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Medelline, Colombia

Safety

Safety in Medelline, Colombia
What do other Racers need to know in order to be safe? Current safety protocols/precautions in place? Any relevant issues/concerns? Any precautionary suggestions?

People’s Opinions

  1. Ditto to the experience in 2019 below. A few of our squad mates were robbed at the ministry at the end of our stay here. Try to be as minimalist as possible with what you present yourselves with when going out.
  2. It was all squad month. We worked with City of Refuge in a variety of ministries and we were told when not to wear expensive jewelry or take phones with us. Near the end of the month there was a phone taken out of someone’s hand when she was standing right in front of the door to go up to her room. It was at night and someone got off a moto while another person kept driving and took it right out of her hand and then hopped back on the moto. Two other phones were stolen/left/lost as well. Make sure you keep track of your belongings and don’t set them down in public or keep them in the back pocket of your pants. As you become more accustomed to the atmosphere, don’t lose your vigilance with your items! Uber’s are the easiest and safest way to travel, especially if out after dark. Be mindful not to slam their car doors—they become upset. Metro is okay to use during the day. If riding in the back of a truck to a ministry site and you see military or police, try to stay “unseen” because City of Refuge could get in a lot of trouble for transporting us that way.
  3. Our team was with Ministerio Vida Neuva with Pastor William. The area felt fairly safe. We were warned not to have our phones out near the streets as motorbikes can come by and snatch them. Just keep an eye out when you’re out and about. Town folks are very friendly and we didn’t have any problems. If you may look like a local, go with someone who is from that area as there are gang wars, and if you aren’t someone they know in the town you can be targeted. This was info relayed to us, but never was a problem.
  4. My team was at City of Refuge and I can honestly say we felt safe. The only time where safety was potentially an issue was when we traveled to do ministry at Aguapanela.Our hosts suggested always traveling in pairs. We did most of our rest days in Poblado, which is a very safe area. And we sometimes returned after dark. We used Uber as our main means of transportation.
  5. Pretty much what everybody else said. It’s fairly safe depending on the area, but again always be on the lookout. Our ministry hosts (Ciudad Refugio) told us not to take our phones with us. A couple people not from the World Race got robbed in our neighborhood.
  6. Pedestrians DO NOT have the right-away! Vehicles will not stop for you. Taxi drivers will have you roll your windows up ¾ of the way, lock your doors, and put your purses/bags at your feet because motorcyclists have been known to grab things through windows. We never felt unsafe while walking around various neighborhoods; one girl even ran by herself every morning.
  7. Medellin is a pretty safe place. It is recommended that you don´t go out alone at night, and that you don´t flash high dollar items, such as jewelry and electronics, in public places. It can and will get stolen. Poblado is a great place to go out to dinner that is very safe. If you go to sporting events, be careful if you show any team affiliation. People take their soccer seriously here, and fights are known to break out.
  8. Catcalling was a thing for the women on our team and though that’s uncomfortable, a man never pursued us or was physically threatening. Walking as a group of women, still got catcalled but when we were with our guys it happened much more rarely, if at all.
  9. Pick pocketing wasn’t a problem for my team but… always a good idea to keep your bag purse in front of you on the Metro and your phone/wallet in your two front pockets when waking around.
  10. The 50 bill is the highest in circulation, it’s purple. When organizing money in your wallet, have it in the middle, don’t flash it.

Ministry Summary

Ministry Summary in Medelline, Colombia
Breakthroughs? Suggestions? Concerns? On a scale of 1-4 (1 being not at all, 4 being absolutely) how strongly would you recommend another World Race team go to this ministry location & why?

People’s Opinions

  1. Ministerio Vida Neuva, Pastor William and Pastora (Mama) Christina. These two are very wonderful. They will pour their hearts out to disciple you. They prefer payment of the food and lodging in advance as possible as they are not a wealthy ministry. Please call Pastora Christina, Mama Christina, she has become family to us! =) Be prepared to preach, lead worship, and do door to door evangelism/prayer. Be prepared to fight spiritual batles. We had to cast demons out of their church due to it being previously an abandon club.
  2. We partnered with Ciudad Refugio for the month. We had an amazing experience working with the women at the foundation and the one woman in the program. We helped in the kitchen a lot with food preparation and cleaning. There was also opportunities to work in the homeschool teaching English. On Wednesdays we went to Aguapanela, a ministry with the homeless giving them bread and sugar water. It was an amazing experience connecting with them. On Saturdays we did children ministry in two different neighborhoods.
  3. We worked with Ciudad Refugio. Harry and the rest of the team are great. We did so much and got to know the men in the program and it was very beneficial. Talk to them as much as possible because they loved talking to us. The churros in the bakery are the best thing ever and I miss them already.
  4. We were partnered with City of Refuge, a ministry that does outreach to the homeless as well as a year long rehab program for recovering alcoholics and drug addicts. We did a variety of things from being part of the rehab program, doing outreach to the homeless, VBS, helping with bible studies, etc. I would recommend that anyone who does this ministry again does at least a week of immersion in the rehab program. It was VERY beneficial to live along side the men and women and experience what life is like for them. Also note that men and women are very separated in the program. This ministry is doing a lot of great things and I would recommend it to anyone!
  5. We were working with Fundacion Brazos Abiertos. It is an amazing ministry that has a boys home and dairy farm. The boys come from drug addict families, abusive homes, and prostitute mothers. It was such a joy to work with the boys, and we loved spending time with them. The ministry was amazing. The only challenge was host communication. Michael and Bill have a little bit of trouble making decisions, so make sure you double and triple check with them that you heard them right, and it is totally okay to take charge and make decisions if they seem to be going back and forth about something.
    I would definitely reccommend that another WR Team should go to this location. There is so much ministry here and the boys, and also the volunteers, need a break from the routine. We have had so much fun loving on these boys, and Bill would love to welcome more teams in the future! I love this ministry and I feel like they are a part of my family.

Lodging

Lodging in Medelline, Colombia
Where did you stay? What were the accommodations (sleeping arrangements, toilets, showers, etc.)? Cost (per person per night in USD), Contact info.

People’s Opinions

  1. for world race semesters debrief in medellin, we booked at Noah Boutique Hostel in Pablado area of Medellin. 10 out of 10 recommend. staff was amazing, location is solid, and it’s a small chill hostel. they only have 27 beds, so only suitable for a small squad, but there’s several other hostels on this street you can book others at if you needed to split up!if you come here, the amazing staff we interacted with were michael (owner from amsterdam), jorge (from medellin), julian (medellin), and kalvin (venezuela).
  2. Ministerio Vida Nueva. Stayed in a three story building. The first floor was the church, the third was where Pastor Willy, Mama Cristina and three of their sons lived. The oldest son (early 30s) and his 7/8 year old son live on the second floor and a local man who the Pastors have taken in lives in another room on the second floor. We lived in two rooms on the second floor, each with a mattress (though some were lumpier than others). There was a shower (that yes, is v. cold) and a bathroom with a sink). The kitchen is upstairs, Mama Cristina made all our meals but we were able to use the oven for cookies and to make a thank you dinner.
  3. We stayed at Ciudad Refugio, it was all squad month for us so 43 people stayed there. Space was kinda cramped, the guys all stayed in the house next door. Everyone has mats to sleep on, showers were cold, but the water is safe to drink from the faucet.
  4. Ministerio Vida Neuva, Pastor William. Cold showers, beds in 3 different rooms. Water is safe to drink. Here’s a video of it:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1moMP95Gkg0
  5. We stayed at Ciudad Refugio, sleeping on mattresses in one room. There were two showers available. The water from the sink was safe to drink. In the near future they are renovating the building next door to provide more lodging for missionaries.
  6. We stayed at Ciudad Refugio. We had a room with a couple beds but then had to move to a different room with no windows which was a bummer. We got thick mats to sleep on so it really wasn’t too bad. The building we stayed in will be torn down soon so I’m not sure where future teams will stay.
  7. We stayed in Silia’s apartment with her, her son, and a couple of other YWAM volunteers. Everyone had beds; there were rooms of 3 single beds, 1 double bed, and 2 single beds for our team. Both bathrooms have a Western shower and toilet – don’t flush the TP. Full kitchen available with fridge, stove, and the first oven we’ve seen in 7 months! (We made a lot of pie.) Tap water is safe for drinking and brushing teeth. Washing machine, electricity, and WiFi available. Lodging was $5/person/day.
  8. This month, we stayed at a couple different locations at the Fundacion. During the weekdays, we stayed at the boy´s farm, or La Finca, in a farm house. It cost a little over $3 per person per night, and was super nice. They have tons of space, 4 showers, and lots of bathrooms. We had some problems with the water in the house, but they fixed that and we have had no further problems. Its so beautiful and you wake up on a cow pasture.
    During the weekends, we stayed at the church, called Casa Helena, which was about $5 per person per night. It was a really nice place to spend your off days, because it is in the middle of Medellin and very close to lots of malls, restaurants, and tourist locations. There are only about 2 functioning toilets here, and one good shower. There is a family and two men that live at Casa Helena, and they are some of the sweetest people you will ever meet. They treat you like family while you are there.
    Both houses have bunk beds, hot showers, and kitchens! Really really nice.

Food / Meals

Food / Meals in Medelline, Colombia
What did you eat? Where did you get the food? Cost (per person per day in USD)? Contact info (if applicable).

People’s Opinions

  1. So many good ones!Check out Coffee Shops like:Cafe RevolutionPergaminoGo Eat at:Mercado Del RioIts a fancy food court! The food was amazing and so was the cake!Do laundry at the laundry cafes!!!
  2. so many good places!!coffee:hija mia (new zealand owned, roaster)pergaminofood:veg station (vegan / vegetarian)hello burger (vegetarian options)kai (vegan / vegetarian BEST MEAL I’VE EVER HAD)betty’s bowls (salads and smoothie bowls)olivia’s (mediterranean)amor-acuya gelato
  3. Minesterio Vida Nueva. Mama Cristina who makes all the food is super flexible. It’s culturally important to finish all the food on your plate, as it means the food was good. Food left on your plate is an insult. We worked as a team on this, shuffling food around so that everyone was fed enough and we had as little as possible still on our plates. Two of our girls started asking for less food on their plate (as Mama Cristina plates it) and she was happy to oblige. If you do have food left on your plate like crackers or an arepa or something whole that hasn’t been touched, just give it back and don’t throw it out.
  4. Minesterio Vida Nueva. Mama Cristina who makes all the food is super flexible. It’s culturally important to finish all the food on your plate, as it means the food was good. Food left on your plate is an insult. We worked as a team on this, shuffling food around so that everyone was fed enough and we had as little as possible still on our plates. Two of our girls started asking for less food on their plate (as Mama Cristina plates it) and she was happy to oblige. If you do have food left on your plate like crackers or an arepa or something whole that hasn’t been touched, just give it back and don’t throw it out.
  5. Here in this region of South America, LUNCH is the big meal (like how dinner is for us in the States). Dinner is more like a small snack before bed and much later in the evening.
  6. Ministerio Vida Nueva. Mama Cristina made all our meals. Lots and lots and lots of arepas. (If you need to spice it up a little, we recommend Mexican salsa or peanut butter from the grocery store) Breakfast was typical at 9/930, lunch around 1 or 2 and dinner whenever we got home or around 8/9pm.
  7. Most of our meals we ate at Ciudad Refugio, they give you large portions so if you don’t eat a lot, ask for smaller ones. They also don’t waste food, so eat what you take or give it to someone else. I would also recommend taking salt or some other seasonings with you, the food was great but it was also very bland.
  8. Ministerio Vida Nueva, Pastor William. Pastora (Mama) Christina cooks for us. Budget was $5 a day. $4 a day for lodging which they also help include transportation cost to ministry within that budget. Most of the meals are with Arepa’s and different kind of meats. We usually get a breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Unless we are fasting. Theres a restaurant 2 buildings away that offers great deserts, Carlos is an awesome waiter there!
  9. We ate at Ciudad Refugio. They give you large portions so make sure you tell them if you want less. They are ok with you saying no thank you to certain foods. Don’t take it if you aren’t going to eat it.Their homemade juice is awesome! The bakery downstairs is very cheap and open everyday.
  10. We ate in the kitchen at Ciudad Refugio. The food was very good and they gave you a ton of it. Since the men and women in the rehab programs are kept separate this meant eating everything in about 5 minutes and not wasting any food, that was the only downside. Having the bakery downstairs is a huge plus and it was very cheap.
  11. The food money ($5/person/day) for our time in Medellin was wired in advance before our arrival. (I hope AIM does not do this to you because it was quite confusing.) That meant that every meal was prepared for us at Mercy House, and we were expected to eat our meals with them, even on Rest & Adventure days. We ended up working out a schedule with them where we would only eat lunch and dinner with them every day but our off days. Lunch was their biggest meal, and it was always delicious. Dinner would be a little scarce, usually a boloney sandwich or oatmeal. Breakfast at Mercy House was usually an arepa with cheese and a piece of bread, so we opted to eat breakfast at home so we could have quiet times. There are two grocery stores, Pizza Time – a pizza shop that has coffee and smoothies, and Cosechas – a smoothie shop within walking distance of Mercy House ; all the food at these places is pretty cheap.
  12. During the week, we stayed at the farm, and they cooked for us. The price was $5 per person per day for the days we were at La Finca.During the weekends when we were staying at Casa Helena, we either bought our food at a grocery store or went out to eat. There is a really great restaurant in Poblado(a neighborhood in Medellin) called Mondongo´s that serves awesome Colombian food. Seriously, get the fried fish. It´s at a really great price too.In Poblado, there is also a really great coffee shop called Pergamino. Really great stuff.Also, go to Dominos Pizza in Colombia. Wayyyy better than the US.

Transportation

Transportation in Medelline, Colombia
What transportation did you use to enter the country? Where were you coming from? What transportation was used to move throughout the country? Be sure to include the cost per person in USD and contact info if applicable.

People’s Opinions

  1. Cristian was our translator for our week in San Pedro de Milagros and he lives in Medellin. We hung out with him a few times on rest/adventure days. We took the metro to get to him but then when it came to coming home, his dad is an uber driver (shhhh, it’s low-key illegal) and drove us home for free. (Though we’d leave him some money because wow what a blessing)
  2. The Metro in Medellin is sweet. Go up to the ticket counter, they’ll give you a lil’ plastic card that you swipe to get into the metro. If it’s the last amount on the card, (like say you pay for three people all on one card and you’re person number three going through) you put in the little slot and don’t scan it.There’s no eating or drinking on the Metro whatsoever.span>Once you’re in the system, you can go anywhere for the same price.o to get to the city centre (el hueco/the hole) from Minsterio Vida Nueva, we took a bus to the metro cable and then the metro.When one person on our team had to go the hospital, the oldest son of Pastor Willy and Cristina has a car and he was happy to drive us for no cost.
  3. To get around Medellin we used Uber for basically everything. To get from Colombia to Ecuador we had a bus from Medellin to the border crossing, there was a new law passed that our driver didn’t know about so we had to switch buses at the border. Just make sure they send the correct paperwork to Bogota and you can take the bus straight from Medellin to Quito. Our drivers arranged a new bus for us at no extra cost. The trip cost us 9,500,000 pesos for 43 people. They would stop whenever we needed to and the bus had a bathroom on it. The bus had wifi but you had to pay for it and it didn’t work most of the time. It was a 30+ hour ride to Quito. Rebecca at Ciudad Refugio helped us find the bus company. We used Trans-personal del Caribe S.A.S Calidad y Servicio the phone number we used was +57 310 6096250, the number for the driver was +57 313 5952959 his name was Michel Relevo
  4. Getting around Medellin was cheap. Taxis were good but we used Uber most of the time so we could plug in addresses. To get from Colombia to Ecuador we used Cootraespeciales, our host Rebecca at Ciudad Refugio had used him a couple times. It was 13,500,000 for our whole squad to go straight through to Quito. I would recommend him. Downsides were he was 45 min late to pick us up, not a big deal, and the bus was FREEZING so pack accordingly. His number is +57 319 6595800.
  5. The squad flew from Phnom Penh, Cambodia to Bogota, Colombia. Once in Bogota, our team and two others arranged for three vans to take us to a hostel in town to recoup from the 4-day travel journey. The vans were 54,000 pesos ($18) each. Fulano Hostel was 56,320 pesos/person ($19) for two nights. We all took 2 vans at 60,000 pesos ($20) each from the hostel to the bus station the next day. The ministry host at Ciudad Refugio pre-purchased bus tickets for each of us (60,000 pesos/$20 per person). Once in Medellin, the host met us at the bus station with a truck for all our bags, while Racers took taxis to Ciudad Refugio. They allowed us to spend the night at Ciudad Refugio before heading on to our team’s ministry site – YWAM Mercy House – via taxi the next day. Once we were settled at our host’s home, we walked the two blocks to ministry every day. We took taxis and the metro (train/cable car system) when we wanted to go to other parts of the city. Taxi meters start at 2,700 pesos, and most trips are under 10,000 pesos ($3.50) total. The metro is 2,000 pesos (<$1) per trip.
  6. We took a bus from Bogota to Medellin. The company was Tolima, and it cost about $16 per person. Tolima is cheaper but it is NOT the best company for this bus ride. What was supposed to be a 9 hour bus ride ended up being 13 because we got in an accident. Also, the staff wouldn´t give us any information about arrival times, terminals, or the like. It was really stressful. We are taking Bolivariano back to Bogota.
    In Medellin, they have an amazingly safe metro system, with buses, metro cables, and trains. Really great for getting around the city. Taxies are also a safe reliable option. Our host, Bill, used the church van to take us to and from our ministry site usually.

Medical

Medical in Medelline, Colombia
Information on local hospitals / doctors / pharmacies. Where would someone go in a medical emergency? (addresses and contact info).

People’s Opinions

  1. If ya need crutches, Pastor WIlly (ministerio Vida Nueva) brought some home the next day from somewhere.
  2. Ministerio Vida NuevaI sprained/v. small fracture in my ankle. Pastor Willy & Cristina had some connections to a clinic/private hospital so I didn’t have to wait long at all. (Like in total my time at the hospital was 3 hours). Their oldest son dropped me and my teammate off. There were wheelchairs, triage was efficient and I got 2 X-Rays and even though I speak Spanish they found a nurse to explain the insurance stuff to me in English. The Orthopedic and Trauma doctor who looked at my X-Rays and treated me, Andres Julian Uribe Jimenez studied English in Portland back in ’96 (lol my birth year). Super kind and very helpful. It was my teammate though that pointed out the small fracture to him, but the treatment was the same.The Hospital: El Hospital Con Alma Pablo Tabón UribeAddress: Calle 78 B No. 69-240, www.hptu.org.coOverall for the two X-Rays, pain meds and ankle wrap it was like 120 dollars.There’s a 24 hour pharmacy in the first floor of the hospital to fill any prescription.We took a taxi home that the night security guard called for us.Bring your passport, insurance card and (I’d recommend) a friend.It helped to speak Spanish but there were people who spoke English/willing to do some charades.Lol, ok so drugs in the hospital aren’t administered through an IV but a shot. Shots not the arm but in the butt. You don’t have to pull your pants all the ways down, just a little.Insurance wise, you pay up front and our travel insurance will reimburse you.
  3. Medellin has excellent hospitals and doctors. We had a few instances where people had to go to the hospital or doctor for injuries/illness and they were very affordable and helpful.
  4. We did not have any health concerns or medical needs while in Medellin, so you’ll have to ask your host for emergency information.

Communication

Communication in Medelline, Colombia
Did you have cell reception / Internet service? Where? Carrier / Provider, where did you get phones / SIM cards, cost? Country code?

People’s Opinions

  1. We also used Claro for our SIMs, i believe it was 200 minutes for 20 days, that was for our team baby phones. Other people got personal SIMs with data and things like that.
  2. Most people used Claro SIMs. We had issues with some phones working and some not. We think it was mostly the phone that was the issue. Best advice is ask your host what they recommend.
  3. If you are staying with Silia, which you most likely will be if you’re serving with YWAM, she has wifi at her house. There is also wifi at the Mercy House, but we tried our best to stay off it there, so we could be focused on ministry. We had Claro SIMS; they worked great and minutes were easy to find. Logistics purchased them, so I don’t know the prices.
  4. Cell reception has been amazing through pretty much all of Medellin. Movistar was our carrier of choice, and you can find places that sell sim cards and minutes almost anywhere. In Colombia, you do not pay for minutes, but you just pay for a recharge, so dont freak out when they ask you how much money you want to put on your phone. Also, movistar sent me texts saying I was out of minutes, but that wasn´t true. It´s a scam to get you to buy more minutes. I put $20,000 Colombian Pesos(about 6 dollars) on my phone and I never ran out.Internet was available at our ministry site at Fundacion Brazos Abiertos.

Financial

Financial in Medelline, Colombia
Location of banks or ATMs, notes about transaction fees, best places to exchange money, and other money related advice.

People’s Opinions

  1. We stayed at Ciudad Refugio and ATM were pretty convenient to find. You can do 3 transactions a day of 600,000 pesos so 1.8 million total. The ATM fee was 14,520 pesos per transaction
  2. Ministerio Vida Neuva, Pastor William. ATM’s (Cajero) are located in San Cristobal, which is a bus ride away (2,100pesos one way). Or a 45 minute run.You can withdraw 600,000 pesos at a time, up to 1,800,000 a day (3 transactions). Bancolombia charges a fee of 3,400 pesos.
  3. We stayed at Ciudad Refugio and there was an ATM maybe 5 mknutes away walking at a small store. We mostly went there, but ATMs were also pretty easy to find. Grocery stores, museums and big things normally accept credit cards, but many resturaunts don’t, and some activities like paragliding may not either, so plan your cash well.
  4. ATMs were fairly easy to find. Just be aware of your surroundings. We had a guy follow us all the way to a grocery store and wouldn’t leave us alone. It was so obvious that the grocery store manager finally told him to leave.
  5. Colombia uses Pesos and the exchange rate is 3,000 Pesos to 1 USD. Banks and ATMS (“Cajero” in Spanish) are easily found; all ATMS have a transaction fee, but I don’t remember the amount. Money can be exchanged at the airport in Bogota and the larger banks.
  6. The Stadium has really great atms that are safely guarded all the time. The malls also have really good ones. If you are ministering with Brazos Abiertos, ask Bill and he will give you advice on which atms are best.

Translators

Translators in Medelline, Colombia
List any local translators – name and contact information, languages spoken

People’s Opinions

  1. Ministero Vida Nueva. Pastor Willy, Mama Cristina don’t speak English. Pastor Diego, Olga and Samuel don’t speak English. When we went to San Pedro, Alejandra and her family and the ministry partners don’t speak English.Olga had a family friend, this 28 year old Cristian be our translator for the week in San Pedro and almost any time we preached.One of our teammates (me) was the translator the rest of the time. Warning: Pescado (fish) and pecado (sin) are similar but not the same thing.Typical Phrases for the area:Que Mas? = What’s UpQue Mas parcero(a) = What’s up pair of zeros aka my close friend around my ageAchicopalda = sadness (very Paisa word… saying this infront of a congregation led to a lot of laughing)Ya= NowAhora = a little in the future (different from how ahora and ya are typically used in Spanish in other regions)
  2. Ministerio Vida Nueva, Pastor William. Pastor William and Pastora Christina doesn’t speak english. Anyone at this ministry knows very little english. So learn some Spanish! We did have to resort to using our google translator when the couple teammates who knew Spanish wasn’t around.
  3. One of our teammates was to serve as our main translator, but she spent most of the month in the States for medical reasons. Silia and some of the YWAM staff can speak enough English to get by, but the biggest blessing came in the form of one the German volunteers serving at Mercy House for the year. He spoke fluent German, English, and Spanish.
  4. Our ministry host at Brazos Abiertos, Michael Perrow, is a great translator. There is also a man who lives at Casa Helena, Yilmar, that can translate almost anything if need be. There was no shortage of bilingual people at this ministry.

Off Days / Fun Activities

Off Days / Fun Activities in Medelline, Colombia
What activities did your team experience? Recommendations? List locations/contact info. Any locations to be avoided? Any extra safety tips for off days?

People’s Opinions

    1. If you’re looking for a great tattoo at a great price go to Cuatro Naipes! The tattoo artists was a friend of Yeyson’s at Cuidad de Refugio! I got a small tattoo and piercing for around $65. Very friendly and experienced. Also very clean! The shop is located in Pablado which is where all the restaurants are.
    2. Minsterio Vida NuevaPastor Willy & Cristina got that hook up for paragliding. Ours was only 38 USD (their neighbor runs the business). Bring a micro USD and you can get a go-pro video for free or buy an USD card for a couple pesos.They took us to “la finca” for two days. Which is a house owned by a sister of the church that has a sauna and hot tub and a hammock. There was also a huge TV with netflix access so we rested, watched movies and chilled in the hot tub. V. fun and Pastor Willy grilled up one night and it was so good. The bus there cost like 4,000 pesos.The Finca is like half way to Guatape (the big rock thing with all the stairs) so we went to that from there for cheaper, like an hour bus ride and then it was a two hour bus ride back home.We explored downtown on our adventure days with Cristian (a transator and quickly became also our friend and a part of our team) We went to Museo Antiguo (so worth the admission but bring your Student ID if you’ve got it). Also Crisitan took us to a fruit market and exploring around an old train station.It’s also possible to go to a football/soccer game.
    3. Go paragliding! it was super fun and very affordable we used Gtopik and it was around $50. If its your birth month they give you a GoPro and SD card for free to use during your ride.Poblado is the place to go for coffee and food and things like that, its a super safe area. Most people go to Pergamino for coffee and wifi.Also go to Guatape, its around 2 hours to get there but totally worth it. We got an Air bnb for 14 people and the whole trip cost around $15 to go.
    4. One day we went paragliding and it was a blast! It was about $30 for 10 min, no video and $50 for 20 min with video. You can decide what kind of package you want when you get there. I highly recommend it!! We also went to Guatape, a huge rock with 740 steps. The bus ride is about 2 hours, but the trip and climb is worth the amazing view. On our rest days we always went to Pergamino Cafe in Poblado. Its has amazing coffee, food, and space to work and relax. One block down is Crepes and Waffles, an inexpensive food place with yummy sweet and savory options. Take an Uber to Poblado, it may be a dollar or so cheaper to take the train, but you have to walk a good distance uphill to find Pergamino.
    5. We went paragliding one day, SUPER fun, go. Like right now. Cost was $55 USD for 30 min, worth it. If you get motion sickness beware, people puke a lot. We also went to Guatupe which is a cool little town with good food and shops. From there we took a boat to one of Pablo Escobar’s houses and got to tour it, also super cool if you’re into that. We just asked a random guy by the boats. Prices are negotiable, we paid about 10,000 pesos per person for the boat. Poblado is ok if you just want to go to the nice part of town, Castillo de Medellin is a castle you can tour there for about 12,000 pesos.
    6. We went paragliding through Zona de Vuelo our first day in the city. (http://www.zonadevuelo.com +301 535 8330). Half of the team took a guided tour of a coffee farm in Concordia; the guide picked them up from our house. We also took a guided tour to Penon de Guatape through El Dorado Adventure Trips (email: dalius@eldoradotrips.com); It’s $15 to climb to the top, and the 740 look daunting, but it’s worth it. We also spent a lot of time in El Poblado district and on Calle 70; there are fun shops and restaurants in these areas. Eat at Crepes & Waffles!
    7. POBLADO- so fun for an off day, a very hip, young part of town with fun shops and restaurantsSanta Fe Mall- great shopping, has a Forever 21Florida Mall-Good mall really close to Casa Helena ministry siteTAKE THE PABLO ESCOBAR TOURWe had a tour guide named Deivid Rendon, super fun guy with a thick New York accent. His number is 3162859595. He really is a great guy and is very accomodating. The tour is super fun and he shows you a lot about Medellin and the history as well. He also offers tours of Colombian coffee country. He will cut you a great deal.Paragliding is a big deal in Medellin. Do it if you can while you are here. There are lots of companies that offer it, but call ahead because it fills up.

Other Important Contacts

Other Important Contacts in Medelline, Colombia
Additional ministry opportunities, local pastors, etc. Relationship & follow up suggestions

People’s Opinions

  1. Ask about Cristian! He was our translator for a week, living with us when we went up to San Pedro de Milagros.He’s great to be around and such a good friend to us. He’s 28, is kind of shy and introverted. It’s SO cool to get to be his friend and please pursue hanging out with him. We got the vibe from the pastors that he doesn’t hang out with a lot of people. He’s not a believer, has jumped around a couple churches when he was younger and there’s just so much opportunity to show him Jesus in friendship.We ended up hanging out with him on our rest days and off days and invited him over for dinner as a thank you.He has whatsapp and Facebook messenger.When translating for us for a week, we split up the role (cause wow is translating hard). He’d translated English to Spanish and I’d do Spanish to English and we’d help each other out with words or phrases that we didn’t know.He doesn’t know/ is learning “Christian” words in English (and lol I didn’t know them in Spanish) so be patient and learn with him!He LOOOOOOOves animals and was a vet for a year. He’s down to try new things and likes being around people but so has introverted moments.Ask for him, say that Caitlyn and Genna (and Nicole, Josh, Joe & Tyler) said his was really cool and fun to be around.

Tips

People’s Opinions

  1. Start practicing Spanish now. Even if you can’t speak it, most people really like that you try and are more than willing to help you learn. They also love to learn English so talk to them as much as possible.

Additional Info

Additional Info in Medelline, Colombia
Anything we’ve left out? Any additional suggestions to make travel easier for others?

People’s Opinions

  1. No one really talks about Narcos or Pablo Escobar. Even though you can take tours of his popular places, people of Medellin dislike him, and they are trying very hard to reverse the reputation he created for the city.