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!
our guide pablo
Pablo is from Medellin, studied engineering and business, lived abroad, has travelled extensively, and came back to Medellin to run Real City Tours, free English tours of his city. He shared stories of Paisas, the people from Medellin, and stories of his city. It was very informative and interesting.
medellin walking tour highlights
Highlights included “The two Bs”: Botero and Bolivar. They both have parks and statues, churches, architecture, food and more.
Pablo showed us where to get the best empanada, but we got ice cream instead. Now we need to return for the empanadas later this week!
Pablo also talked about the city’s violent history, the drug trade, and the hopes he has for his city. The metro system is a point of pride for Paisas (we already mentioned how impressed it made us) and the city is also doing things like building libraries in the poorest barrios, and rebuilding after decades of danger.
A poignant end to the tour was at San Antonio place. Over 20 years, a bomb was placed at Botero’s Bird sculpture, killing people who were there for a Saturday night concert. Botero insisted the bombed sculpture stay as a memorial, and he added a new bird sculpture alongside.
It was a really nice ending to a passionate tour about a changing city. For those planning a trip there, I highly recommend this free walking tour of Medellin in English! Learn about more amazing things to do in Medellin.
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