Medellin is a CHIMBA

Our hotel is located in the El Poblado neighborhood, which is popular among both tourists and locals. The area is considered particularly safe, but it is quite expensive compared to other parts of the city. Here you will find plenty of decent hostels, hotels or AirBnB, as well as good restaurants and bars.

When night falls in the city, the nightlife awakens. The party zone Provenza is the most enjoyable here. Bar after bar, great rooftop locations, and clubs ranging from salsa to electro. There is something for everyone here. Once the party gets going, there’s no stopping... the celebration goes on until 5 AM. But beware, we had separated from our Uber driver by two streets and ended up in Parque Lleras. This area also belongs to the entertainment district, but some rather unpleasant characters roam these streets. You can do it, but you don't have to. Even if the neighborhood (as previously mentioned) is considered safe, it is advisable to take a taxi or Uber for the return. Night walks are not a good idea, especially for those who do not speak Spanish.

Just north of El Poblado and less than 15 minutes by car is the Laureles neighborhood. It is just as safe, with good nightlife opportunities, vibrant lights, loud music, but in our opinion just a bit more relaxed; Laureles is in no way inferior to El Poblado. Here you will also find the football stadium and the general sports area of the city. The advantages of Laureles are the abundance of greenery in the area and it’s not as hilly, making it much easier to go out and party on 'La 70'. Again, in Laureles, the gringo should take a taxi or Uber for the return trip. Additionally, one should only carry the necessary amount of cash, you don’t want to make it too easy for the thieves... safety concerns us all.

Unfortunately, this little precaution became a nuisance for us. We foolishly ended up at a bar that did not accept card payments. When we wanted to pay after a few drinks, the rude awakening hit us. Since I didn't even have a physical card with me to withdraw cash, I had to embark on a nocturnal city tour to free my two ladies with fresh cash from the bar we had visited.

Today we also visited the Barrio Pablo Escobar. The barrio is a place that is ideally visited with a guide, as we did. Here, Pablo Escobar built houses for the poorest in his time. Therefore, it was to be expected that one would see the man who terrorized all of Colombia for two decades in a completely different light than elsewhere in the country. Here he is still seen as the 'savior of the poor'. The residents do not gloss over his terrible deeds, but insist that what he did for the people in the barrio is also acknowledged. On our walk through the neighborhood, we were allowed to peek into one of the houses. The conditions were the most basic imaginable for Europeans, but so much better than living without a roof over your head. On the wall in the room of the house, there was a photo of 'Don Pablo' hanging above a dresser...

Tomorrow we’re heading to the golf course... we’ll see what happens next. ;-)