Medellin Questions

[John O]

Any information you guys can provide on Medellin would be greatly appreciated:

Lodging - Hotels (inexpensive but secure)
Agencies - Name, Reputation, Contact Info
Things to Do - Sights, Eats, etc.
Things Not to Do - Security Issues
General Impressions

[Brazilophile]

... in response to Medellin Questions, posted by John O on Jul 24, 2003

I have been to Medellin once for 3 days in 1999.  (It was part of a trip to Cartagena.  Avianca had a special where they flew to another Colombian city FREE.)

I stayed an inexpensive but very decent hotel called Eupaca.  It was in the downtown area, close to the airport bus stand and not in, but down the street, from the redlight district.

I found the women to almost all be very short and Indian looking, which is not what I am attracted to so I was not interested in finding women there.  

I walked around the city a great deal both in the day and at night.  I took the metro to each terminal, sightseeing from the train.  The city is centered in a valley and many neighborhoods are built on the slopes of the surrounding mountains.  At night, the mountain sides are lit up by the homes and it is a wondrous sight!  I found the city to be generally clean.  I walked through several nice neighborhoods.  I did not have any security problem whatsoever in any place I walked to.  My caveat is that I didn't walk through the neighborhoods on the mountain slopes which, from the metro, did not look very appealing.  Those places may be dangerous.  I believe those neighborhoods were where Uribe ordered anti-guerilla raids a few months back.

The serious negative I saw was that at night lots of homeless people camp out under the metro.  (It is elevated.)  By lots I mean HUNDREDS, not dozens.  It reminded me of pictures of Hoovervilles during the Depression.  

I was most frightened by the ride to and from the airport.  The airport is in the next valley over and the trip goes over a mountain.  There are plenty of opportunities for ambushes and accidents especially at night.  We were stopped at a roadblock near the top of the mountain and a couple of semi-ragtag people took money and papers from the driver and counted everyone in the bus.  I could not tell who they were from their clothing.  Someone I related this experience to told me they were government workers, not rebels.

I did not see anything that would prevent me from saying "go to Medellin", except the look of most women if you are not into that look.  My information is 4 years old, so take that into account.

[Sol]

... in response to Medellin Questions, posted by John O on Jul 24, 2003

There's a nice safe reasonably priced hotel I stayed at in Medellin a couple of years ago. The name was something like 'Cabo de la Bela.' It is near one of the two famous 'Mondongos' restaurants in Medellin.

Having spent time in Bogota and Medellin I really really liked Medellin much more than Bogota as Medellin has more character. Outstanding climate "city of eternal spring", more green than Bogota, and very friendly people. There are very definitely some REALLY unsafe neighborhoods. I got to know a lady from Medellin. We'd walk from her apartment in a nice neighborhood to her sister's apartment in a hideous neighborhood. Thinking back, the only reason I didn't get robbed then killed was because her brother-in-law was well known in the neighborhood. If anybody messed with my date or myself then her brother-in-law would find them and kill them. Pretty simple.

As much as I love Medellin I'd not travel alone in the city where in Bogota I did walk alone the main street between the Dann Carlton hotel and Unicentro and also in the Zona Rosa. In Medellin I'd only travel in taxis, never in public transportation, and I'd have the hotel or restaurant call the taxi. This is a good idea in Bogota as well.

Medellin has charming neighborhoods, wonderful tropical fruits, and nice little restaurants. Have a local you trust show you around.

Sol

[briloop3]

... in response to Medellin Questions, posted by John O on Jul 24, 2003

I have never been to Medellin.  I have followed the MOB scene for over four years.  I have been to Colombia seven times - once to Bogota and six to Cartagena.

Medellin, generally speaking, is the most dangerous city in Colombia.  This is a city with a lot of criminal element in it, some of which is leftover from the days of the Escobar drug cartel.  Medellin has a high rate of homicide.

What I have heard about guys who go to Medellin is that the airport is a 45 minute drive from the city, and vehicles have been stopped and occupants have been robbed on this route.  So, take only marked taxis from the airport to the city.  As an extra precaution, you could ask someone from the agency that you are dealing with meet you at the airport.

If I were you, I would ensure that you have safe accomodations, arranged in advance with an agency or some other reputable person or business.  Maybe I am paranoid, but it wouldn't be a bad idea to change hotels every two days.  Some people in Medellin are desperate enough to "case" Gringos, watch their comings and goings, notice their routines, etc.

[jim c]

... in response to Re: Medellin Questions, posted by briloop3 on Jul 24, 2003

briloop

I see you have been to Cartagena 6 times can you drop me a line on any suggestions I will be going in the next two weeks Jim C  Barristerh@aol.com thanks

[cancunhound]

... in response to Re: Medellin Questions, posted by briloop3 on Jul 24, 2003

Medellín won the award for most violent.  Consider how many more people live in Bogota yet Medellín had the most counts - puts it in perspective.  I haven't been there, but I suspect in reality it's as "safe" as Cali or Bogota - I hear the weather is fantastic.  John O, if you go try to visit comuna 13 - that barrio seems to constantly be in the headlines!

[lswote]

... in response to 4,933 violent deaths in 2002, posted by cancunhound on Jul 25, 2003

Hmmm.  If he visits it, maybe he will be in the headlines.

[cancunhound]

... in response to Re: 4,933 violent deaths in 2002, posted by lswote on Jul 25, 2003

For the record, I did not recommend visiting comuna 13, that's what I call a BYOB barrio.
(Bring your own body bag)

[Miguel]

... in response to Re: Medellin Questions, posted by briloop3 on Jul 24, 2003

Briloop, agreed it's not a particularly safe place, but that might be overdoing it.

Following link is relevant, from someone who lived in Medellin.  The whole web site (poorbuthappy) is worth a look for someone thinking about visiting Medellin

http://poorbuthappy.com/colombia/travel/safety/51

[briloop3]

... in response to Switch hotels every two days?, posted by Miguel on Jul 24, 2003

I heard this recommendation from a guy who went to Medellin in the past.

Given Medellin's overall safety situation, it's probably not bad advice.

[jim c]

... in response to Switch hotels every two days?, posted by Miguel on Jul 24, 2003

They have shut down for the summer jim c

[Miguel]

... in response to Medellin Questions, posted by John O on Jul 24, 2003

It's been four years since I was there, but here goes,

Lodging -- No recommendations

Agencies --

I used the following:

http://latincontacts.com/

Owners are Adriana and her mom.  Adriana is a late-20's woman who's smart, professional and whose English is almost as good as mine.  She used to live in the U.S. Her mom is a psychologist.  Both seemed genuinely interested in finding good matches for their clients.  

A few years ago, I would have speculated that Adriana's agency wouldn't be as good as a couple of the ones in Cali.  This is because I don't think Adriana and her mom were pursuing the business as hard as they could, and because they were charging the women a fee to join.  So this made them kind of like the agencies in Bogota -- the women were serious about marriage, but maybe not as attractive as at the agencies that would allow female members to join for free.  Also, they didn't have as many female clients as the larger agencies, and there wasn't much turnover on the web site -- same women year after year.  I think this may have changed, however.  I notice from their web site that there are more women, and better looking women and they've added a bed and breakfast.  In any event, Adriana provides excellent customer service, and if you make arrangements with her ahead of time, she'll put an ad for you in the Medellin paper and handle the responses.

They charged me $100 for a membership that was good for about a week, but that was in 1999.

I have never used the following, but women are attractive:

http://www.truelovemarriageagency.com/index.htm

If you try either of the agencies out, PLEASE let us know what you think. I might be up for a repeat trip if you have a good experience.

Things to do --  There's a mountain in the center of town with a touristy village on top -- worth a visit.  We got Adriana's boyfriend to take us in his car to some of the small towns in the mountains around Medellin. Spectacular scenery there -- I'm not sure how safe it was.  

Things not to do -- Be aware.  Stay out of the wrong neighborhoods.  I dated a woman who worked as an attorney for the police.  The police won't go into certain neighborhoods, except in large groups to investigate crimes, because the areas are controlled by gangs.  Mortality rate among police in her department was ridiculously high.  It looked like if you worked as a policeman in that department for 20 years, odds you'd die were greater than 50-50.

General Impressions --

Medellin is a nice city -- green and almost perfect temperature.  It's in the industrial heartland of Colombia, and you'll find a lot of hard-working people. Many attractive, intelligent, professional women.    They are not as easy to meet as women on the coast -- you're not likely to be able to find a date with a woman you'd want to go out with every time you walk down the street.  There's some kind of saying common in Colombia about women from Medellin making the best wives -- don't know if it's true.  There seems to be a higher percentage of Spanish blood in the women, less Indian and African influence, compared to the Coast and Bogota.  In terms of beauty of the women, I'd rate Medellin behind the Coast and ahead of Bogota, but that's a pretty subjective topic.