Jordy and Em South America Trip!

So many highlights of our ten days in Medellin, it’s hard to know where to start!

One of the main reasons for our longer stay in Medellin was to visit Elefun Language School for a 5 day Spanish Intensive Course. Unfortunately, 5 days was only sufficient to get us from “no bueno” to “bien”, but our teacher Juliana was very patient and helped us a lot!

The first highlight of our stay in Medellin was our walking tour of Comuna 13. Only 8 years ago it was divided by invisible borders set by rival gangs, now completely safe for locals and tourists alike. This was one of the places we were most excited to visit, and we kept turning to each other (mostly Em turning to Jordy) and saying “it looks exactly like it should!”. Our walking tour took us around some of the street art with a local guide who told stories of growing up and going to school in Comuna 13 before it’s recent changes. We loved it so much we even revisited on our own a few days later to explore some more and enjoy the views over the city!

The second time we visited, we also took the MetroCable, part of Medellin’s Metro system, to Aurora station for even more amazing views of the city! The fact that this only cost us a couple of dollars AUD seems unbelievable, most of the people on the MetroCable were local commuters with nearly no other tourists around!

Another highlight of our stay was going to a local soccer (“futbol”) game to watch Atletico Nacional (one of the local Medellin teams) play Sao Paolo. We went with a tour which was a great experience. The local fans were jumping and singing for the entire 90 minute match, plus about 30 minutes before the players came out! Unfortunately the game ended in an 0-0 draw, but we left with two jerseys that probably won’t be worn again, very sore legs, husky voices and one broken hiking boot.

Our next stop (and final stop for Colombia!) is Bogota!