Digital Nomad Diaries: Medellín, Week 3
A day trip to Guatapé, a heavy history tour, a housing move, and a bird named Mr. Magoo.
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Some weeks on the road are just off. Not bad enough to make a good story, not good enough to pretend otherwise. This was one of those weeks. A mix of genuinely cool experiences wrapped around some real lows. Here's the honest version.
The good stuff first
I did get out of my own head enough to do two things worth talking about.
The first was a day trip to Guatapé*, which I'm covering in its own post. Go check that one out because it deserves the full treatment.
The second was a tour, call More Than Escobar*, focused on Colombia's political and drug-related history, which also has its own post. I won't pretend I knew as much as I should have before arriving here, and this tour filled in a lot of gaps in a way that was equal parts fascinating and sobering. Understanding a place's past changes how you move through it. If you're spending any real time in Medellín, definitely put this on your list.
The housing situation, continued
If you read last week's post, you know I'd been dealing with some issues at the coliving house. Mold and maintenance problems that had gotten to the point where I just didn't feel comfortable staying anymore. So I moved out.
My first plan was to transfer to another coliving space, but the availability wasn't working out timing-wise. I ended up in an Airbnb instead. The neighborhood is genuinely an upgrade. Way more walkable, surrounded by restaurants and shops, much more integrated into the city. The apartment itself is pretty bare bones, nothing special. But I'm only here for another couple of weeks, so I'm making peace with it.
Mr. Magoo
This is the part of the week I'm still thinking about.
A bird flew full speed into my sliding glass door and knocked himself out cold on the balcony. I genuinely thought he was dead. He wasn't. He came to after a little while but couldn't fly. I put out water and fruit, spent four days calling animal rescue services trying to get someone out to help him to no avail.
I named him Mr. Magoo somewhere around day two, for obvious reasons.
He passed away on day four, almost certainly from internal injuries. It was a bigger downer than I expected, honestly. Something about being far from home and watching a little creature struggle and not being able to do enough. It just gets to you.
Finding my footing again
Moving out of the coliving house meant losing easy access to my social circle, and I felt that more than I expected. The low-key nature of the week wasn't entirely unwelcome (sometimes you need to slow down) but the combination of the housing stress, the Mr. Magoo situation, and the general sense of being more isolated made it a heavy few days. So I took the opportunity to hunker down and focus more on work this week.
The turnaround came at the end of the week when one of my friends moved into my neighborhood. Suddenly I had someone close by again, and just like that the energy shifted. A little company goes a long way when you're living this kind of life.
Week 4, let's go.
Quick guide: Medellín Week 3
Day trip to Guatapé* (full post here)
More Than Escobar tour* (worth doing early in your trip for context)
El Poblado area for walkability and neighborhood life
This is part of my Digital Nomad Diaries series, where I document life on the road as a full-time traveler. If you want to see the video version, check out my Medellín Week 3 reel on Instagram and TikTok.
Some links on this page marked with * are affiliate links. I earn a small commission if you purchase at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products I personally use. Thank you for supporting Traveling Berri!
