Medellín pronounced Med-Eh-Yeen is the second-largest city in Colombia, known as the "City of Eternal Spring".
What did we do
We walked to the El Castillo Museum and Gardens
"The castle was built in 1930 in a medieval Gothic style similar to the Loire Valley castles in France. In 1942 Diego Echavarría Misas purchased it as a family residence and in 1971 it became a museum when Diego Echavarría Misas's wife, Doña Dita, decided to donate the castle with all its decorations and accessories after her husband's kidnapping and murder."
We did not go inside the castle because we would have had to wait over 2 hours for the English-speaking tour. We did not think we would be there that long. The grounds were beautifully kept. It would have been a great place for an afternoon picnic.
Guatapé Tour: Piedra del Peñol with Boat Tour, Breakfast, Lunch this tour was an all day event and well worth the $37 pp fee. Our tour guide for the day was Marlon, he told us never check the weather in Medellín because it's bipolar 😑 😳 😒.
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| Our ride for the day |
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| Our 6:30 am look |
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| Sunrise |
Piedra del Peñol or The Rock of Guatapé is located about halfway between the towns of El Peñol and Guatapé. The rock is approximately 65 million years old.
I was hesitant about climbing as we were on a time limit and I knew it was going to take me more than 20 minutes. There are 708 steps to climb to the top. Our tour guide informed us the bus would be in the parking lot at 11:00 and pulling out at 11:05 no if, ands, or buts.
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| Here we go 🚶♂️ 🚶♀️ |
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| Our first view |
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I'm already dying and we are
not even 1/2 way to the top |
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Look at that: 708!
I MADE IT! |
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The views were well worth the
climb |
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During high season 20,000 people
climb the rock daily
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Heading down
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The look of STOP TAKING
PICTURES 📸 |
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| Very narrow |
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We made it back down with
time to spare
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As promised the bus was there at 11:00 and was pulling out at 11:05. One couple was running down the road to catch the bus. We found out later his drone had gotten caught in a woman's hair and they were trying to untangle it. I guess they could have gotten a Tuk Tuk to the next stop.
Did you know? In March of 2024, contestants from Amazing Race were seen racing up the stairs in order to find a clue that was hidden on top of the rock.
Town of Guatapé
Marlon led us to all the major sites before we ventured off on our own.
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| Marlon |
Our next visit to Columbia will include a few nights in this quant little artistic town.
We did a quick walk around Réplica Viejo Peñol before our Boat tour of the Guatapé dam.
"To create a gigantic reservoir in the 1970s, the Colombia town of El Peñol was relocated so the Guatapé River could be dammed, and the valley it was in flooded."
"Today the reservoir provides electricity to more than 35 percent of Colombia."
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| Our Ride |
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The cross depicts where the church ⛪️
originally stood |
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Apparently this house was owned by
a doctor who had 36 children by
11 women and never married |
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Home owned by
Columbian soccer player
James Rodriguez
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| Cool tour boat |
Pablo Escobar's bombed vacation compound
We found the perfect place to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, Patrick's Irish Pub.
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| Rob's date |
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| Rob's dream date |
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Our new best friends
Paul & Linda |
Coffee Tour in Medellin with Tastings & Transportation a four generation family coffee farm, Finca La Arrinconada.
This was our first coffee plantation where we got to dress the part of a Columbian coffee farmer.
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Green Beans- not ready to
be picked |
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| My beans |
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| Rob's beans |
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My bean will be a plant in
about 3 yrs |
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Machine to remove the skin
Quicker & easier |
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| Drying beans |
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| 2nd skin removed |
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| Grinding |
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| Smells like coffee |
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| Now that's service |
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We received a parting gift
Ground coffee ☕️ & our
Coffee cups
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This coffee tour was the most fun out of the several coffee tours we have done. Highly recommend a coffee tour.
Our guide explained the history of Medellín. The older generation who lived through the Pablo Escobar era do not like to even mention his name. It is estimated that he was responsible for approximately 4,000 deaths.
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Monumento a la Raza
Tells the history of Medellín |
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| Plaza Cisneros |
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Local Tourist police had a
chat with us about safety
precautions |
Our guide would rate the safety of the area we were in from a 1-5. We, of course, did not bring our backpack. The safety was more for pickpockets and not to have your phone out. We never felt unsafe, but we did put our cellphones in the guide's backpack at one point.
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| Galería de Arte Palacio Nacional |
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| Art Museum |
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Parroquia de la Veracruz
Catholic Church
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Plaza Botero displays 23 sculptures by Colombian artist Fernando Botero. The Plaza is located in the "Old Quarter". The "Botero legend" suggests that rubbing the statues brings love and good fortune.
Here are just a few of the sculptures:
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| Soldier |
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Mujer Con Fruta
Woman with Fruit |
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| The Hand |
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| Sphinx |
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Mujer con espejo
Woman with mirror |
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| Man Dress |
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Palace of Culture Rafael
Uribe Uribe
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The architecture of the building
was in different styles as it was
built in stages |
Our last stop, which was rated 4.5 on the pickpocket scale was the Parque San Antonio where the El Pájaro - Fernando Botero sculpture was bombed. The city was going to remove the bombed sculpture but Botero wanted it left as a reminder and he sculpted a new one.
A great free tour, highly recommend, they only ask you to tip your guide.
This area is now full of meaningful vibrant street art work. Local artists use their craft as a platform to invoke change and inspire others.
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The dark left side represents the past and
the bright right side represents the future |
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Pachamama
This represents the importance
of protecting our ecosystem
|
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Our first tasting - empanada
and sausage
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| Bullet holes from Escobar's time |
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We had our own rap
session |
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| Notice we brought a backpack this time. |
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| Mango popsicle |
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Beyond Escobar
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Restaurants / Bars
La Tradición Restaurante Colombiano was an interesting restaurant as it was located within a car wash.
We had to provide the young lady our name, which we thought was weird, and wait about five minutes. The really interesting 🤔 thing about this restaurant was the secret entrance.
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The secret entrance was behind
the shelving unit |
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Our table was waiting
with Roberto's place card
|
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Not a great picture but our waiter
was dressed in traditional garb |
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Ensalada La Tradicion
A salad with chicken |
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Cazuelade Frijoles
Frijoles montañeros, chorizo,
chicharroncitos crocantes, carne
molida, maicitos, cubos de platáno
maduro, viruta depa
hecha en casa.
Acompañadaa de arroz,
aguacate y arepa. |
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Casserole Beans
Mountain beans, chorizo, crispy pork rinds, ground beef, corn, cubes of ripe banana, shavings of homemade beans. Accompanied by rice, avocado and arepa. |
Mojitos Medellín
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| Cevichito al Limon Camaron |
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Pina Caribena
Seafood Pineapple |
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| Everything is better with Mojitos |
Yacky Chan
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| Tartar Mix |
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Ebi Hot Dog
Golden brioche bread toasted
in hazelnut butter, filled with crab
salad, panko shrimp, Philadelphia
cheese, and pickles. |
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| Rainbow Roll |
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| Tuna Roll |
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| Tropical Roll |
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| He's still got the moves |
El Puto Taco Provenza
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| Taco El Pastore |
Mamma Mia Restaurante
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| Beef Tenderloin Carpaccio |
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| Lasagne De Carne |
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| Pappardelle |
We stopped at Delicias de la Abuela for breakfast on our Guatapé Tour. The owner was really nice even if we couldn't understand a word he was saying. We did understand the offer of hot sauce and the really hot 🔥🔥 hot sauce.
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| Chocolate |
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Eggs, corn cake w cheese,
Empanada |
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| Yes I signed our names |
We stopped at Parador Turistico La Casa Del Café for lunchon our Guatapé Tour.
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Rice, beans, corn cake, &
A protein |
Patrick's Irish Pub
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| Wings |
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| Pretzel |
Finca La Arrinconada provided an authentic coffee pickers lunch,
Kampanas Cocinas del Mundo this restaurant had a vary diverse menu, you could order items from several different countries.
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| Salmon Carpaccio |
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| Tuna Tartare |
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| Cazuela de Marisco |
el Patio Restaurante y Panadería this was interesting for us. We had no clue what we ordered and no one spoke English. Well... thanks to Google Translate we had a good idea. It was actually pretty good and the entire meal was maybe $6.
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| Pumpkin cream soup |
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Orange pork, rice, potato
salad, & cake |
Carmen Medellín we did the Chef tasting with drinks.
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| Sour Beer |
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Caribbean Crab Empanada 🦀
With Vanilla Bean Aioli |
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Tuna In a Macadamia
Cashew sauce |
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| Mushroom Tartare |
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Bread with Columbian Sour Cream
& Ricotta |
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| Tamarind Drink |
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| Pasta Stuffed with Ricotta |
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Grouper with Plantains pureed
with coffee |
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Beef Tenderloin paired
with a Malbec |
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Cacao Ice Cream paired
with brandy flavored
with coffee ☕️ & Cocoa |
The food was phenomenal 😋.
Del Sur
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Hamburgesa Ruta 40
Hamburger with bacon, mozzarella
cheese, lettuce & tomato 🍅 |
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| CHORIPÁN DEL SUR |
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| Chorizo, caramelized onions, & Chimichurri |
Cafetería Arte Dolce a great place for a Gelato
Sibari Restaurant an Italian Restaurant 😋 It was a nice evening so we chose to sit on the patio. Big mistake. Everytime the young guys would walk by and see us they would start rapping. It was actually pretty entertaining 😄 and we gave them some money. They were trying so hard.
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| Gin & Tonic |
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| Aperol Spritz |
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| Burrata Pizza |
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| Italian Bolognese |
Mar y Fuego- Medellín
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