Christmas in Medellin...

[euforia51]

This could get lengthy and will also come in several pieces as I think of things I want to tell you about. Most of you know very little about me since I am new here. To recap, I met my girl online on a free site. We corresponded for about 4 months before I made my first venture. During those 4 months, I cut way down on drinking beer, began studying Spanish, began taking martial arts classes, quit smoking ... and oh yeah, I bought a plane ticket to spend Christmas and New Years in Medellin. Uhhh … how do you say preparation? Take everything you read about my experience with a grain of salt, draw your own conclusions, and make your own decisions.

If you’re expecting me to tell you how pretty Medellin is and how hot the women are there, yeah, it is and yes, they are. But my trip became more about making a bond with a woman and her family rather than looking at scenery and taking in some tourist attractions. Although, those things were nice too and the weather was great as well. It was a perfect 75-80 degrees during the day and mostly sunny. The record rains Medellin had been seeing at the end of last year (2010) seemed to disappear when I was there. I’d say I was pretty fortunate.

Before going, I spent a lot of time reading as much about Medellin as I possibly could. I read the news from Colombia Reports, watched YouTube videos, etc. ... the good ... the bad ... and the ugly. I joined this board and read even more. I asked questions, absorbed opinions, read Woody’s rather inspiring trip report to Medellin, read Jamie’s article about women from Colombia, etc. But ultimately, it came down to my going there alone to meet a strange woman was a decision that was ultimately mine. Outside of buying a house, taking this trip was probably the biggest thing I’d ever do in my life for a lot of reasons. The reasons aren’t important here. So onward…

From the first time Glory and I laid eyes on each other at the airport, we knew it was going to be good ... how good would be savored for later. We enjoyed the hour long bus ride to the city back from the airport. We talked enough to stay comfortable … hand in hand, arm and arm, and snuggled up next to each other sharing a beer and some home made potato chips she bought through the bus window at a toll plaza. I mention the home made chips because I had never seen anyone selling anything at a toll plaza in the States. She did a lot of staring at me and I did a lot of looking out the window, getting more and more acquainted with the idea that I was actually there taking in the warm breeze and different scenery. It was freakin’ cold and dark when I left home at 3:30 am so the change was refreshing.

We hooked up with a cool cab driver in front of the bus terminal on the side of the road who took us to the apartment in Laureles where she had arranged for me to stay. He spoke a little broken English and had one of those fun personalities I needed to further put me at ease. Glory got his card and cell number but we never saw him again. I was a little disappointed when we pulled up in front of the apartment building. I wasn’t expecting 5 star but I thought it was a little under par and the neighborhood seemed a little run down. But these were merely appearances. The apartment itself was small, pretty clean, and it had everything I needed. As for the neighborhood, it was a good idea to keep your guard up but it certainly wasn’t bad. We walked to the grocery store (Exito) a few blocks away to pick up a few things then walked back. By that time it was dark and I still hadn’t been jacked yet. Amazing! lol Keep in mind, I grew up in the cushy burbs where nothing ever happened.

I’m going to wrap this chapter up with meeting Glory’s family on Christmas Eve. I had seen a few of her cousins and nieces on the webcam before but we never talked much outside of hello, how are you. As it turns out, this was my first introduction to actually hanging out with a group of Colombians head first … and what a lively and fun bunch they turned out to be. We ate, we drank, we talked (very slowly), we sang (well … they sang), we danced, and at midnight, they had a 20 minute or so long prayer for Christmas that was pretty cool even though I’m not religious. And afterward, there was more of the same until around 3 am. Glory’s nieces boyfriend drove me back to the apartment in Laureles and I was finally able to get a little sleep.

[utopiacowboy]

Very good trip report! I hope you post more about your experiences.

I had to laugh about the food vendors at the toll plazas. My mother-in-law is a sucker for those people - she's always buying stuff from them!

Laureles is a very good area of Medellin and I was a little amused by your description of it as "run down". However I know exactly what you mean - even the nice areas of Colombia tend to have that kind of look - a little unkempt.

[Kiltboy1]

Nice report and very well thought out before going there. You make a nice looking couple. I wish you much success

KB

[Dan Las Vegas]

I'm always interested to hear peoples first impressions of Medellin, we seem to hear so many bad things about the city and the weomen, yet, I have had wonderful experiences there and can't wait to return.  For a long time it seemed that no one was going to Medellin from this board aside from UC and myself and Mudd.  now we have Woody, Gato and Euforia in just a few months! I wish you much luck with your new relationship and am looking forward to the remainder of your trip report!

Dan LV

[whitey]

Can't wait to hear more, Euforia ... keep it coming!

I only spent a week in Medellin, but we had a fantastic time and I'd love to go again. 

I'm sure your story will be great inspiration to the guys reading who are still trying to get up the nerves to go ...

[euforia51]

Cool ... I'm glad you guys are enjoying this. And thanks for the well wishes! I was trying to keep it from sounding like a blog, but oh well.   Here's a little from day 2 - Christmas Day...

Thinking back about this trip, I don’t have a good concept of time as far as things like what time I woke up, etc. Not that it matters. I started that day getting out of bed, and stumbling around making instant coffee, jumping on the Internet to check e-mail, etc. I suppose this went on for about an hour or so everyday on average until Glory called. And that was my cue to get into the shower and get dressed. When she showed up, she made us breakfast which usually consisted of instant coffee, eggs and ham, or cheese, on a toasted arepa. I like my arepa really toasted. I made note of Jamie’s point that Colombians are almost always late and I watched for this with her. It was pretty much on point. But much to her credit, when being on time really counted (i.e. the airport coming and leaving), etc., she came through. Otherwise, we were both on vacation so being prompt really didn’t matter that much.

After breakfast that day, she was quick to get on the Internet translator and ask me what I thought of her, her family, and Medellin so far. I liked how forward she was with this because it told me there were no games. Of course, my answers were cautiously positive given it was only the beginning of my second day. I explained to her that Medellin is very different for me so far but I was glad to be there with her and this is what mattered the most. Likewise, she said her family liked me … a lot; and they also made compliments about my Spanish. I believe they were probably more impressed with my efforts to learn and understand it rather than my execution of the language itself … which still is not very good yet. On a side note, the only time we used the translator was when we needed to discuss something really important like money or an important facet of the relationship … which was not very often.

In the early afternoon, we walked to her house in Belen from the apartment and I got to see more of the streets and the neighborhood. I was surprised with all of the little stores and shops that were open on Christmas day. In the States, it’s pretty much a ghost town depending on where you live. There are no huge stores like Wal-mart on a typical street like one might see in the States. But there are shopping malls. We visited several during my stay and they were all very modern and nice. When we arrived at her house, most of her family was waiting with open arms. The tradition on Christmas day is to cook something called “sancocho” in a kettle over a fire near the street.  It’s something like a meat stew, or soup, and it takes hours with keeping the fire stoked, adding more ingredients, and of course playing loud Spanish music, drinking beer, taking pictures, and carrying on like we did the night before.

Once it was dark, Glory’s niece’s boyfriend took us in his car cruising to see some Christmas lights along the river in el Centro, then we drove to el Poblado, Sabeneta, and Envigado. Now if you really dig Christmas lights, Medellin is the place to go … hands down. Nonetheless, this was my first real observation of the traffic. It’s a controlled chaos with motorcycles dodging in and out between cars, people cutting each other off and trying to get ahead, busses merging, you name it … and all of this with no problems that I could see. You could almost kill someone in the States for doing less. We all talked about American music (one of my favorite topics), sang a few lines from an old Culture Club song (I know, I know), while Glory and her niece pointed out a few of the highlights of where we were at the time. The four of us ended the evening in a burger joint not far from the apartment. I’m pretty sure I could not have paid a travel agency to provide a better, or more fun, tour.

[Jeff S]

Great! Keep em coming...

[raycjs]

great report you both look really happy and your trips sounds good.

best of luck to the both of you.

Ray

[V_Man]

What happens next? I can hardly wait.

[Gato4Astrid]

I have visited this beautiful Xmas lights while I was in Medellin for my 3 weeks vacation

[euforia51]

Before I begin this chapter ... looking good, Gato!

Days 3 & 4:
A lazy Sunday. Not much to write about this day, the day after Christmas. Although, for me it was a significant day for reasons I won’t go into here. That evening, there was another gathering (party) with her family, go figure. The occasion was for making Natillia … a traditional, Colombian Christmas custard, or pudding, if you will that is boiled and stirred in a kettle over an open fire; then left to cool and eat later. This time, we were on the roof of her house. I met a few more distant family members who showed up; cousins, etc. And otherwise, it was more of the same … a little more drinking, talking, music, grilling a myriad of meat, and of course the Natillia.

Monday. Again not much going on today except for climbing “the mountain” near Glory’s home. I never did catch the name of this rather big hill other than to say there were two mountains much to my surprise. The first elevating walk, or climb, took about an hour or so. We stopped to rest beneath the shade of a small tree. They asked me if I wanted to make the second hike. Uhhh … yeah sure (gasp gasp) ... a few hefty gulps of water and up we went again. Glory had told me about this mountain before and it was one of the reasons I quit smoking knowing I would probably have to make this hike. It was a little warm to be hiking a mountain … maybe mid-80s or so; but sunny and beautiful nonetheless. And following almost everyone’s advice on the Internet about traveling to Colombia, I didn’t wear shorts. After another hour or so, we made it. I’m going to guess maybe 1500-2000’ from where we started to the top; and Medellin is nearly 6000’ up to begin with. There was a little refreshment stand to buy water. juice, and snacks. I handed my camera off to Glory’s niece’s boyfriend, Mil, so he could take a bunch of pics while I cooled off a little. We spent another hour up there taking in the views and they were spectacular. It was here where I realized how big Medellin really is. I wish I had better pictures to capture even just a few of the views I saw that day. But most of all at my ripe old age of 45, I was glad I could still do things like this.

Later that evening, Glory and I took the bus and metro to Poblado to see the “other” side of life in Oviedo mall. We walked around for a while taking pictures and window shopping before meeting her niece and her boyfriend for dinner. But it got to be pretty late and we ended up looking for a place in El Tesoro mall which was even nicer. By this time however, the only choices were restaurants in Parque Lleras. We found a steakhouse that was pretty good. Afterwards, we walked around for a while taking pictures like tourists ... more pretty lights, lots of people, etc. For me, it was kind of funny to see a Hooters in Medellin. I eat lunch at the local joint every Friday with my co-workers. But for some reason, Glory didn’t see any reason for us to go into this one. Not sure why.  

[whitey]

Later that evening, Glory and I took the bus and metro to Poblado to see the “other” side of life in Oviedo mall. We walked around for a while taking pictures and window shopping before meeting her niece and her boyfriend for dinner. But it got to be pretty late and we ended up looking for a place in El Tesoro mall which was even nicer.

Ahhh, good memories.  I bought my wedding ring in a jewelry store in El Tesoro ... beautiful views from up there, and illustrates one of the many amazing contrasts in Colombia.

There are very opulent malls like El Tesoro and Oviedo that put to shame the malls in my home town, while at the same time burros pull vegetable/fruit carts down streets and the poor live in shacks on the mountain sides ...

[euforia51]

Yeah, El Tesoro is something else. I'm not a mall person but I would have enjoyed seeing this in the day time as well. The night views were awesome given what little I did see. But we were in a hurry. It was getting late and we were hungry. I also enjoyed the sense of familiarity when seeing the American store names in these malls. Kind of a strange observation to point out, I know.

Whitey, when you bought your ring in El Tesoro, did you find the jewelry in general to be cheaper or more expensive than where you live? I'm assuming you looked both places before making your purchase.

A quick note about the metro and the public buses, if you're with a local like I was who knows the transportation system pretty well, it's a pretty good way to travel given the chaos of trying to drive in the city. Where I live, I drive everywhere I go and to me, mass transit conjures up images of crime, pickpockets, and shady characters hanging around like you might see on TV; but I'm also a lifelong suburbanite who is unfamiliar and green to the ways of the big city. Keeping these points in mind, I can honestly say the public transportation was no problem for us. And it was pretty cool to just hop on a bus and not have to worry with parking a car, etc. Many times, the buses were standing room only. But for the most part, we weren't on a bus for more than 15 minutes; so this really wasn't a problem either. I probably wouldn't want to do it everyday as a lifestyle. The metro was clean, fast, and prompt. There isn't graffiti all over it like you might see in Chicago, or New York, or other cities. We saw a train or two that was also standing room only; and I mean packed to the gills. Fortunately, our train to Poblado wasn't too crowded. For my next trip, I want to take the cable cars. We didn't get to ride these this time unfortunately.

[whitey]

Whitey, when you bought your ring in El Tesoro, did you find the jewelry in general to be cheaper or more expensive than where you live? I'm assuming you looked both places before making your purchase.

Hey euforia, I know next to nothing about jewelry (and that's the way I like it ... haha), but I've always heard that the prices are better in Latin America, and the quality of gold is better (usually 24 karat vs 18).

So with that already in mind, I didn't even bother looking at home.  A few months before I proposed, Nazly and I went looking for rings together in Barranquilla, so I had a pretty good idea of what she liked.  Fortunately, when I was ready to propose on my next trip, the woman in the jewelry store remembered me and what Nazly liked, so I was still able to surprise her with the rings when I actually proposed. 

Nazly loved them and the only change was to have the ring re-sized ... Nazly is tiny and takes a size 4.

My ring we bought together on a trip to Medellin a few months later.  Took me about 5 minutes as I already knew what kind of style I liked and had a rough idea of the going prices down there.   

 

[euforia51]

Day 5 - Piedra del Penol
After a quick early morning stop to the ATM and a somewhat long drive through the Colombian countryside, we reached it … La Roca … or the rock … the infamous Piedra del Penol for which many photos on the Internet can be seen with a little searching. This was one tourist trap I surely didn’t want to miss on my first visit. The 600-plus step ascent inside a crevice of the rock was well worth the 45 minute effort. Until this day, Glory and her sister had never made this climb and claimed they did it for me. But honestly, I couldn’t imagine sitting in the parking lot for two hours waiting and missing out on the sprawling lake and postcard like views of the scenery below. Even Pablo Escobar had a mansion in the area when he ruled Medellin in the 80s and early 90s. Of course, there’s a gift shop selling the standard offering of dust collectors as well as a restaurant, and places to get drinks. And after an hour or so taking pictures like tourists, we began the descent back down to the parking lot and into Mil's car.

We grabbed some lunch at a restaurant in the small town nearby that for the life of me cannot remember the name. And after, we stepped aboard a tourist boat that took us around the lake. For those who know what a chiva is, the boat is something like this only on water. There’s loud music, drinking beer if you want to, dancing, and generally just enjoying yourself for about an hour and a half. Definitely a great time!

The tourist town nearby is called Guatape. 

Thanks, whitey!

[whitey]

Our daytrip to la Piedra del Penol was one of the highlights of our trip to Medellin too.  You have to earn that view by walking up the 600 steps!

The tourist town nearby is called Guatape.