Category: Medellin

Outside in Medellin: Botanical Garden and Parque Explora

We had a nice afternoon exploring gardens and wildlife – and our minds! – today. The Universidad metro stop has a lot of options for tourists – we enjoyed both the Botanical Garden and the Medellin version of a science centre. The Medellin garden and park are not just for kids, although kids love them too!

The free Jardin Botanico is huge and amazing. Seconds after walking into the park, we heard loud birds squawking, looked up and saw 4 large toucans in a nearby tree. We had to zoom in quite close on our cameras but they were brightly colored, large and beautiful. We even got to see them fly over us. I was already hooked!

toucans Medellin garden and park
Toucans – blurry because they were far but still so beautiful

The gardens also included: a lagoon with ducks and swans, a butterfly sanctuary, a palm garden, a desert area, an orchid area and more! We wandered around for an hour or so just enjoying the lovely weather and views. The fact that this park is free is fantastic but I would have paid to visit.

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Great Walking Tour of Medellin – in English!

Yes, I am tired from the day of touring the city of Medellin, but more than that, I am really impressed by this sprawling and interesting – and beauty filled – city of 2.5 million people. I am even more impressed because we did a great walking tour of Medellin in English.

This morning I woke up at 8:45am! I haven’t slept this late since sometime in July in Toronto, maybe. I don’t remember. After all the action of yesterday, I slept late today.

Real city tours

After our morning self-guided tour, we spent yesterday afternoon in a walking tour of the city with Pablo, the founder and owner of Real City Tours. The day was a mix of rain, clouds and sun, and Pablo always found a place with shelter or provided us with umbrellas and rain ponchos so we were comfortable. The tour is advertised as “free” and you provide a tip at the end based on how good you thought it was. After 4 hours of learning so much about Medellin, its people, sights and culture, we thought the tour was great!

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Touring Around Medellin

Our first day in Medellin and we saw a lot! This morning we did a self-guided tour of Medellin’s fancy metro system, including the cable cars (more cable cars!). This city is sprawling, and the cheap metro system is a great way to get around. Here’s what we learned and saw in our first day touring around Medellin.

What They Say About Medellin

Things I have heard about Medellin from Colombians: It’s the best climate; the people are very impressed with themselves; they love their subway; they like plastic surgery. Things I’ve noticed: the climate is pretty good!; the people are very nice (like everyone across the country); their subway is very nice and clean!; I have not noticed plastic surgery. It’s certainly not like Beverly Hills where you can’t avoid it.

Riding the Medellin Subway

We started the day on Medellin’s impressive and cheap subway system. Less than a dollar gets you a fare anywhere on the metro line. And most of the route is above ground so you can take some cool photos of the views!

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