Since I got back to the Airbnb at 5am, I guess the events from last night technically do fall under today’s post. Holy cow, Colombian nightlife here in Medellin is on another level. Not only do the bars and clubs stay open till 4:30am, everyone who attends actually knows how to dance. The music isn’t the mumble rap we listen to in Boulder, but instead actual salsa, tango, and reggaetón music. Everyone was so talented and seemed to know each form of dancing too which was very cool to see and partake in.
I was running a bit late and needed to get some dinner, so I found a pizza place. As they prepared my fresh pizza, the staff and I talked about our background and the Halloween celebrations here in Medellin. They were all so friendly and welcoming. We took a group selfie when I had to go.
After getting ready, I walked to a hotel where the tour was going to start hosted by Juan-David and his co-host Victor. The first bar was on the rooftop of this hotel and the views of the city were incredible (featured image of this post). What was also unique about experiencing the nightlife with a guide was that we got to connect with local people, with local knowledge, did not have to wait in any lines, and all cover fees were already included. At the same time, it was a perfect way to make new friends. Once the group had all arrived at the rooftop, the geographic diversity was clearly apparent. Juan-David and Victor were Colombian natives. There was a guy named Renee from Honduras, a woman named Maria from Chile, Oscar from Mexico City, and me from the US. Everyone was very friendly and we spoke only in Spanish (very good practice) until Oscar wanted to practice English with me. He works as a film editor for educational videos used in schools.
The second bar was a little more upbeat but not a dance club. The third and fourth venues were actual discotecas where people were dancing and DJ’s were on stage. When the tour ended around 2am, Oscar and I went to another bar to close out the night. Overall, it was a blast and even more fun to meet new people. Oscar and I became friends and exchanged numbers, making sure each of us got back safely.
This morning, I woke up to an angle grinder cutting metal outside my window. I was not pleased to say the least, but I lazily got up to get some food. Thankfully, another guest in the Airbnb was already making coffee, so he gave me a cup of what tasted like nectar from the gods in my current state. His name is Louis and he is from New Zealand, taking some time off work to travel for a year. I also cooked myself a large meal which helped.
In the evening time, I went to one of Medellin’s outdoor gym parks. They are completely free and are quite common in the city. They even have cable machines and free weights to go along with the pull up bars. I was by far the least strong person there. It was like hunk central.
Afterwards, I met up with Oscar again to get some dinner. I think he was having some FOMO because he is going to the bars again tonight for more Halloween celebrations. I wish him good luck. However, when we were talking, he mentioned something interesting. Because he takes frequent trips to Austin, TX for business, he has to speak English quite often. He said how after a while, he gets really tired because of the effort it takes to listen in English, translate to Spanish in his head, think of a response, then translate back to English in his head, and finally speak. I definitely related to this as in the first few weeks when I was in Bogota, I remember feeling the same way. Now though, I think my brain has shifted a bit to actually start thinking more in Spanish to begin with, and to skip the steps in between. It was cool to realize this slow progression when actually talking about it out loud.
Even as I am writing this post, the music is blasting outside for the Saturday night celebrations. Welcome to El Poblado.
Because elsewhere in the world they work to live. In the USA we live to work. We’ve got it backwards .
Wow — Siddie that rooftop bar looks incredible! And so interesting on the transition in your head of being able to just speak in Spanish vs having to translate first…i still have to sometimes translate to English in my head certain words/phrases. The power and curse of being multi-lingual! And ahem….how come you are next to such good looking young ladies? Has Nalina seen this post!?! Ha! Love you beta and counting down the days till you are home….