When Lief and I came to Medellín, Colombia, for the first time in 2008, one of the first things we learned is that El Poblado is the best address in town.
The neighborhood is punctuated by gardens and parks, construction is international-standard quality, and you can walk to anything you need or want day-to-day from malls, grocery stores, and banks to corner shops, al-fresco cafés, and top-notch restaurants.
So, when we decided to stake a claim in this city that we connected with immediately despite its troubled past, El Poblado is where we focused our search. Location, location, location and all.
In residence this month after an extended time away, we’re finding the location of the apartment we eventually purchased and renovated way back then better than ever .
Medellín is green and proud of it. Any developer whose construction puts a neighborhood beyond a certain ratio of population density to green space must, by law, add green space.
That was the case in our neighborhood the year after we bought our apartment. The developer in question met his obligations by buying a small café across the street from our building, tearing down the café, and installing a park. At the time, that amounted to planting a few saplings.
We mourned the loss of the café. We’d enjoyed stopping in of an evening for a glass of wine.
Now we applaud the transformation. Sixteen years later, the area across the street—which is the view from our front windows—is of well-tended flower beds, grassy lawns, and well-placed benches beneath mature shade trees. It’s a hub of neighborhood activity, alive morning ’til dark with children playing, couples strolling, people walking their dogs, and folks like Lief and me enjoying the passing show from those shaded benches.
Sunday, we discovered that our park serves another purpose we appreciate—it is the venue for a weekly market. Local producers set up stands offering locally grown fruits and vegetables, locally produced honey, and locally grown flowers. We walked across the street last Sunday to shop for fresh vegetables for the week, and Lief, in a moment of uncharacteristic romanticism, surprised me with a bouquet…
In the 18 years we’ve been extolling the virtues of Medellín, many readers have taken our recommendation to heart. Those who’ve reinvented their lives in this City Of Springtime And Flowers on our advice include a couple from Chicago named Wendy and Darren.
Wendy and Darren repositioned from Chicago to Medellín a decade ago. At first, they rented. Then, when they were ready to commit, Wendy and Darren bought a place of their own. Now they are our neighbors, happily at home just down the street. We ran into them at the market Sunday morning…
We made plans to meet up that evening for dinner, but I had to cancel at the last minute.
Two-and-a-half decades ago, during one of my early scouting trips in Boquete, Panama, I tumbled head over handlebars off the motorbike I was riding. Those who know me know that I never should have been scooting up and down those mountains on two motorized wheels. The result was predictable.
I came away from the accident with a neck injury. When it flares up, as it did Sunday afternoon, I stick close to home. When I explained things to Wendy and Darren, they made a suggestion. “Let us introduce you to the healer we know,” they offered.
Umberto also lives in our neighborhood. He was available immediately…
“I have studied the ancient healing ways of my country,” he told me when we met. “It is all to do with touch.” Umberto identified specific points on my shoulder, neck, and back for his attention. Twenty minutes later, my neck felt better than it has in many years. I’ve made another appointment for another session with Umberto later this week.
Umberto offers his services free on Sundays. It’s his gift to his community. When he returns this week for a second session, the cost will be a very reasonable 140,000 Colombian pesos… about $38.
Until next time,
Kathleen Peddicord
Founding Publisher, Overseas Opportunity Letter
