I have an unpleasant head cold coming on, so I’m staying in tonight, sitting in my hostel room, looking through photos and sorting out thoughts about my time in Medellin.
I’ve been here just over a week, and now I’ve made the decision to stay a second week and continue my Spanish lessons. It’s a way of travelling “slowly” that suits me better than going off somewhere new every few days. When I stay awhile, I make routines to settle into, I get to know my way around the place and find a few familiar faces to exchange greetings with, and I get more than just a first impression. First impressions can be quite deceiving.
Medellin has grown on me. My first impression was of a very busy, quite chaotic, and not picturesque or especially interesting city. I still think it’s busy, chaotic and not particularly picturesque. It has a reputation as a hip place to be, and after a week here, I can understand that better. And I can understand why many expatriates think it’s a cool place to visit or even to live. Not that it’s overrun by expatriates, not yet, but if trends continue, it may soon be.
Here are some things that make Medellin cool:
1. Medellin is vibrant, there’s a lot going on.
A lot of working — I enjoy walking through industrial areas where people are building and repairing things, and there is much building and repairing happening here. There are still many old Renault 4s and Renault 12s driving around the city, there are also some lovely shiny 50s vintage trucks, Fords and Chevys, still driving around with cargo loads. I need to learn to draw my phone out quicker so I can get a photo.
A lot of playing — My hostel is near the Medellin stadium which is in the middle of a large sports complex, and there are always games and activities going on. Last weekend I went to watch an Independiente Medellin league match, and it was fun, but I felt very crowded in the stadium, the seats were small and people around tended to take up space. I went early to soak up the atmosphere, found my seat with some trouble, and was the only one in my row. Very shortly, a middle aged couple arrived and the guy said I was in his seat. Not unfriendly, but he needed me to move. I pulled out my ticket to show him, he pulled out his season pass to show me. Talk about pulling rank! Someone a few rows up told me to just move over, it’s not going to matter, so I did and sat in fear as all the rows filled up. The guy was right, it didn’t matter. I noticed a few others also had conflicting tickets, but sorted it out without issues. In the end, the stadium wasn’t full, but it was noisy.
There were a few moments when I felt at one with the crowd. An Independiente player was hauled down in the box and we all objected, then the ref gave a penalty kick and we stood up and cheered, and then Independiente scored and we celebrated. I completely forgot to use my camera. I only thought of that later when Independiente was playing poorly and the other team was trying to kill off the game.
Independiente has not been having a good season, and the match ended in a tie and people around me were absolutely disgusted. Here’s a short video of a free kick as the home team takes a free kick. My phone didn’t pick up the drumming and chanting, which was more memorable than the match itself. As you can see, the north end of the stadium is closed to fans, apparently it’s a three match punishment for bad behaviour.
All around the stadium are other sports and recreation sites: pools, tennis courts, volleyball and handball courts, skateboard parks, etc. There’s also a giant area with a square and a stage where people participate in a mass aerobic dance of some kind. Or they have organized runs and inline skating events. In some barrios, up in the hills, I’ve seen a number of public outdoor gym parks, where people work out on weights and fitness machines.
2. Bike culture
There are great bike paths running through the city, and there are several ciclovia events every week. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, cyclists gather at a certain point and make a mass ride from 8 to 11 PM, “taking over” the streets in a different part of the city every week. On Sundays, a major street is closed off to traffic and people are encourage to come out and ride, or run, or stroll.
3. Street performers
At busy intersections, it’s common to have street performers rather than squeegee boys. When the lights red, they do a short performance and then sometimes pass the hat. I’ve watched quite a few, and for many it seems to be more about the performance than about the money, in some cases the don’t even pass the hat. I’ve seen knife jugglers, gymnasts, dancers, and others I can’t even recall. Of course, some are better than others. Here’s a few photos.
3. Weather
Medellin is known as “la ciudad de la eterna primavera“, or the city of eternal spring. They say the weather is the same here year round: the sun mostly shines, days are warm (e.g. 28C), and nights are comfortable (16C). People say each season is similar. The past two days, it’s hit 30C with a little humidity and I’ve heard several locals complain about the heat. My Spanish teacher said such heat was very unusual.
You can really enjoy the weather because there are very few insects. No flies or mosquitos; windows can be left wide open and nothing flies into the bedroom to buzz around your head when sleeping. Sometimes a kitten comes in my window in the mornings and rubs itself against my feet, but that is a disturbance I don’t mind very much.
4. Friendly people.
“Paisas”, as the people of this area are known, have a reputation of being friendly and helpful. That’s what they tell me and that’s what I’ve experienced. It’s a city of millions, and, as is common in large cities, people mostly mind their own business, but smiles and greetings are common. If you ever ask for help, people are quick to assist you. It has been easy to engage people when I want to, but it’s not an “in your face” friendliness; people are respectful of my privacy as well. I’ve been sitting on a shaded bench in a busy square for the last 30 minutes, having a coffee, watching people, writing on my iPad and trying to take an acceptable selfie. I’ve been approached by one couple asking for directions (of course I couldn’t help them) and a few others have smiled as they pass by watching me take a series unsatisfactory selfies, but nothing more. Sometimes people will try to sell me trinkets or candies, and sometimes they outright for a handout, but even then, it’s largely done in a respectful way. People often wish you a good day if you say you don’t have any change to give. I have had a few encounters with panhandlers who are rude and “in your face”, but these are infrequent exceptions.
5. Parks and Public Spaces
The city has many parks and squares and places to go, where you can hang out and watch people. Some are forested hills in the middle of the city, some are “linear” parks where trees shade bicycle paths and walkways, some are city centre squares with art and sculptures and others are simply public spaces where people gather. Here are a few photos of public spaces in Medellin.
Birds of Peace, Plaza San Antonio
In the mid 90s, there was only one of the above bird statues by Fernando Botero in this square. Then at a music concert, the FARC (leftist guerilla army) exploded a bomb placed under the sculpture, killing 30 and wounding hundreds. Botero made a second, identical statue and presented it to the city, insisting the bombed out statue remain. All the victims’ names are listed on the base of the sculptures.
There are of course other items that make Medellin a “cool”and livable city. Two of the most impressive each deserve a post of their own: the transformation of Medellin and the transportation system. Surprisingly, for me anyway, these two items are related.
The downside of being a “cool” and livable city is that many people end up coming here to stay and enjoy the place. I hope Medellin can manage that so that it doesn’t end up diminishing the quality of life and erasing the charm of the city.
