Where we are staying:
Our hostel is in a primarily residential neighborhood called Belén. Though in this case, residential does not necessarily mean quite. We are directly across the street from a spots center with basketball courts, soccer fields, pools, weights, and whatever else one might need to work out. It's incredible, but it also wakes us up every morning. That, and the planes, which take off about three blocks away from us. For all the noise, we love it here. We are surprised by how tropical Medellín is. On our walks we have been astounded by the insane variety of plant and bird species. The hostel itself is great too. The view from the roof is incredible and we've eaten dinner up here each night.
Day 2 (as day 1 was spent wandering our neighborhood in a daze - and as per usual, going to the super market twice):
We woke up early (planes/basketball) and headed to Plaza Botero. Since Belén is fairly small, this was our first taste of Medellín as the second biggest city in Colombia. After stepping out of the metro, we were immediately greeted by all the markers of a large city - hawkers, beggars, tourists, and, most importantly, public art. The Plaza is named for Fernando Botero, a Colombian born artist, and is covered in his sculptures. After quickly wandering through the plaza, we went into the neighboring Museo de Antioquia and saw some of his work in other mediums, including sketches and oil paintings.
After wandering around in the city center, we returned to our hostel for our now traditional two hour nap followed by run (we hope this continues). While running we saw (i.e. ran through, repeatedly) a photo shoot for "Mister Colombia." (note, it was not for "Señor Colombia," but "Mister"). With each lap around the track, we got to see the distinct personality of each contestant, as reflected in their poses, hat, and hair, as well as the very telling shirt/no shirt decision. Dinner was a vegetarian feast, provided by our hostel. We got to meet many of the people that we share our home with, and it was great. While many are just passing through, there are several who have extended their stays in Medellín for weeks and weeks. We heard a lot of different goals and motivations for travel around the dinner table. The most interesting from a man from Spain who is currently biking from Honduras to Ushuaia, Argentina. At each stop he makes he hopes to complete some athletic trail. In Medellín, it was a Marathon, which he nonchalantly mentioned he completed earlier that day. And thus our three mile walk/run was put into perspective.
Day 3:
We woke up early (planes/basketball) and headed to Universidad EAFIT (one hour on public transportation), where we will be taking Spanish classes starting next Monday. We were told to be there to take our placement tests, and had a very pleasant 20 minute chat, at the end of which we learned our placement test would be taking place on Thursday. Fun! We are learning much about Colombian culture. We also received our most prized possession, a Map of Medellin! Fun!
Armed with map, we trekked to Poblado, a fancy place (KFC, McDonalds, AND Hooters!) where most of the nightclubs, hostels, and city commerce are located. We got there earlier, so at first the streets and bars were totally empty. It was surprisingly pleasant wandering around. We found a great coffee shop, serving real espresso, and sat for quite some time just people watching. After that we decided to walk back to our hostel. We now have a much better sense of the scale of our map as the walk took 2 hours. On a more positive note, we are starting to feel like we have a much better grip on the city. Even though its only been three days, our comfort level is rising as we explore more and more. We are excited for what the next few days (and months - though it's hard to think that far in advance) will bring.
On another positive note (there are many here), this was the view we were treated to tonight.
After learning Spanish, our next goal will be to learn how to center photos on our blog.
Our hostel is in a primarily residential neighborhood called Belén. Though in this case, residential does not necessarily mean quite. We are directly across the street from a spots center with basketball courts, soccer fields, pools, weights, and whatever else one might need to work out. It's incredible, but it also wakes us up every morning. That, and the planes, which take off about three blocks away from us. For all the noise, we love it here. We are surprised by how tropical Medellín is. On our walks we have been astounded by the insane variety of plant and bird species. The hostel itself is great too. The view from the roof is incredible and we've eaten dinner up here each night.
Day 2 (as day 1 was spent wandering our neighborhood in a daze - and as per usual, going to the super market twice):
We woke up early (planes/basketball) and headed to Plaza Botero. Since Belén is fairly small, this was our first taste of Medellín as the second biggest city in Colombia. After stepping out of the metro, we were immediately greeted by all the markers of a large city - hawkers, beggars, tourists, and, most importantly, public art. The Plaza is named for Fernando Botero, a Colombian born artist, and is covered in his sculptures. After quickly wandering through the plaza, we went into the neighboring Museo de Antioquia and saw some of his work in other mediums, including sketches and oil paintings.
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After wandering around in the city center, we returned to our hostel for our now traditional two hour nap followed by run (we hope this continues). While running we saw (i.e. ran through, repeatedly) a photo shoot for "Mister Colombia." (note, it was not for "Señor Colombia," but "Mister"). With each lap around the track, we got to see the distinct personality of each contestant, as reflected in their poses, hat, and hair, as well as the very telling shirt/no shirt decision. Dinner was a vegetarian feast, provided by our hostel. We got to meet many of the people that we share our home with, and it was great. While many are just passing through, there are several who have extended their stays in Medellín for weeks and weeks. We heard a lot of different goals and motivations for travel around the dinner table. The most interesting from a man from Spain who is currently biking from Honduras to Ushuaia, Argentina. At each stop he makes he hopes to complete some athletic trail. In Medellín, it was a Marathon, which he nonchalantly mentioned he completed earlier that day. And thus our three mile walk/run was put into perspective.
Day 3:
We woke up early (planes/basketball) and headed to Universidad EAFIT (one hour on public transportation), where we will be taking Spanish classes starting next Monday. We were told to be there to take our placement tests, and had a very pleasant 20 minute chat, at the end of which we learned our placement test would be taking place on Thursday. Fun! We are learning much about Colombian culture. We also received our most prized possession, a Map of Medellin! Fun!
Armed with map, we trekked to Poblado, a fancy place (KFC, McDonalds, AND Hooters!) where most of the nightclubs, hostels, and city commerce are located. We got there earlier, so at first the streets and bars were totally empty. It was surprisingly pleasant wandering around. We found a great coffee shop, serving real espresso, and sat for quite some time just people watching. After that we decided to walk back to our hostel. We now have a much better sense of the scale of our map as the walk took 2 hours. On a more positive note, we are starting to feel like we have a much better grip on the city. Even though its only been three days, our comfort level is rising as we explore more and more. We are excited for what the next few days (and months - though it's hard to think that far in advance) will bring.
On another positive note (there are many here), this was the view we were treated to tonight.
After learning Spanish, our next goal will be to learn how to center photos on our blog.
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