Travel: May-June 2009

Medellin (pronounced Med-e-jin) is perhaps most famous internationally as being the former home of Colombia's most notorious drug dealer. For those more familiar with Colombia, Medellin is also known for its seemingly endless supply of beautiful women, many of whom have an affinity with disproportionately sized silicone breast implants.

Arriving in the city it is however clear that times have changed and that it is becoming a safe, modern city with a growing network of transport infrastructure, some trendy neighborhoods and a vibrant nightlife.

Despite its attractions, Medellin isn't really a natural or must-see stop on the tourist trail. Its probably for exactly this reason that its a great place to linger for a bit longer than planned. You definitely won't find hoards of camera touting tourists which is a welcome change if you've spent too much time on the gringo trail.

As far as "sights" go, at the top of the list is probably Plaza Botero, a public square in front of the museum boasting a variety of quirky fat statues. Apart from that the other highlight is a ride on the metrocable which actually form part of the public transport network.

Learning Spanish...

Medellin is becoming a popular place to learn Spanish. I spent a large part of my time there trying to get a better grasp of the language. On the recommendation of a friend I took classes with Diego at Español para Extranjeros (Spanish for Foreigners) which I'd unreservedly recommend to those looking for a great teacher and the flexibility of individually tailored lessons.

After an hour a day for a month, I'm still a long way from being perfect, but I can at least get through some basic conversation... slowly!

Renting an Apartment

Despite the lack of attractions, Medellin has a growing supply of backpacker accommodation. As *nice* as it was to send the better part of a week in a dorm bed, I was looking forward to my own room for a while.

Perhaps one of the reasons Medellin is a great place to stay is that its possible to rent a nice apartment at reasonably affordable prices, and with a minimum of hassle. I shared a place with an American friend who was also studying Spanish at a cost of less than US$250 each per month.

Seeing as I hadn't slept in the same bed for more than about 2 weeks in a row out of the past 2 years, a month and a half in the same place was well overdue. Our apartment was in the leafy suburb of El Poblado, and for our money we had the luxury of 24 hour security, a nice pool, a gym in the complex and a pretty comfortable place to live. One of the downsides of getting so comfortable is that I didn't really venture into any of the surrounding towns or villages.

Visa renewals

The other downside of my extended stay, as it turned out was the need to extend my visa in Colombia. In a way the easy arrival process in Colombia where you get a 60 day stay at no cost and without any hassle can lull you into a false sense of security. In contrast getting an extra 30 days was somewhat less straightforward. Fortunately I'd been warned about the process.

For those unfamiliar with the process you need:

1. to deposit the prescribed fee into an account at the SUDAMERIS bank (currently 68,700 pesos)
2. 2 copies of the bank reciept
3. 2-4 passport photos (the number varies depending on who you ask...)
4. 2 copies of your passport details page, and the page that has your entry stamp
5. 2 copies of your onward ticket (seemingly optional)
6. a copy of the application form, and photocopy of it(apparently this is online... though who knows where)
7. to lodge documents to the DAS office at Calle 19 80A-40 in Barrio Belén between 2-4pm mon-Fri and when its your turn, get photographed from front and side (mugshots) and fingerprinted
8. come back to actually get the visa extension (usually the next day)

A taxi ride from anywhere that you'd be likely to stay in Medellin will cost somewhere between 6000-8000 pesos (multiplied by a min of 4 trips) and take at least 25mins so its worth making sure that you have your paperwork sorted out before you go. It makes sense to deposit the money first, have tickets and passport photos on hand (and assuming you can't find the form online) get all the photocopying done at one of the stores around the corner from the DAS office. Although the official list of things to get includes onward tickets, I didn't have any and wasn't asked for any either. I did however encounter others who had printed up and copied real-looking fake tickets.

Useful links for Medellin

• Poorbuthappy - the best online guide and forum dealing with Medellin and Colombia
• Español para Extranjeros - where I studied Spanish - highly recommended
• The Arepa Magazine - named after a local bread made from corn, or a euphemism for a female body-part, depending on who you ask
• The Black Sheep Hostel - one of several hostels in El Poblado - hopefully you won't be treated to 3 couples simultaneously getting it on in your dorm room while you're there, like I was... they're currently building more rooms