I’ve been in Medellin for 12 days now and I’ve settled into a routine. If reading about my daily routine is not a good use of your time, don’t go any further, just hit the “back button” or close this page now. I don’t want to contribute to anyone’s “mindless trash consumption habit”. If you’ve read this far and are actually interested, here’s an overview of what I do most every day.
I get up around 8AM and go down to the shared kitchen to make my breakfast. Sometimes it’s a dance with the other guests, each looking for space and utensils to make their own breakfast. My breakfast is easier than most, I just eat fruit and granola, so all I need is a cutting board, a knife and a little counter space. If it’s busy in there I’ll take a coffee and retreat to my room for 10 minutes, but the last few days the hostel has emptied out somewhat and today I even had the kitchen to myself.
My fruit salad pretty much always has papaya and banana, and then I’ll often slice in something exotic as well: mango, pineapple, guava, grenadines and other fruits I can’t name. Not all of them are good as breakfast foods, but I only know that after the fact. Papaya and banana are wonderful breakfast foods, and so they’re my staples. I sprinkle it with some mediocre granola (doesn’t come anywhere close to Angie’s homemade granola, but I figure I can’t just eat fruit), squeeze some lime juice over it and I have a breakfast feast. If there are other hostel guests at the table, we’ll usually talk over breakfast; that’s been one of the big advantages of being in the hostel. I’ve had many interesting conversations about world events and life experiences and picked up many leads on places to go and things to see. Most of the guests have been western Europeans, but also some Colombians, few Americans and no Canadians here so far.
After breakfast, I’ll often go an an excursion and explore Medellin: guided walking tours, museums, parks, markets, etc. The last few days I’ve been feeling quite under the weather, and so I’ve stayed closer to home, reading and studying my Spanish lessons and going for a really great coffee at a nearby kiosk. They already know my order at the kiosk and they greet me with a very friendly “buenas dias, señor, un americano?”
Around 1PM, I look for a restaurant for my midday meal. I’ve decided to eat the way Colombians do, having their big meal around noon. It’s cheaper this way, and I wasn’t finding things I wanted to eat in the evening anyway. So I’ve been trying out restaurants where working people go to eat and I order the menu del dia, or daily special. This commonly costs between 3 and 4 dollars and includes a soup, a glass of sweet fresh juice, and an entree with meat, rice, salad and a side of plantain, fried banana or potato. The one in picture below was not one of my favourites. The fish soup was good, but the chicharron (a slab of crispy fried cracklings) was very hard and chewy at the same time (not sure if that works, but that’s what my teeth and jaws were finding). I don’t think I’ll try it again. Most often I’ve had broiled chicken breast or a thin chewy steak and these have always been good. The second photo is of a “sancocho”, a large bowl of meaty soup. It’s not gourmet food, but so far it’s usually been quite decent and it’s great for my budget and for my Spanish practice.
After lunch I make my way to the Unicentro Mall where I meet David, my Spanish teacher at our table in the food court, I usually have a cup of cafe tinto Juan Valdez so I can feel okay about using the space (and because it’s very good local coffee). We’ll sit there for two hours, talking and making notes in my notebook, always reaching our 4 PM quitting time before we complete the lesson because we’ve gotten sidetracked on topics that are of interest. He likes to explain things and I like to understand things and so that works quite well. I have to say I’m feeling more at ease in the language, though I’m not sure I’m speaking more correctly, just feeling more at ease with how I speak.
At the end of the two hour lesson, we agree on what we’ll do the next day, then I pay him 50,000 Colombian pesos, which sounds like a lot but is actually only about 22 Canadian dollars.
After the lesson, I’ll find a bar where I can sit outside in the shade and sample a Colombian craft beer. There’s often a soccer match on the tv so I’ll watch that, I also review my Spanish notes and sit and watch people go by. After an hour or so of that, I’ll make my way back to the hostel, stopping to pick up something up for my evening salad.
When I get home, I lay in the hammock on the balcony for awhile and read emails and world news. If I have nothing planned for the evening, I’ll read or write in my blog, then around 7PM, I’ll make a small avocado and tomato salad and eat it with bread. I tried other things, but it’s hard to make small portions for one person and I don’t want to waste food. Sometimes I eat my supper alone, sometimes there are others at the table and we chat.
Evenings I go wander, usually ending on the nearby strip where there’s many cafes and bars and street vendors. The clientele in this part of the city is mostly Colombian. Eventually I’ll stop somewhere for a drink and watch people go by. There’s one little shop run by a Venezuelan who’s invited me to stop there when I want to practice my Spanish. People watching is especially interesting on weekend nights. People here love to dress up and go out and they generally look very very good, even when they’re not that good looking. I’d like to know how they manage to do that.
Then I head back to my room in my hostel and read or catch up on the news, and then, around 11 PM I go to bed.