The reason I decided to travel to Medellin was because I wanted to visit some of my Colombian friends that are from Medellin as well as to go to a wedding that I was invited to. 

In my mind I felt like I experienced the day to day life of a Medellin person.

The reason I say that and I don’t mean the work part but what the locals like to do and where they like to go for dinner, is because we went to several fancy places and restaurants where the main dishes were Pizza and Crepes instead of the traditional Bandeja Paisa or other more typical Colombian dishes we wanted to experience a little more. Also, we went to some really nice bars such as Panorama Rooftop Beer Garden and another bar in the Zona Rosa by Parque Lleras which was definitely my favorite place in Medellin. One of the reasons I loved Medellin, is because some how it reminded me of Caracas which is where I’m originally from. Both cities have a similar look and I almost felt like I was home. 

One experience I’ll never forget from our trip to Medellin was our Uber ride after the bars. Coming from the United States we had no idea that the Uber service in Colombia was illegal. Therefore as we regularly use the app back home we tried it in Medellin as well and little did we know it worked and we had someone come pick us up on the way to the bars. However, on the way back at 3am we noticed not many cars were out and the police in Medellin had some sort of checkpoint for after hours driving. Perhaps our driver knowing the illegitimacy of his job was a little nervous and pressed hard on the gas and we bumped hard on to a speed bump which made the local cops stopped us. They stopped us, checked the car as well as our identification forms and luckily let us go. 

Personally, I work on Real Estate which gives me the opportunity to travel and make my own schedule around in order to be able to visit Colombia; at times I was able to work from my Ipad in the hotel Movich Las Lomas when I had to write contracts for my clients. Also the phone plan I got I was able to call back home without any problems and free of charge; which was nice that they had the international roaming open with Colombia in my phone service. 

The first night we stayed at a friend’s house close to the center of Medellin. Later, the next two nights we stayed at the Hotel Movich Las Lomas in Rio Negro highly recommended by our friends because it was close to the venue of the wedding we went to in Zona E. We also got to go to Cartagena at the end of the trip and there we stayed at the Alfiz Hotel Boutique, by then we were on our own and we chose it because the reviews of the hotel were amazing. 

Besides Medellin, we really liked Guatape. The views from El Peñol were breathtaking, literally because going non-stop for 700 steps was not easy but it was all worth it because it was beautiful to have a 360 view of the embalse del Peñol.

Also, the little town of Guatape was very colorful, I believe the most colorful town in Colombia which made it unique and stunning.

Apart from Antioquia, we loved Cartagena, it was a gorgeous colonial town. In Cartagena we felt like we were in a fairy tale town; everyone was super servicial and welcoming. The beach was crystal clear like a pool and the sea food was unreal. However, what I liked the most of Cartagena was how lively the walled city was; full of music and dancers in the streets dancing to traditional dances. Some of those dances seemed similar to those of the African culture which was really interesting to see. 

In conclusion, it was a great trip we were able to see so much of what Colombia offers. The local food was amazing specially the buñuelos they can easily get addicting. 

By: Kattiuska Gutierrez