

"cook some rice!"

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jmbone says on Jun 26, 2005, 10:33:

There's lots of things to do in Medellin....check out www.medellininfo.com

It's an "under construction" website that is designed to promote the city. The Spanish version will follow soon. You can find many photos of shopping centers, El Centro, the Metro, etc.

Now, while we are building the site, is the time when we can really use some good constructive criticism and ideas from people who live in Medellin, or those who know the city.

Thanks,

Jim Bone

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