One of the most recommended locations to visit was the city of Medellin, Colombia. I've planned this trip well in advance during the summer, looking for places to rent and learning about the different parts of the city. Right when the weather started to get uncomfortably cold in Switzerland, at the start of November, I left my apartment and began my journey to Colombina.

Travel

There are currently no direct flights available from Zurich to Medellin, and most of the flights go through Bogota, the capital of Colombia. After quite some research, I found the fastest and most economical route; my trip started with flying to Madrid in Economy class, picking up my luggage, and then doing a complete check-in again with another airline, Avianca Airline from Colombia. I found a business class flight from Madrid straight to Medellin for about 900USD, which is an amazing price for a 10+ hour flight in Business class. Other airlines are in the 2-3k range for a similar route.

My layover in Madrid was about 5 hours. I arrived at 11 am, and my connecting flight was at 4 pm. The timeframe was perfect to do the pickup and check-in. At the airport, I also made use of my American Express credit card for the first time and went to the lounge, which had free drinks and food available. I ate like four different dishes in an hour.

On the plane, I had my seat in the first row. The plane was quite old, and the business class is definitely one of the worst compared to other airlines, but all that matters is that the seats can be reclined to lay down and sleep comfortably. I did my usual routine of 1-2 glasses of wine and melatonin, which allowed me to sleep around 8 hours during the 10.5-hour flight.

Arriving Medellin

The immigration queue was very short, I made it through in about 15 minutes. I requested an Uber to the apartment, which also arrived very fast.

The ride from the airport into the city was captivating, the airport is located behind a hill/mountain and during the ride i saw the first view of the city.

Apartment

I arrived at the apartment around 10 pm Colombian time. First, I didn't find the right apartment as the address from Airbnb was not specific enough. Luckily, almost every building has security guards, and the first one I asked was able to guide me to the right apartment. The security guard from the actual apartment was prepared to receive me. He gave me the keys and guided me up to the apartment.

The apartment was on the 14th floor, with views over the city on both sides front and back. The apartment was actually better in person than in the pictures on Airbnb.

The balcony had a hammock, which was one of my favorite things about this place. I was relaxing here almost daily, reading and enjoying the nice views.

On the second day of my stay, I went to the closest shopping mall and bought a 27-inch screen. This was a massive upgrade to my office, and I could work very efficiently with this setup.

The views from the apartment were simply amazing. Every morning, I took my first sip of coffee in the sun. The rest I drank while responding to emails.

I was able to watch the sunrise and sunset every day. The sunset was sometimes purple and dark red, which looked amazing.

Rent

The monthly rent was about 2k USD, which is considered a lot for Colombia. If you find local landlords, rents for similar apartments are in the 800-1200 USD range. But considering this apartment was located at an amazing location and booking it through Airbnb was seamless, I was happy with this price. Also, considering my rent back home is actually higher for a smaller apartment. (Which i was still paying during my trip)

El Poblado

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The apartment was located in El Poblado, which is the most touristy part of Medellin. In my research, this neighborhood was always recommended for first-time visitors. The apartments are more expensive here, but the location is definitely worth the price.

El Poblado has everything from shopping malls, supermarkets, fitness centers, the best restaurants, and a vibrant nightlife.

Weather

Medellin is called the city of the "Eternal Spring". The temperature range is constant, like it's always spring. It is never very hot and never very cold. There is a rainy season that spans from late March to early December. During this time, the chance of sudden rainfall is relatively high. I experienced the following months in the city;

November

My first month in the city was still towards the end of the rainy season. Numerous times, the day was perfect with no clouds, and suddenly clouds appeared, and it rained aggressively for 30-60 minutes. All the locals are prepared and always carry an umbrella. I learned my lesson, and after the second week, I also bought a small umbrella, which I carried around everywhere.

December

In this month, the rainy season comes to an end. It rained considerably less, but there were still some weekends when the sudden rain caused my plans to be set on hold.

Another aspect of December in Colombia is that locals celebrate Christmas intensely. There are multiple public holidays even before the end of the month. The first celebration starts on Dez. 1, a tradition to welcome the month (which was actually initiated by the cartels). People are launching fireworks all over the city, I've never seen (and heard) this many fireworks, it's litterarly all night, i still heard fireworks at 6 am. Here is a link to a video overlooking the city.

The whole city is decorated with lights, and almost every building has some LED lights.

January

My final month of the trip was the best regarding the weather. I've seen a slight rain shower once, but it was mostly dry. The temperature was around 28 degrees at the peak in the afternoon and around 15 degrees at the lowest point at night. If I plan to return to the city, I'll most likely start in January.

During my whole stay in Medellin, I haven't worn a jacket even once. The climate here is the best climate I have ever experienced.

Food

The kitchen of the apartment had everything I needed to cook full meals.

I just had to readjust to cooking with a gas stove.

The only thing missing from the kitchen was a dishwasher, which apparently is not common in Colombia. But the apartment had a washing machine for clothes, which was super valuable. The washing machine had a dryer integrated, which allowed cleaning and drying in a single run, mind blowing!

I cooked breakfast daily at home. My favorite breakfast consists of fried eggs, with additional egg whites (which can be bought as liquids in bigger supermarkets), and cooked oatmeal with banana and cinnamon.

On Sundays, I always bought salmon, asparagus, and potatoes and put them all in the oven to cook one of the most uncomplicated yet delicious meals.

Rappi

Rappi is an app similar to Uber Eats; you can order food from almost every restaurant. The delivery is speedy, and the delivery fee is usually around 3 USD.

After the gym, I always ordered poke. I like my poke very basic (there are a ton of options). I only request rice, raw salmon, and avocado.

The Domino's pizza service was located very close to my apartment, so after ordering a pizza on the app, in about 15 minutes, the door was ringing, and the pizza was delivered super fresh. I must say I did like this pizza a lot.

Local food

Being in Colombia for the first time, I had to try local food as well. I once booked a guided food tour and we tried various local foods during an evening, the tour was fun, it was a mix between pub crawl and food tour; we ate something, then we drank something at a bar, and repeat around four times.

One of the stops was at this popup food stand, which sells a common local food called "Doggers", basically a hotdog. However, they put a huge amount of toppings and sauces. For me, it had way too much sauce, I actually removed most of the sauce with a tissue before eating the Dogger. :)

We also tried Colombian empanadas, which are similar to the empanadas from Argentina, but they are fried instead of baked. I strongly prefer the Argentinian empanadas.

This plate is called the "Bandeja paisa", which basically stands for "Plate of Medellin". It contains many different local foods put together on a single plate. This plate is huge, the locals usually eat it for lunch. One of the staple parts of this plate is fried pork. My favorite part of this plate is the fried platanes (banana), which looks like potatoes, and the sauce with the beans. Someone recommended a restaurant called "Mamasita", which made high-quality versions of local dishes. I ate there at least once a week. The pictured plate cost around 12 USD.

Another staple food for Colombians is the arepa. It's corn-based and similar to panini bread. The locals eat it for breakfast, lunch or dinner. The arepa in the picture is called "Arepa rellena", which means filled arepa. This type of arepa is more common in Venezuela. I much prefer the filled arepa. You can order it with many different fillings like beef, pork, chicken, or cheese. I always ordered the beef filling, it also contains bits of cheese and spices, served with guacamole, it's delicious. I ate this at least once a week. The cost is around 3 USD.

A famous soup called "Mondongo," which contains parts of the cow's stomach and is slow-cooked with vegetables. I ate this only once, but I really enjoyed the taste. The portion was insane, I ate like half and was already full, but after a small break, I finished all of it. The common sides to this soup are avocado and bananas, which is super weird to me. The soup costs around 5 USD.

The Colombian cuisine contains lots of fried food. Walking by some of the local restaurants and smelling the fried oil sometimes almost made me throw up. And finally, lots of dishes contain a ton of coriander/cilantro, I personally don't hate it, but I also don't love it, I know some people hate the taste of this plant.

Coffee

Colombia is obviously famous for having great coffee. I've tried some local coffee, americano style (black with water), and it tasted fantastic.

However, my daily coffee was instant coffee, which was so easy to make by just pouring hot water over the coffee powder. Not even stirring was required. The taste of the instant coffee was actually delicious. I drank a lot of it. In the afternoon, I usually drank the decaffeinated version.

The brand of the coffee pictured is called Juan Valdez, which is the biggest coffee brand in Colombia.

Restaurants

The El Poblado neighborhood also has the most higher-end restaurants in the city. I've tried various restaurants and ate some really fantastic food. There are many Nikkei restaurants, which is a mix of Japanese and Peruvian food. I've tried some sushi places, and most offered very fancy mixed sushi rolls, which were all ok but nothing mind-blowing. I also ate some incredible beef. During the week, getting a spot at most restaurants was very easy, even without making a reservation.

The view from a restaurant called "Mamba Negra", it's located on the 24th floor with amazing views over the city.

The center of the restaurant has this fancy-looking bar shown in the picture above.

This salmon avocado tartar was next level.

Dinner with a starter, main course, dessert, and wine costs around 40 USD per person.

Spanish

One of my goals for this trip was to improve my Spanish skills. I started learning Spanish in April 2022, which marks two years in the coming April. In my first year, I studied a lot of grammar, and then last year, I stopped actively practicing grammar and only focused more on listening, reading, and speaking as much as possible. When I arrived in Medellin, i was already on a conversational level of Spanish.

Upon arriving, I looked up Spanish schools on Google Maps that are located close to my apartment. There is an abundance of schools in Medellin. I visited two of them, read some reviews on Reddit, and decided to go with Valley Spanish School, located on the main street of El Poblado, about a 5-minute walk from my apartment.

Before booking my classes, I had to take an interview where they checked my level. The teacher asked me for many conjugations and checked which tenses I knew. I wanted to take group lessons, mainly to get to know more people, but after my interview, he told me I'm already too advanced for group lessons, so it's better to go with a private teacher. I'm glad i went with private lessons as they were much more efficient.

I got assigned a teacher, a woman in her early twenties. She was super friendly, and we became good friends instantly. The classes were always a block of two hours. At the beginning of the lessons, we always talked and gossiped. I told her about my day before or the weekend, which was fun and also a good exercise. Telling stories in the past tense with multiple actions can be complicated at first.

My teacher always came prepared with grammar exercises, and she explained lots of concepts on the whiteboard. We got to some pretty advanced grammar, like hypothetical actions in the past or the future, which is called the Imperfect Subjunctive. Learning this advanced stuff sometimes got me even more confused while talking, as my brain was then thinking of more ways I might be able to say something, which resulted in actually less fluent speaking.. but overall, I definitely learned some new things and improved my existing grammar.

Accent

The Medellin accent is called "Paisa" and is one of the most beautiful Spanish accents. They pronounce some words quite differently, but it's still very understandable. For me, it's my favorite Spanish accent. Another strange part about how they talk is that they often use the 3rd person conjugation, "usted", with people they are close with. In other countries, this conjugation is used exclusively in formal contexts. I now myself got used to using this conjugation more often, the funny part is that it's not wrong using it in other countries, it's just very formal.

There are many Language exchange events in Medellin, with tables for people learning different languages, mainly English and Spanish. In the first couple of weeks, I went to such events on a weekly basis. It's a cool way to practice and get to know some local people. The locals were always confused as to where I'm from, most guessed that I'm from Spain.

Overall, I spoke a lot of Spanish. I certainly improved my fluency and understanding and learned more verbs, including some of the local slang from Medellin;

Qué más pues? = (What else?) = (How are you, whats new?)

Salsa

My other goal was to try salsa dancing and take lessons to determine if I liked it. I found the dance school called "Dancefree" very close to my apartment, even closer than the Spanish school. I visited the school and bought 10 private lessons. The school has a website where you can see the available teachers and time slots. I didn't know anybody, so I just chose a random male teacher.

In my first lesson, I was a bit nervous but also excited. The teacher I selected was awesome. He asked me if I had danced salsa before, and I answered: "No, never." So, he taught me the basics salsa steps and how to hear the pulse of a song. I was sweating like crazy during my first couple of lessons. My body simply wasn't used to moving in such a way.

After completing 10 lessons with the same teacher, i felt more confident in the basics and started enjoying it and having fun. I then bought ten more lessons, and upon the recommendation of my teacher, I reserved lessons with random teachers to get used to dancing with someone unfamiliar. This was really helpful in practicing the leading part of dancing salsa; the male has to indicate every next move and make it very clear to the partner.

The dance school organized free group lessons followed by open social dancing with Salsa and Bachata every Thursday and Saturday. On my last two weekends in Medellin, I forced myself to go and dance in the open social part of the night. The group lesson at the beginning of the night helped a lot to get into the flow of dancing with different partners. Then, after a short break, the social part starts with salsa music. I overcame my fear and asked someone to dance. It was tough to find the right rhythm and lead in a way that the partner understands (the teachers are very good at following), but with regular nonexpert dancers, one has to lead with much more intention. I danced with two more partners and kept it very basic, they all were super friendly and supportive.

Later in the night, the music got faster, and more experienced dancers arrived at the party. I watched some advanced dancers, where the dancing looks like it's choreographed, but it's entirely freestyle. The male dancer leads and indicates every next move, which the female follows perfectly. It was very spectacular to watch.

I'm happy that i took the lessons, and i actually enjoyed it and want to take more lessons when i'm back home. The vibe at these parties was so fun, and it's also a good way to meet new people.

Routine

I'm a person that likes to have a routine as it allows me to be more productive. One reason i don't like touring from one place to another as it's very hard to find a routine, so when i travel, i like to visit one city and stay there for at least one month.

My routine in Medellin was as follows;

Weekdays:
7 am - 10am: wake up around 7 am (no alarm, +/- 1 hour depending on the night before). Work meetings, programming.
10 am: cook/eat breakfast, get ready for school
11-1 pm: two hours of Spanish class
2-3 pm: gym workout or salsa class
3:30 pm - 6 pm: work
6-7 pm: relaxing in the hammock, reading.
7-10 pm: dinner at home or restaurant, meeting friends.
10-11 pm: Netflix (Colombian telenovela), reading, sleep.

Wednesday: No school nor gym, full day of working to catch up with any tasks that needed my extended focus.

Saturday: My weekend was more flexible, but I still often followed a similar routine;
10 am: wake up (party until late the night before). Make breakfast.
11 am: light work, emails.
1 pm: walk around the city, eat frozen yogurt, meet with friends.
4 pm: protein shake and relaxing in the hammock, reading.
6 pm: take a nap (sometimes also after dinner - i napped so much it helped my energy at night a lot)
8 pm: dinner in restaurants.
11-4 am: party

Sunday:
10 am: wake up and make breakfast.
11 am - 3pm: focused work, programming. 4 pm - 5pm: gym.
6 pm: protein shake and relaxing in the hammock, reading.
6:30 pm: preparing dinner (putting everything in the oven)
7 pm: eating dinner at home
7:30 pm: smoking in the hammock.
8-10 pm: watch TV shows and YouTube.

Fiesta

There are lots of clubs in Medellin. In the neighborhood of El Poblado, where I was staying, just a 5-minute walk from my apartment, there is an area that is called Provenza. The picture above shows the entrance to this area. No cars are allowed to pass through this road. Inside, there are many restaurants and clubs. I visited this area every weekend and partied at many different clubs. The entry for the clubs is around 30k pesos (8usd). It was easy to get into the clubs. I often went to multiple clubs on the same night, changing between clubs to find the best atmosphere. Every night, I made new friends and met cool local people.

One of the most common drinks in Colombia is called Aguardiente. There are different strengths (percentages of alcohol) indicated by different colors. It tastes a bit like mouthwash, but when served really cold, it's quite soft and pleasurable. Aguardiente is mainly consumed by doing shots. I personally stopped doing shots of any strong alcohol as I don't like getting really drunk, but for this drink, it makes sense to consume it like that. Also, the whole bottle is around 40 usd when bought in the club, which, compared to buying a bottle in any club in the US or Switzerland (>200 USD), is a great deal. The bottle lasts the whole night, and you can share it with friends.

I always bought the green color with the lowest alcohol content and no sugar. I sometimes drank about half of the bottle, and the next day, I almost had no hangover!

Reggaeton

The most common type of music played in the clubs is called "Reggaeton". This music has elements of hip-hop, rap, and latin music. The rhythm of the beats of the Reggeaton all sound identical, and the voices have an auto-tune effect. However, this type of music is perfect for dancing and having a good time. Everybody knows the song lyrics, sings, and dances.

Before I started learning Spanish, I literally hated this type of music. Now, after being to many parties where Reggaeton is played, it has become my favorite music for a party; it shows how ones music taste can change.

Here is a link to a classic Reggaeton track.

Perreo

Perreo is a type of dance that is very common in Medellin clubs. It basically refers to woman bending over and shaking their butts. Often, it's danced with a partner, where the woman rubs on the man. This quite intimate way of dancing is so typical in Medellin that most don't view it as very personal. Women often came up to me, and we danced in this way without speaking a single word. In combination with Reggaeton its a fun way of dancing :)

Karol G Concert

In December, I went to the concert of Karol G. She is one of the biggest stars in the Latin pop/reggaeton music genre. Karol G is from Medellin, but she has become an international superstar over recent years. Playing in her hometown made the experience unique.

The tickets were sold out within hours of the sale, but a friend had two spare tickets and sold them to me for 200 USD each. The experience was absolutely worth it. I've never been to a reggaeton concert, and I was blown away by the vibe and how everybody was in such a good mood and very friendly.

Here is a video i took on my phone;

Everybody knew all her songs, and sometimes Karol intentionally stopped singing, and the whole stadium continued singing. Before going to the concert, I listened to lots of her songs so that i could participate in the singing :)

One highlight for me was the song Una noche en Medellin, which was the perfect match as the concert was literally a night in Medellin.

Comuna 13

One of the most prominent tourist destinations in Medellin is called Comuna 13. It's a barrio (ghetto) type neighborhood that used to be very dangerous. Now, it's very safe and full of street vendors and restaurants.

The buildings are all located on a very steep hill, so in 2011, the government made a project to add electric staircases directly in the middle of the hill. There are multiple escalators, which add an elevation of 380m, making it much easier for visitors and people living there to enter this area.

I visited Comuna 13 on Christmas Dezember 24. Luckily, on this date, it was pretty empty, and I was able to go up and down without any wait times at the escalators. I had my personal tour guide, the cleaning lady from my gym. Her mother grew up in this area, and she told me about the history of the area.

Security

The comunas or barrios, the less developed parts of the city, are not safe for foreigners (except for the tourist destinations like the comuna 13 mentioned above). Even the streets around the main touristy areas are not considered safe. The chance of getting robbed or even kidnapped is relatively high. The general recommendation is to always stay on populated streets and never follow anybody or get into a car with someone unless it's an official taxi or Uber.

The cartels are deeply tied into the city, and I think there is a lot of corruption. So, even the police cannot be trusted.

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The 10th street going through El Poblado, locally called "La Diez" has the most amount of street dealers, prostitution and people begging for money. Conversely, this street is actually quite safe as there is a lot of police presence and the cartel prohibits the robbery of tourists around this area, simply to maintain the spending of the tourists and keep making money off them. I walked this street daily, and after a while, I got used to declining every offer and walking a bit faster than normal to avoid anybody persisting in asking for stuff. The common practice is just to say "Gracias" and continue walking.

Woman

Dating apps like Tinder should be avoided as there are cartels that use women to target foreigners; they want to meet you at your apartment and then will drug you and rob all your stuff from the apartment. I was curious and did try Tinder for a couple of weeks. I did encounter some very direct women who wanted to meet me right away at my place. I did not engage in such activities for my safety.

When I walked on the streets at night, random women approached me many times. Most of them were prostitutes. To avoid getting robbed, it's also highly recommended to never engage with these types of women. I always responded and declined respectfully and just kept on walking.

The general advice to stay safe in Medellin is to never bring someone you've just met back to your apartment.

People

The local people of Medellin are called "Paisas". My experience with the locals was that they were sincere and extremely friendly. All the friends I made through the schools and social circle were so nice, and it was easy to engage in conversations and get invited to events.

The only exceptions are locals making a living off tourists, which there are many in the area I stayed in. They can be pretty annoying.

Medellin has 2.5 mio inhabitants with many different social and economic levels. If you meet someone, you can tell which ladder they are on after talking briefly. I've met highly educated people and simple people who have never left Medellin that were very open and welcoming towards foreigners.

Verdict

I spent almost three months in the City of Medellin. Three months is the maximum stay allowed on the tourist visa. I genuinely had a fantastic time, maybe even the best time of my life. The combination of meeting amazing people, amazing climate, and great food at cheap prices makes Medellin a top-tier city for me.

I absolutely plan to come back to this city in the future.

Thanks for reading