Boarding Pass: MDE
Photo map of Medellín. Click for interactive map.
I was OVER IT. I couldn’t take it anymore. I had been waiting for months for the predeparture Covid testing requirement for US citizens returning from international travel to be lifted, as I didn’t want to take the chance on being stuck somewhere and unable to get home for weeks. Every day I scoured the news and travel sites, desperate for any inkling that the restriction would end soon. Every time the airlines and travel associations went to the White House, I begged for that to be the day things would change. Months of this, and nothing.
In May, I snapped. Other people were traveling. Maybe this just needed to be factored into my risk tolerance assessment for trips now. I decided that it was time to say hell with it and go, and Jay was down. To address the possibility that one or both of us might get stuck somewhere for a couple of weeks if the predeparture testing didn’t go our way, the answer was clear: go somewhere inexpensive. Reasoning that it would be much cheaper (and more interesting) to be stuck in Colombia for a couple of weeks than say, western Europe, we headed for Medellín.
Medellín, City of Eternal Spring. It was already getting hot at home, so that sounded great. I knew Medellín was legendary for its beauty and for overcoming a history of violence and crime. I knew the surrounding Andes would provide a dramatic backdrop and contrast to the metropolis in the valley, and I couldn’t wait to discover the vibe of the city itself. I familiarized myself with the Metro system and the location of a few points of interest throughout the city, and prepared to be carried along with the flow once I arrived and started putting photons on the sensor.
Best seats in the sky.
We arrived in Medellín after midnight and enjoyed a peaceful ride to Hotel Park 10 in the El Poblado neighborhood of the city. A disco nap refreshed us for breakfast and a walk to the nearest metro station. The Medellín Metro is clean, dirt cheap, and extensive. One tap through the turnstile took us through a train change and a MetroCable ride to its highest terminal and back down again. I was able to shoot out the window all the way up and down, capturing not only the landscape but also the passing cars and impressive infrastructure of the cable car system. Iconic Medellín at its finest on a beautiful day, and it was still morning.
We disembarked at the San Javier station and made our way to the Comuna 13 and its famous escalators. Once the most dangerous area of Medellín, its sad and violent history has been replaced by art and revitalization. The past has not been forgotten, but Comuna 13 has been transformed. It was crowded, colorful, and loud. It is very clearly geared toward tourism now, but I wouldn’t have wanted to miss it. Everything was big and close, so my wide angle lens got to see the South American sunlight that day. I got some really wild perspectives going down the escalators, which fit the chaotic nature of the surroundings. Wiped out by the whirlwind of travel on very little sleep, we laid low for the rest of the evening.
Parade beats at Comuna 13.
Having recharged our batteries and devoured another delicious breakfast, we planned our attack for day 2. Jay is in the sports biz, so he wanted to check out the huge soccer stadium we had seen from the Metro the day before. We started the day with some shooting around El Poblado, then made a trip to Plaza Botero for the sculptures and the city center. At the stadium, we were allowed inside for an informal tour, then had some lunch across the street and returned to home base. We had seen a gorgeous restaurant around the corner from our hotel, so we made plans to have dinner there. After waiting out some afternoon thunderstorms in the air con in our room, we grabbed our umbrella and walked over to Restaurante Justo. We didn’t even know what kind of cuisine they served, just that the indoor/outdoor space of the restaurant was beautiful and inviting from the street. How excited were we to find that the entire menu was plant-based! The food was as amazing as the atmosphere, and we celebrated another full day of enjoying Medellín.
Estadio Atanasio Girardot in western Medellín.
Our go-home Covid test was the first order of business on our final Medellín morning. A very nice gentleman came right to our hotel room and gently swabbed our nostrils, with a reassuring “tranquila” as he did it. A little sneezy but none the worse for wear, we headed south from El Poblado for photos at the Virgen Rosa Mística shrine and along the impressive Gilberto Echeverri Mejía Bridge. I took a few panning shots as we walked along the motorways, further practicing my new fave technique. We braved another rainstorm for a beautiful curry dinner at Tandoori Halal, accompanied by a delightful conversation with the owner, Nadeem. Our flight was not departing until 1 AM, so there was plenty of time to head down to the colorful neon in the hostel zone for some night shots complete with those coveted wet streets. We got one last look at the bright lights of Medellín on the ride back to the airport. Negative Covid tests in hand, we took off into the night, and dreamed our way north to Miami.
Night vibes in El Poblado.
One month later, and BAM! No more Covid tests required to come home to the USA. A welcome relief, and a load off my mind for trips to come. I am still glad that I pulled the trigger when I did, and didn’t let the what if’s continue to hold me back as they had been. We travelers shouldn’t be afraid to take the hard road; we’ve been there before.
