Medellin is the second-largest city in Colombia after Bogota. With a population of 2.5 million; 8 million in Bogota. This city is often referred to as the City of Eternal Spring due to the temperature close to spring weather, with daily temperatures ranging from a minimum of about 16°C to a maximum of 28°C. The flight time to this city from Bogota only takes less than an hour.
When we came back from our holiday in Guatemala, we saw a cheap flight to Medellin. It cost only about £49, return tickets for two with Avianca. It was a great deal, and we immediately booked it. Eleven days later, we flew to this marvellous city. The flight cruised at 6229m, and because it’s only a short distance, I could only watch a short clip from their inflight entertainment – Just for Laugh.
The bus to the city was parked about 100 metres away from the exit. It costs 10,000COP per person. The journey took about 42 minutes to San Diego, and when we got to the town, we had our lunch at Bar-motor y Sabor.
Atelier La Francia Building
It was our first time using Airbnb instead of Agoda and the taxi cost 12,300COP to Atelier La Francia Building. It was a bit difficult to find the place, and we ended up driving around in a circle. The owner of the apartment, Kelvin has a Rough Collie dog named Jack, and he’s such a beautiful dog.
Our room connected to the living room’s balcony, and though the view wasn’t fantastic, however, the rooftop panorama was marvellous. The building also has a Swimming pool, Gym, Sauna and Steam room.
Although our room was without a fan or air-conditioning, it was alright to sleep without it as the temperature at night was a bit cooler.
Zona Rosa
In the late afternoon, we walked to Zona Rosa, the famous place for nightlife. But when we were there, we didn’t stay out until late to see this place come alive at night.
We had drinks at Medellin Beer Factory. However, they only had a bottled beer, and Mike wanted to have a draught, so we didn’t stay for long. We spent 31,000COP here for a bottle of Rose and two Club Colombia.
Some of the Food and Drinks prices in Medellin Beer Factory:
Cerveza Invitadas 8,500 COP - Coors/ Heineken 9,500 COP - Miller/ Buckler 10,000 COP - Budweiser 10,400 COP - Peroni 10,500 COP - Sol/ Grolsch/ 1906 11,500 COP - Corona Extra/ Estrella Galicia 12,500 COP - Stella Artois 14,000 COP - Murphy's Irish Red 21,500 COP - Delirium Nocturnum/ Delirium Tremens 22,000 COP - Paulaner Naturtrub 24,000 COP - Erdinger Dunkel 24,500 COP - Erdinger Weissbier 25,000 COP - Gran Torobayo 25,500 COP - Erdinger Pikantus
Food 19,000 COP - 6 Alitas + Papa Criolla + 1 Salsa 31,500 COP - 12 Alitas + Papa Criolla + 2 Salsas 60,000 COP - 24 Alitas + Papa Criolla + 3 Salsas 101,000 COP - 50 Alitas + Papa Criolla + 4 Salsas Combo 39,000 COP - Combo 1 - 6 ALitas, 1/2 rack de costillas, porcion de papa criolla y una de nuestras salsa. 43,000 COP - Combo 2 - 12 Alitas, 4 dedos de queso, porcion de papa criolla y 2 de nuestras salsas. 85,000 COP - Combo 3 - 24 Alitas, 1/2 Rack de Costillas, 6 dedos de queso y 2 porciones de papas con 3 nuestras salsas. 115,000 COP - Combo 4 - 36 Alitas, 1 rack de costillas, 8 dedos de queso y 3 porciones de papas con 4 de nuestras salsas. Adiciones 3,500 COP - Nachos/ Queso/ Champinones/ Pepinillos 4,000 COP - Jalapenos 5,500 COP - CHilli Beer Factory 6,000 COP - Tocineta/ Papas Francesa/ Papa Criolla 6,500 COP - Pollo 7,000 COP - Papa Rustica Hamburguesas 27,500 COP - Beer Factory/ Mexicana/ Americana/ Argentina/ Pollo Vegetariano 20,000 COP - Nachos 25,000 COP - Burrito/ Hamburguesa Cerveza Premium Artesanal De la Casa 9,500 COP (Vaso) & 30,000 COP (Jarra)- Wheat Ale/ American Pale Ale/ Amber Ale 10,000 COP (Vaso) & 33,000 COP (Jarra) - Sweet Stout 10,500 COP (Bottle) - Rose
While I was there, I also went to see Bao Bar Singapore which was located next door. The lady who opened the place was a Singaporean, and she was married to a Colombian. She told me that her husband lived in Singapore with her for eight years, and they have two children. Some of the menus they have in the restaurant are Dim Sum, Bao, Dumplings, Samosa, Springrolls, Soto Ayam Mee, Wonton Mee, Satay, Kong Bak, Teh Tarik etc. The price of a meal starts from 8,800 COP to 260,000 COP depending on the portion size.
The other drinking places that we went to in the area were Patricks Irish Pub and also Cafe Brown. This Tienda was located near the traffic light junction in front of the park. It costs 4,000 COP for a bottle of Redds, and the same goes with Club Colombia.
Walking back to the apartment direction, we stopped for beers in BBC Bodega in Mercado Del Ria. The lady that served us was not in her best mood. We stood at the counter in front of her to order but, she ignored us even when we called her. Either she was deaf or, we didn’t speak loud enough. Eventually, she came to get our order, but with a gloomy face.
Not wanting to give business to a server who’s not friendly, we left this place after finishing our drink. Our last stop was at Beer Station. My favourite drink here was Cherry Beer. It was quite busy that night, and I loved the ambience. The bill was 35,500 COP. Before heading home, we bought Burger King to take away and had it on the rooftop.
Some of the beer prices in Beer Station:
Cervezas del Barril – Club Colombia
Pinta – 12,000 COP, Litro – 24,000 COP & Jarra – 31,900 COP
Artesanales De La Casa tipo Ale – Tumaco Negra/ Calima Roja/ Tairona Blanca/ Quimbaya Filtrada
8 oz – 8,900 COP, Pinta – 12,500 COP, Litro – 25,000 COP & Jarra – 34,900 COP
8,500 COP – Cherry Beer/ Green Beer
8,900 COP – Club Colombia Bottle 330ml
7,500 COP – Redds 250ml/ Aguila 330ml/ Aguila Cero 330ml
We loved the view on the rooftop as we could see 180° of the city. The sea of light was spectacular. That night, the moon shined brightly on the sky, allowing us to enjoy our meal with the natural light. It was such a romantic night! LOL
The next morning we walked around the area, it’s the same as in Bogota where they closed the road for ‘Ciclovia‘ from 7 am until 1 pm every Sunday. There’s nothing the other way around, so we walked back to the road heading to Zona Rosa and stopped by for breakfast at De Lolita. It was quite busy that morning, and we had to wait for a while before we got our food. I had hot Chocolate and Pancakes con Chips de Chocolate while Mike had his Cappuccino and Huevos Revueltos. The total cost was 32,000 COP.
Some of the Food and Drinks in De Lolita:
Desayuna con Nosotros 5,700 COP - Bowl con Fruta 9,900 COP - Pancakes de la ABuela 10,700 COP - Huevos Revueltos al Gusto 10,800 COP - Tostadas Francesas 10,900 COP - Huevos Ligeros/ Huevos en Corteza de Pan/ Pancakes con Chips de Chocolate 11,300 COP - Huevos Napolitanos 13,300 COP - Bowl con Fruta y Granola 13,800 COP - Souffle Italiano 14,400 COP - Cazuela de Calentao 15,000 COP - Huevos Rancheros
Pasteleria De Sal 2,900 COP - Medialuna 4,100 COP - Palito de Queso 4,900 COP - Empanada Argentina/ Empanada Siciliana 5,100 COP - Persianita de Jamon y Queso/ Panoleta de Pollo/ Pastel de Queso 5,900 COP - Medialuna Portena de Jamon y Queso Reposteria 2,800 COP - Corazon de Hojaldre con Chocolate 2,900 COP - Barrita de Mora/ Alfajor de Chocolate/ Alfajor Confitado/ Alfajor de Maicena/ Brownie 3,000 COP - Galleta Integral con Avena y Arandanos 4,000 COP - Trufa de Chocolate 4,800 COP - Rollo de Canela/ Canoncito Relleno de Arequipe 5,200 COP - Torta Anita Porcion/ Torta de Chocolate Porcion 8,900 COP - Cheesecake Porcion Bebidas Calientes 2,400 COP - Tinto 3,200 COP - Tinto Doble 3,700 COP - Espresso 3,800 COP - Cafe Americano Gourmet/ Cafe con Leche 4,200 COP - Macchiato 4,600 COP - Aromatica de Frutas 4,700 COP - Espresso Doble 4,900 COP - Cafe Latte 5,100 COP - Chocolate 5,300 COP - Cappuccino/ Moccaccino
Bebidas Frias 3,600 COP - Agua en Botella 3,900 COP - Gaseosa 4,600 COP - Soda Michelada 4,800 COP - Iced Tea 5,200 COP - Milo 5,300 COP - Jugo Natural de Naranja De Lolita/ Limonada Natural 5,700 COP - Refresco de Mandarina De Lolita 6,100 COP - Jugo Natural en Agua/ Granizado de Cafe 6,200 COP - Latte Sencillo 6,300 COP - Te Hatsu 6,500 COP - Cafe Helado/ Frappe de Cafe 6,700 COP - Zumo de Uva Natural 6,900 COP - Parfait con Cereal y Fruta
Before heading out for the Comuna 13 tour, we used the apartment’s facilities. But we only managed to use the Steam room because the Sauna was occupied by others, and we couldn’t wait until they finished. The pool was still too cold to swim, and we just hung out on the pool chair after the steam room session. While on the rooftop, we saw a round white object moving steadily, maybe it was a hot air balloon? Too bad I didn’t have my camera with me.
It took us about 25 minutes to walk from the apartment to Poblado Metro station. From there we took the metro down to San Antonio station before changing to another one to San Javier. The ticket costs 2,500 COP per person. I wished Bogota had a metro instead of Transmillenio. It would make things more comfortable commuting from one place to another.
When we finished with the Communa 13 tour, we thought of taking the metro back to the Zona Rosa area, but halfway to the metro station, we changed our mind as we wanted to explore this area. The taxi dropped us not too far from the metro, and we stopped for late lunch/ early dinner. We both had Pechuga ala Planca, and it cost 8,000 COP for one. Club Colombia was 3,200 COP per bottle, and 2,000 COP for a bottle of Pepsi.
Night Out Around San Javier Metro station
Our drinking places were around San Javier Metro station. The one that we stayed for a long was at Licores Nelson. This shop reminded me of Guatemala city’s tienda that we’d walked past. There, the tienda had grills fixed to the window and door of the shop, and the transaction was exchanged via a small opening hole. Licores Nelson wasn’t operating to such an extent as he still opened his grill and closed it whenever he was not at the front counter.
While we were there, we saw the gondola busy carrying passengers, too bad we didn’t have enough time to ride to the top. Maybe we’ll try it when we have the chance to come here again. Our bill here including one shot of Aguardiente was 29,500 COP. We bought the shot of Aguardiente for an elderly local guy.
He was quite talkative. He told us that he used to play for a football group that was quite famous during his time. But he was wasted, and I couldn’t be sure if he was telling the truth. He also kept on asking the same question to us about why we didn’t stay in Medellin but chose Bogota, and we’ve replied to him many times, and when we got bored with the question, we moved on to another place called Capri Bar. In Capri, the beers cost 4,000 COP per bottle.
Before leaving this area, I went to buy fried chicken while Mike waited for me with his beer in a tienda. The chicken cost 18,000 COP, and it wasn’t nice. It was dried and bland unlike what we usually have in South Korea or South East Asia. Lesson learned, not to buy any more fried chicken here. We ordered a taxi from Tappsi Easy apps, and it cost 18,500 COP to the Beer Station. The taxi driver got excited when we asked him about Pablo Escobar and his contribution to society. He told us his opinion, but I won’t disclose it here.
In Beer Station, I had my Cherry beer again, and Mike had two Tairona beers. The bar was quiet on that day, aside from us, only two other tables were occupied, probably because of tomorrow’s working day. The American football game was on the TV, Kansas City Chiefs vs New England Patriots, and when the New England Patriots team won the match, the people sitting next to us were over the moon, and the people at the table in front of us sulked. That night our bill was 36,600 COP.
When we got back to the apartment, I was excited to go up to the rooftop to see the Super Blood Wolf Moon. But the moon was blocked by a large cloud, and I wasted an hour waiting for it to appear which it never did.
The next morning, it’s time to go back to Bogota. We walked to El Taxista Restaurante which was located over the road to Poblado Park. It took us about an hour to walk because while carrying our backpacks, we stopped at many restaurants looking for Bandeja Paisa. I loved Bandeja Paisa, and in this restaurant, though we waited for our meal for quite a while, it was worth it. Mike had Bandeja Pechuga, and our meals cost 25,000 COP.
The taxi charge to San Diego was 6,700 COP, and from there we walked to the bus stop, the same place where the bus dropped us when we first arrived. Forty-two minutes later, we arrived at the airport. With plenty of time to waste, we use the lounge until thirty minutes before we’re scheduled to depart. We flew on time and arrived four minutes earlier than the scheduled time at 2:36 pm.
Travel Date: 19th ~ 21st January 2019
