I went to Colombia for Passover back in 2018. Back when traveling without masks was totally a thing. The Seder at the Chabad had about 600+ Israelis and they were all decked in white, but let's start from the beginning.
After my very first Guatemala trip, I hopped on the plane with my travel buddy and friend Bassie Lieder. We were meeting up with my sister and a few other couples to spend Pesach together. We arrived in Medellin and headed straight to Selina, because that's where the good wifi and vibes are at always.
We were at the Chabad for the first days. The Chabad has a restaurant where we had dinners before they closed up for Pesach, They made some excellent fries! I don't have photos. :(
I have this one photo of lunch we made, so just gonna leave this here.
Since there is a Chabad in Medellin, we got to explore the city and the surroundings a bit. We did all the Jewish stuff at Chabad, like the burning of the Chometz etc.
Here are some places worth checking out near and around Medellin:
Comuna 13 Graffiti Tour
Also known as San Javier, it used to be the most notorious neighborhood in Medellin. It was labeled the most dangerous community due to its high homicide rates and it's forced displacement of thousands of residents. We joined a walking tour of Comuna 13 to understand what happened.
The area used to be controlled by groups loyal to Druglord Pablo Escobar. To make a long story short, after his death, crime still ran rampant. In 2002 the Colombian military carried out Operation Orión, which was a strike to overthrow all rebel groups in Comuna 13.
Over 1,000 policemen, soldiers, and aircrew in helicopters attacked the area. Nine people were killed, three of them were children, and hundreds were wounded.
After this the residents began to voice their anger through art. It became their voice for political expression. The walls and streets are covered with grafitti telling their story and it's now one of the most popular attractions in Medellin.
I stole these pictures from Google to show you the grafitti because I didn't take photos.
Guatapé & El Peñol
Guatapé is a colorful town that sits near El Peñón de Guatapé, which is a really large rock that you go to climb and look at the view of even larger man made reservoir.
Guatapé's colorful walls and shops attracts many people per year. We walked around, made friends with some dogs who wouldn't leave us alone and bought a few touristy things!
It takes 650 steps to get to the top. The view is rewarding, but it rained as soon as we made it to the top! Oh well.
After this climb, we were beat so we just sat on the colorful stairs and enjoyed our surroundings.
A few other things you can do in or around Medellin:
~ Pablo Escobar Tour
~ Explore parks & plazas
The Coffee Region // Salento & The Cocoro Valley
On Chol Hamoed we took a 10+ hour bus ride to the coffee region and arrived out a town called Salento. Salento is known for it's coffee estates and proximity to the Coroco Valley.
This is where we parked ourselves till Pesach ended.
We stayed in Hostel Viajero. They have private rooms for about $20 per night. Our rooms had views of the clouds passing through low in the valley and it was so so beautiful.
This was our room, it had a balcony with a view:
The produce here is hard to find, but oh so cheap. I literally walked around town and stopped in each shop until I was able to inquire and find the "bigger" shop. When I finally found this gem, I brought in everyone to help shlep half the store because we were 8 people and we cooked the whole second days by ourselves in our hostel. Veggies, fruits, eggs, potatoes and all, for 8 people, was around $40! The shop owner thought he won the lottery.
Like most towns in Colombia, colorful walls and shops are all around, the same goes for Salento. Walking around and snapping photos was a fun activity, but here's what else you can do in or around Salento besides for that.
~ The Cocoro Valley ~
Known for it's vast green hills, valley and ridiculously tall palm trees, the Cocoro Valley was the highlight of my stay in Salento for sure! We took horses up the hill and enjoyed the view.
How to get there:
It's about 30 minutes away from Salento, you can just catch a Jeep ride from the city center. They tend to have more people than seats, so don't be surprised if you find yourself hanging off the back of a moving vehicle. Actual footage of this happening here, I wasn't mad about it though. :)
Once you get there, you will find vendors with horses and rain coats.
Get both of them if it looks like it will rain and enjoy the view!
~ Visit a Coffee Farm ~
The best coffee I ever had came from one of these farms. We took a day tour and they showed us how coffee is made, from bean to roast. You can buy bags of fresh coffee at the end of the tour.
~ Play Tejo ~
When Chag ended and everyone was eating pizza around the world, we grabbed some beer and went to play a local game called Tejo. Tejo is is a traditional throwing sport in Colombia. It comes with the use of small targets containing gunpowder, (yeah you read that correctly) which explode on impact. Don't worry it's perfectly safe! You can find it around town in a few of the pubs.
How it works:
1. They cover a little bit of gun powder in papers.
2. They place the papers and set it up for you with a points system.
3. They give you rocks and you have to throw it from a distance and hit one of the triangles! (I actually hit one, yay!)
Whoever has the most points at the end, wins. That's how you play! Enjoy the game!
I'm never sure how to end off these, so here are some pictures of colorful doors in Salento. ;)
Bassie wouldn't stop snapping.
Safe travels.
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