Medellin
21 days of rest | 149 kilometers driving around the city
I have been looking forward to this city. Not only have I heard a tremendous amount of good stories about Medellin. This is also the city that I chose to go for a study abroad ten years ago in the beginning of my bachelor studies. Eventually it turned out that I was not allowed to go because of some administrative nonsense. Ever since that unfortunate decision I’ve been curious about this city. And now I’m here.
My Warmshowers-host Luis’ house is located in a friendly neighbourhood named Santa Maria in Barrio Robledo. Medellin is shaped like a bowl and from its centre in the middle of the bowl the city has been growing out of its seams up against the mountainsides. Robledo is one of these barrios that is on the hillside and therefore everywhere you walk you have fantastic views over the city. Every time I walk outside I’m struck with amazement of how cool the city skyline looks from up here. The disadvantage however is that I’m used to cycle around cities and whenever I take my bike to go ‘down’town (quite literally) the way back is a real killer (320 meters climbing up).
I’ve been feeling really ill the day before I arrived to Medellin. I had to take an emergency stop and rest in a hotel where I got even sicker. In my first days in Medellin therefore I take it easy. Every staircase I walk takes my breath away. I still feel very weak. But every day I’m recuperating and every day I feel a bit better.
Hiro is a fun guy to have around as well. Luis already accepted him into his house before he sent me a message that I would also be welcome. He is from Japan and has been cycling around the world and living on the bike for more than 9 years already! On Friday night the three of us hike to a beautiful view point to watch the city skyline in the dark. We take Luis’ three dogs along on the hike and we all have one on the leash. The view is amazing, thousands of lights lighten up the Aburrá valley. We drink a beer and get to know each other a bit more.
Since Hiro is occupying the guest bedroom (first come, first serve!) I get to sleep in the attic. Which is absolutely fine for me. To get to the attic I have to climb a ladder, however the ladder on the tiles makes for a slippery situation. One day I climb up and I can feel the ladder slipping away underneath me. In an absolute last resort I manage to save the ladder from falling down two floors with my right hand and to save myself from falling down with my left hand. However during this unfortunate moment besides getting myself some scrapes I also twist my knee. I don’t realize it right away but in the coming days I can feel that my knee suffered a hit and it swells and gets stiff. I don’t worry about it too much, I still have enough time to rest because I want to explore Medellin a bit more.



Since I want to rest my knee I take many bus rides to the city centre. Little do I know that these bus rides are completely insane! The roads are crazy steep, everywhere there are scooters squeezing into the tiniest gaps that the cars leave, the roads are in the worst shape. Although every ride is a pure survival I do get to appreciate them. The 80’s music that seems to be playing by default makes up for a lot as well.
How to survive a Medellin bus ride?
- Open the windows. Your body temperature can become hot. Not only due to the ambient temperature, also because of the absolute fear to die.
- Pick a seat that is located as close as possible to the axles of the bus. Otherwise you might risk severely being shaken up.
- In a worst-case scenario of all the seats being occupied, for your dear life, hold on to anything that you can grab! Don’t worry about grabbing someone’s shoulder or leg, personal space is something that doesn’t exist in these buses anyway!
I treat myself to a new inflatable mat (I’ve been dealing with a leaking mat and waking up on the floor for almost half a year now), a new towel (lost my previous) and socks (vibrated off of my back straps). I go to a real patinaje stadium, something I’m really excited about. I love speed skating and preferably on ice, but in summer I like to rollerblade as well. Rollerblading here in Colombia is a really popular sport and I’ve seen videos of Dutch speed skating star Irene Schouten training here in Medellin. The patinaje stadium is cool and to my surprise I also see a kind off ice hockey variant on wheels which looks like a lot of fun.
When I visit the city centre to stroll around a bit I find myself being harassed by every single street vendor/beggar/homeless/hustler/charity-subscription-seller. I am a white guy and there’s not a lot of white guys around, so I am an easy target for everybody that wants something. Normally I can handle this, but today is just too much and it drives me crazy. I flee home.



More sightseeing today. I take my bike out and visit Communa 13. A neighbourhood that is notorious for its violent past but has been turned around into a touristic sightseeing place. I also use one of the many cable car lines, that are being an integral part of the metro system, to go up one of the hillsides. I visit some more places and end the day with a beer in the park.
Like I said, cycling up to Casa Luis is a real bitch. That’s why when a bus that’s going up as well stops right in front of me I don’t hesitate a second. I grab onto the back of the bus and try to hold on for dear life. I manage to hold on for about a minute when my hand slips and I loose my lift.
And I swear to god the bus waits for me until I get back to the bus to hold on again. There was no one getting off or on the bus, the bus actually waited for me to grab on again. It amazes me, it fills me with joy. What a difference with The Netherlands. I remember one time back home I had a flat tire with my bicycle. I was in the middle of nowhere and didn’t have a pump with me. I knew that a bus was taking this road towards Rotterdam as well so I waited at a bus stop. When the almost empty bus stopped and I explained my situation the bus driver simply told me “Sorry man, no bikes allowed in the bus” and drove off.
I start to really fall in love with Medellin, Colombia and its people.






On International Mothers Day Luis invites me to join his sisters boyfriends family to go to visit a little town called Cisneros and to swim in the nearby river. Just like all the people in Medellin, Luis has a scooter and we’re going to ride to Cisneros which will take us close to two hours. Sitting on the back of Luis motor is quite the Colombian experience. He tells me he doesn’t like to be overtaken and that exactly summarizes his driving style. Let’s call it aggressive. We make it down the hill in one piece, we take some red lights, we squeeze into some gaps, we overtake cars, we squeeze between two motorcycles. When we’re on the highway we do the same manoeuvres but now at almost 120 km/h. It’s not warm but I’m sweating out of fear. I squeeze my legs against his hips and with two hands I hold onto the back of his motor with everything I have. We survive.
The town of Cisneros is bustling. It’s a cute small village with characteristic architecture. The main street is filled with probably mostly day trippers from Medellin. We walk around a bit, we eat some street food and eventually meet up with my surrogate family for the day. We drive to the charcos, which means something like pools, of the river Nus. Many people carrying crates of drinks and food have also found their way here. The river is cold but is refreshing since it’s a hot day. We swim and have fun. Me and Luis climb up the river via little waterfalls to check out the charcos higher up.
Back in the city we decide to pay a visit to a friend of Luis. Doug is in his forties, from the US and has been living in Colombia for over 10 years now. He is a web developer and works remotely.
He is living the dream: earning dollars and only spending Colombian Pesos. He and Luis recently got divorced after being married for a while just to get Doug’s permanent visa and a permit to stay in Colombia. Talking about friendship!
On our way back it starts pouring rain. We stop to put on some raincoats as we continue our way home. Suddenly we have to stop for a car in front of us when Luis’ front wheel hits one of these white lines on the road and his front wheel slips out from underneath us. Within seconds we hit the ground. Luckily we didn’t go fast and we only suffer from some scratches. But I’ve hit my bad knee again and surely this is not good for the recovery.
The rest of my stay in Medellin slowly passes by, like a warm blanket after a cold day. I end up staying three weeks. The longest time I’ve ever stayed in one place in this trip. On May 15th I celebrate my “One Year On A Bike” anniversary with beer and burgers with Luis and Maria. On a Sunday I go watch Atlético Nacional play. It’s the first time in a year that I visit a football match again. That’s because I think Colombia is the first country that actually can live up to my high expectations of Latin American football scenes.
Then something strange happens. It’s a Saturday and suddenly the feeling of boredom casts over me like a dark cloud. I have no clue what to do. I’m done exploring Medellin, I’m done writing my stories, I’m done with my usual chores (cleaning, fixing, etc.). I’d like to go cycling again but I feel my knee needs some more time. Luckily a sudden inspiration to go visit the Museo de Antioquia and check out some of Botero’s works saves the day.




The ‘knee situation’ has gotten into a stable state: it doesn’t hurt anymore yet it still feels a bit odd. It’s time to cycle again. However it feels hard to leave this warm nest. I really got comfortable being around Luis and in his house and neighbourhood. I have my own room now. I started getting to know the neighbours and daily by-passers. I have my routines (walking the dogs, drinking my coffee on the doorstep) and my regular places for groceries and street food.
I tell myself that I will start cycling Monday. But it becomes Tuesday and later Wednesday. I have to force myself to get out of my comfort zone again. I promise myself that it would feel so good again to be on the bike and experience the freedom of just riding south again.
I manage to escape.
I say goodbye to some friends I made here in Medellin. And of course I say goodbye to Luis and his three dogs. I don’t know how to thank Luis enough. He has been so kind, so willing to show me Colombian food, show me his friends and took me to see places in and around Medellin. But also gave me the space and freedom to do my own thing. A perfect combination if you ask me. This is why Warmshowers is such an amazing platform. It’s a way to escape from being a tourist and fully indulge into the local life.
I’m really excited to explore more of Colombia now. The robbery and forthcoming bad taste in my mouth has completely disappeared and my love for Colombia and its people has surfaced.
Let’s hope my knee will survive the coming days and will get fully better! Southwards!


Te faltó contar el día que probaste el mejor pan que te has comido en América 😉
Buen viaje y mucha suerte.
Pan Tres Quesos de San Felix! 🙌
Gracias Maria
Weer aan het fietsen begrijp ik , hopelijk lukt het met je knie en gaat je mooie avontuur weer gewoon verder
Op naar het zuiden xxx
Hey Marijn, wat blijft het ontzettend leuk om je verhalen te volgen! Ik zou Zuid Amerika zelf nooit durven (en Noord Amerika waarschijnlijk ook niet :D) dus dit is een ideale manier om zo’n reis toch een beetje mee te beleven.
Mazu!! Mooi om te horen jongen 🙂 En er komt nog zoveel moois aan … Hoop dat het goed met je gaat!