Digital Nomad Diaries: Medellín, Week 2
Pueblo Paisa, Bad Bunny, new friends, goodbye friends, and a housing situation gone wrong.
The second week in any new place is when the honeymoon starts to give way to real life. You stop being a tourist in a temporary home and start actually living there. The good, the complicated, and the dramatic. Week 2 in Medellín delivered all three.
Pueblo Paisa and a beautiful day out
The week started on a high. A group of us from the coliving house spent the day at Pueblito Paisa, a replica of a traditional Antioquian town sitting right in the middle of the city. Yes, it's touristy. Yes, you will share it with a lot of other visitors. But it's genuinely charming and worth the trip, especially for the contrast it offers against the very modern, very urban Medellín we’ve been exploring all week. It's a small window into a different pace of Colombian life, and a beautiful day out with good company makes everything better.
Super Bowl Sunday in Colombia
I'll be honest, I don't really care about football. But Super Bowl Sunday in Medellín? That I cared about.
There's something about watching a massive American cultural event from another country that makes it feel entirely new. And the energy in the bar when Bad Bunny took the halftime show stage was unbelievable. Watching Latinos lose their minds over one of their own headlining the biggest stage in American television was one of those moments you just don't get at home. I think my hearing is still returning from when he said “Colombia” while listing the American countries at the end.
The revolving door
This is the part of coliving and long-term travel that you never really get used to.
Some of my favorite people from the house left this week to move on to their next destinations. People you've cooked with, explored with, stayed up too late talking to, all moving on to the next chapter of their own journeys. It always stings a little, no matter how many times it happens. You just have to hold onto the hope that somewhere, someday, the world will be small enough to bring you back together.
On the flip side, new people arrived this week. Fresh faces, full of that first-week energy and excitement. It's a revolving door, and once you accept that, you start to appreciate both sides of it. The goodbyes mean you met someone worth missing. The hellos mean it's starting all over again.
Housing gone wrong
Here's where I'll be a little vague, because things are still being sorted out.
The coliving house has had some significant issues this week, and I'm not talking about a leaky faucet. Several people staying here have dealt with serious maintenance problems and what could be genuine health risks. We're in the middle of working with the company to find alternative housing and get some resolution, and until that's settled I'd rather not say more than that.
What I will say is: it's a lot to deal with on top of everything else. Living abroad is not always the Instagram version of itself, and this week has been a good reminder of that. Updates to follow.
Quick guide: Medellín Week 2
Pueblito Paisa (worth it for the views and the vibe, go on a clear day)
Super Bowl Sunday watch party
Lean into the coliving social scene while it lasts
