I did something yesterday I’ve never done. I walked from El Poblado to Aranjuez, both neighborhoods in Medellín. To walk where I’ve always rode by car or public transport. To see what lies between neighborhoods.
My plan, walk from UVA El Poblado to San Pedro Cemetery:
12.6 km — 3.5 hours walking
El Poblado
I started at El Poblado’s Unidad de Vida Articulada (UVA). El Poblado’s UVA, inaugurated in 2017, is a large park with a library, trees, and a community center, all around a distinctive feature, an enormous water tank reserve.
Once gated plots for water tank reserves, beginning in 2012, UVAs became public spaces with parks, libraries, and other community driven initiatives. The story goes that during a study of Medellín’s energy infrastructure, EPM, the governmental company, noticed large unused plots of land in the metropolitan area. These plots where create in outskirts of the city to house water tank reserves, but with growth of neighborhoods, these plots were swallowed by the city.
The local government, together with EPM, looked to these plots to develop spaces for the public. By looking at something familiar, Medellín’s map in a different light, the city gained 18 plus new public spaces in favor of improving life quality.
Next stop, Provenza and Manila neighborhoods, but not before stopping at La Niña Juani in La Visitación Mall. This fast food restaurant specializes in food from the Caribbean coast. I tried the arepa de huevo, deep-fried corn flatbread with an egg inside, a staple of Caribbean food in Colombia. It was good! Crunchy, freshly made, not too greasy. It’s thinner than regular arepas de huevo, making it extra crunchy.
Around Provenza and Manila, I passed by hotels, hostels, and Cafés like Pergamino, full of travelers. It’s astounding how heavily this zone now caters to tourism, leaving locals with the choice to adapt to the tourism scene or look elsewhere for their entertainment.
Medellín’s Center
First stop in the center is one of my favorites, Salón Malaga. An antique café and bar keeping tango culture and history of the city alive. With tango playing, and all the photos of Medellín in the 50s, it’s easy to be transported to another era here. A must stop on every visit to the center.
From Malaga, I headed to Carabobo street, passing by Palacio Nacional, a true architectural jewel of the center. On the top floor of this government palace turn shopping mall, you can find a calm open art gallery with views of the center skyscrapers.
On to Prado Neighborhood. Prado is the only neighborhood in Medellín designated as cultural patrimony. While currently not the safest, it used to be the wealthiest neighborhood in Medellín, with beautiful mansions now transformed into offices, theaters and caring houses.
The walk from Prado to San Pedro Cemetery was the most uncomfortable. It’s where I saw more homeless people on mostly empty streets. In Medellín, while there are beautiful streets to explore, 2 o 3 streets away the environment can drastically change. San Pedro Cemetery is a peaceful, impeccable and truly well maintained place to visit. Here lie some of the most prestigious characters in Medellín history.
Walking thoughts
As in any long walk, I try to be conscious of wondering thoughts. A type of walking meditation. Observing, keeping distance from the mind. In parts of the walk, I start feeling anxious. Unruly, uncaring thoughts towards myself. I understand it’s ok to have these moments. The voice that make us feel not great about ourselves. It’s best not to identify with that voice, letting it flow through, reminding myself that’s not me.
I noticed on this walk that many of my internal fears come from things I had not yet done or acted upon. Goals, tasks, dreams that when not acted upon, can become a source of fear or pain. Not acting = pain.
With the recent death of Charlie Munger, vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway and closest business partner of Warren Buffet, I have been reviewing some of his wisdom, of that which there is a lot. One of the things he said that stayed on my mind the most: Often times it’s not the hardest to learn new thing, but to unlearn them. Unlearn behaviors, habits, or beliefs that may be holding us back someway, and how, while not easy, we can learn to unlearn them.
