We settled into a nice routine during our two months in Medellín.
We enjoyed mornings on our balcony eating a little breakfast and learning a little Spanish while listening to the vibrant sounds of the city below.
For lunch we often visited one of the many small local restaurants for their menú del día. For 40,000 pesos ($10 total) we were both filled up on their homemade soup, fresh fruit juice, salad, chicken, patacones, coconut rice, and french fries... because you can never have too much starch!
Re-energized (and just a tad bit carb-overloaded), we would stop by the local produce stand to restock our fresh fruit supply or simply enjoy another beautiful day as we walked through the colorful streets of Sabaneta.
Eventually, our afternoon stroll would lead us to a decorative and delicious Colombian cappuccino.
If it was a Tuesday or Thursday afternoon, we would make our way to our friend Luis' office where eight of his employees were eager to sharpen their basic English skills with an hour of conversation and learning.
Evenings were the time to work on sharpening our Spanish conversation skills by participating in language exchanges at local cafés,
... joining in Karaoke and conversation with some of our former Primed students,
... or visiting dear friends whom we have gotten to know during our previous visits to Medellin.
These visits included a lot of Spanish practice as well as feasting on freshly made buñelos, Doug's new favorite Colombian treat.
We really enjoyed our colorful everyday life in Medellín!
I have always loved the chance to meet and get to know other people. And that continues to be the great incentive that keeps me working on my Spanish listening and speaking skills. When attending language exchanges, I talked with locals who also desire to learn English. They often were as hesitant about speaking English as I was about speaking Spanish. But mutual kindness and positive encouragement do wonders to boost everyone's confidence level. I was continually reminded that we're all in this learning game together, and when we encourage each other...
a new language is learned,
new ideas are shared,
and new friendships are formed.
In March we were very happy to hear that some friends and fellow vanlifers had made it to Colombia and were taking us up on our offer to introduce them to the Medellin that we love so dearly.
We first met Liz and Remy in Newfoundland when they were beginning their multi-year adventure of driving their self-converted van from Canada to the southern tip of South America. Since then, our paths have crossed in Florida, Alaska, and now in Colombia. Just getting their van to South America was quite a feat. Many people don't realize it, but there isn't a road that connects the two countries, so they had to ship their van from Panama to Colombia in order to begin the South American leg of their journey.
(Photo credit: Liz and Remy)
Their sense of adventure continues to amaze us ... as does their astute driving skills. We can't imagine driving Baby Beest on the crazy roads of Colombia, but they arrived with their ever present smiles still intact. They were ready to conquer Medellin.
But first they had to conquer the massive plateful of food know as the ''Bandeja Paisa''. This national dish of Colombia consists of a huge plate of beans, rice, avocado, plantain, egg, arepa, and three meats... ground beef, chorizo, and chicharrón. It proved to be an easy and delicious challenge for these international food lovers!
It had been four years since we had last welcomed friends to Medellin, so we were happy to tag along as Liz and Remy explored ''El Centro'' Medellin with Real City Tours.
Our guide held us spell-bound as he shared the turbulent, tragic, and transforming history of Medellin.
We wandered through the city square that Fernando Botero, Medellin's famous hometown artist, filled with twenty-three of his ''sculptures of disproportion''.
We were pleasantly surprised to see all the ways that the citizens of Medellin continue to improve their city. The walls of government center now support gardens of live greenery.
The top two floors of the Palacio Nacional were recently renovated into art galleries that display the colorful talents of local artists.
It's always fun to see Medellin from the new perspective of visitors ...
- To see their admiration of the clean and efficient Metro transportation system.
- To see their awe of the city views below them when riding the Metro Cable Cars up the mountainside towards Parque Arvi.
- To see their keen interest in learning about the culture of Colombia, especially the special processions that are an important part of Semana Santa (Holy Week).
- To see their excitement with finding an abundance of fresh produce in every neighborhood store.
- To see their enthusiasm for trying all the ''new to them'' street food including one of my new favorites ... deep fried plantain chips!
Colombian food is definitely not as spicy as the Mexican cuisine that they had grown to love while in Mexico, but they still enjoyed trying the local empanadas and chorizo.
Colombians, however, do definitely know the secret to brewing a great cup of coffee, so we were happy to take them to some of our favorite cappuccino hangouts.
And after seven weeks of eating ''menú del día'' lunches, I am eternally grateful for our friends suggesting that we ''change things up a bit'' with a delicious curry lunch at an Indian restaurant in Poblado, the touristy barrio of Medellin.
This international eating extravaganza continued as Liz and Remy created some amazing meals for us in our apartment.
Colombian cooks seldom add any spice to their dishes. So after seven weeks of menú del día, our taste buds rejoiced when they tried Liz's delicious dishes prepared using the abundance of fresh local produce along with few fiery spices from their van's pantry.
Indian curry,
Italian pasta,
and Asian stir-fry gave us a small ''taste'' of what's in store for us when we expand our international travel destinations in the future.
But for this time around, we once again enjoyed our everyday life in Colombia as well as the joy that comes when visitors join us!
That's it for this year ... adios, Colombia! It's been a joy, but we are eager to see a solar eclipse and celebrate a family wedding back to the United States.
Nos vemos pronto, queridos amigos!
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