Going to a Fútbol Game in Medellín, Colombia

Friday, July 29, 2022

I got up early to watch the surfers and then hung around the hostel for awhile before taking the bus back to Santa Marta in the afternoon. 

I hopped off the bus and hailed a taxi to the airport (which I didn’t want to pay for but I didn’t see another reasonable option). The airport is really nice and small in Santa Marta so I didn’t mind waiting for my quick flight to Medellín.

The Medellín airport is far from the city, so I opted for the bus. I was a bit confused at first, but I made it onto the bus which drops you near a mall sort of close to Poblado. Then a girl helped me into a taxi and charged me a tip even though I didn’t need her help. Luckily she seemed happy with a couple thousand pesos.

After sitting in a lot of traffic I finally made it to the hostel, which immediately is super nice. Hostel Rango Boutique is on the western side of Provenza, which is why I chose it. It’s much closer to Provenza than Los Patios (where I stayed before), but it’s also not the longest walk from the metro. It’s really late so I just went to bed after settling in.

Saturday, July 30, 2022

Last time I was here I didn’t make it to Mondongo which is a restaurant in Poblado well known for its traditional dish: mondongo (tripe soup). I just know I won’t like it so I opt for ajiaco instead. They had amazing service and the ajiaco was just like the first time I had it.

Today is mostly an admin day since I’m low on some supplies. I did my laundry and bought some liquid body soap which I couldn’t find anywhere on the coast.

In the evening I went to relax on the roof top where I met some girls. We got dinner at il Fonso where I got some tasty pasta and sangria, and then we called it a night.

Sunday, July 31, 2022

Rango has a restaurant downstairs where I went for breakfast. I bumped into my friend who I’m going downtown with so we ate together. Then we took the metro downtown. 

We tried to go to Casa de la Memoria and the Uribe Palace of Culture, but both were closed so it was a flop. We ended up just getting drinks in a little market. 

When we went home we went to Cafe Zorba and shared a couple of different pizzas. Cafe Zorba is right next to Rango which is fabulous.

Monday, August 1, 2022

This morning I somehow ended up at Mind Cafe while trying to find another cafe and failing. This cafe lets you pay in cryptocurrency which is kind of cool.

Then I took the metro to Comuna 13 because I wanted to buy some souvenirs there. I bought some shot glasses for my friends, but more importantly I bought a cool print to hang in my house. I like when I find unique souvenirs, and I feel like buying art in Comuna 13 is fitting.

Then I went back to El hueco to look for some clothes, but mostly failed. I went to Mercado del Rio next where I got some really good sushi and a craft beer. I had really been missing craft beer.

Lastly, I’m accomplishing something that I really wanted to do this time around in Medellín: a fútbol game!

I really had to put in effort to get this plan in order. I went to the Viajero the other day to get the Whatsapp group and met some people from Maryland there. They showed me their ticket so that I could purchase tickets near them. Then I ended up finding some people in the Whatsapp group who bought me a ticket. I met up with them at Viajero and we Ubered over together since it was pouring. I meant to meet up with the Marylanders but we never did because the rain was so awful.

When we got the stadium we grabbed some beers outside and some German street food before heading in. Thankfully it stopped raining just in time, and it pretty much stayed that way the entire time. 

The game wasn’t super exciting or anything, but I did bet on the right team while everyone else bet on the other, so that was fun. I’d like to go back for the “clasico” where Nacional plays Independiente one day, and sit closer to the band. All in all, I’m really glad I got to go.

There’s at least one organized tour that takes tourists to the games, but after having been on my own I really suggest just finding a group to go with. Do your research and buy your tickets from an official retailer.

Tuesday, August 2, 2022

This morning I went to Azul Selva, (which is what I was looking for yesterday) and called my mom for her birthday. After our chat, I headed out to Pueblito Paisa. I hiked up to the village and looked around for a while while listening to a podcast, but didn’t really do much. I normally like museums like this that are “live,” but I’ve already been to some real Colombian villages so this wasn’t that exciting.

Then I took the metro to Parque Arvi, which is supposed to have the best views. It’s a long cable car ride, and when I get to the top I found out that there’s a guided hike but it’s kind of expensive. Maybe one day I’ll have to come back. 

Instead I just bought some berries at the little market. Then I realized that I needed more money on my metro card to get back, but they only take cash at this station and I didn’t bring my debit card to get cash. I come up with a plan to ask the tour guides if they could charge me for the tour but give me cash instead, and they agree. This was one of my finer moments communicating in Spanish, and I’m glad the guides were so nice and understanding because this was probably against the rules, but I had no other way of getting cash besides asking someone for a favor.

On the way back I really wanted to go back to the Palace of Culture roof, which I did and it was pretty cool. I wish I had some friends to take pictures of me like some of the girls there did, but that’ll be a plan for my next visit. 

Lastly, I head to the Viajero bar to find a group of people to head to Gringo Tuesday with. I meet tons of people and go out with them. I had a great night before running home to Rango.

Wednesday, August 3, 2022

This morning, I’m trying to go back to La Minorista because I’ve learned more about it. I tried to take the metro which might not have been the best idea. I had to walk through an industrial area for quite a while to get there. I made it safely, but I won’t do this again. I tried some foods there and then took an Uber home. 

I went to hang out at the Viajero rooftop and met some new people. I ended up going to Yeyo Viewpoint with Blink Spanish School which was really fun. We got street food and then some of the people tried the rides. I didn’t do the slingshot ride, but I regret it so I’ll have to return sometime.

When we got back to Viajero, some people were going out so I joined them. We went to Mad House, Chupitos (where I got a pisces shot), and Octavos (which is supposed to be pretty fun and well known). Most of the places were pretty dead, probably because it’s a Wednesday. We went to one more place for house music, but it was again dead so I made a plan with a random Israeli guy to escape. 

We headed back to the Parque Lleras area where there were lots of people, but again we couldn’t find anywhere with good music. We finally decided to pay the cover to enter a club named Parque Lleras, which looked like the most fun but then we realized it was probably a place to find sex workers… We were the only ones dancing, so we left pretty quickly.

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