Medellín - Beautiful setting but overrated


Many people rave about Medellín, but in my opinion it is much overrated. The setting is beautiful indeed, surrounded by green hills, but otherwise I wasn't that impressed - I liked Bogotá much more. The centre is busy but nothing special and it is full of dodgy characters. El Poblado, the safe tourist area, is full of restaurants and bars, but it is very sterile and characterless. Comuna 13 is interesting, and I liked the cable car network and the views from the hills, but that's about it. The best time I had was drinking beer with street vendors in El Poblado and watching hustlers trying to get a few bucks from tourists and posh locals. Every 10 metres or so there was a group of indigenous women and children - internally displaced people - selling handicrafts, begging or dancing for money. The police is also after money - they wanted to get some from me for no reason, but at the end they let me off without paying.






























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