I spent a week in Medellin, Colombia and found the city to be incredibly beautiful, super friendly and with tons to do! I took a free walking tour on the afternoon that I arrived, went paragliding, visited a coffee plantation, took a graffiti tour, rode their super nice metro and went on a local food tour….but these were just a few of the neat activities that this great city has to offer.

City Walking Tour

Medellin was once a very dangerous city, being the heart of violent drug cartels in the 1980-1990s. Since then, it has worked very hard to change its image and reinvigorate the city with hope and light. My tour guide shared harrowing stories of growing up at the height of violence in the 90s, seeing his first dead body in the street when he was 7 years old! The city has a dark history but embraces optimism for the future, and is currently a much different place than it was 20 years ago.

An iconic area of Medellin is Plaza Botero, where famous artist Fernando Botero has 23 sculptures that play with space and size.

Paragliding! 🪂

I have wanted to go paragliding for the longest time! My tandem guide and I just sort of walked forward a few steps and the parachute lifted us up. We glided around for about 20 minutes and it was peaceful and invigorating. Since the air was warm, we ended on the same hill where we started!

The company had a go pro and gave us the pictures from the ride for $2. I got a little sick at the end when the guide did some crazy spin moves, almost flipping us upside down! 🤢It was worth it though! 😂🎉

Colombian Coffee Farm

In the mountains about an hour from Medellin is a little community called Angelopolis. I visited a small family coffee farm here called Joneal. (joneal.com.co if you want some authentic and delicious Colombian coffee).

It is owned by a sweet couple, whose son was our tour guide for the day! They welcomed us into their home, explained the whole process of coffee production and prepared coffee 4 ways to sample.

We picked coffee berries, had a delicious lunch and also tried their homemade cold brew coffee lemonade, which is a secret family recipe!

Comuna 13

Once one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Colombia (and maybe the world), this now vibrant neighborhood in Medellin evolved, in part, due to outdoor escalators that were installed in 2011 to allow easy access into the city, giving its residents a new found freedom. The escalators extend 1,260 feet and the neighborhood is now home to a series of colorful murals/graffiti, young people dancing and singing in the streets, and many curious tourists.

We tried a mango and passion fruit ‘ice cream’ which is served with the frozen fruit on top of a lemon and salt liquid mixture that you’re supposed to mix into the fruit to melt and then bite, it was really unique, and tasty!

Laureles Food Tour

I finished my time in Medellin with a food/drink tour in the Laureles neighborhood. It included empanadas (of course!), bunelo (a fried cheese bread), pan de bono (a slightly sweet bread bun), chicharron (fried pork belly), chorizo, morcilla (blood sausage stuffed with rice), ballo de mazorca (a sweet corn mix cooked in corn leaves, similar to a tamale but without a filling) and Aguardiente (a licorice tasting hard alcohol). Yum! 😋

I was really impressed with Medellin, it is such a beautiful city! I stayed in a hotel for this leg and it had lovely views and friendly staff. Breakfast was included with my stay and it was on the 11th floor with huge open window views. I felt really spoiled.