During one of our trips to Medellín, my Colombian travel partner wanted to surprise me with dinner at the restaurant with the best view in Medellín. Where? I had no idea; the location was kept secret, right down to ordering the cab. So: I got in the cab and let myself me suprised!

From our hotel in el Poblado, we drove through Envigado to the suburb of Sabaneta and I really had no idea where we were going. Most of the famous restaurants are not in the suburbs, so I thought it was strange! As the cab climbed further up and the streets became narrower, I became more and more curious. We were now totally “off the beaten track.”

Even when the driver dropped us off at La Octava Maravilla and we were greeted by two mimes, I still had no idea. Especially when after this we were given a bag of popcorn and I felt like we had entered a circus. With our bag of popcorn at hand, we were further “ushered” toward a restaurant and there I got the real surprise, a fantastic, expansive view of Medellín! This was truly a surprise!

Now the meaning of the restaurant’s name also became clear to me; la Octava Maravilla=the eighth wonder of the world -:) The view was spectacular despite the clouds and I couldn’t get enough of taking pictures, from all angles.

After all the photographing, it was time for a drink. It became a piña colada, which was beautifully served in a pineapple.

We were not the only enthusiasts, as it was a coming and going of families and many couples, holding each other intimately and making it a romantic evening.

Meanwhile, the atmosphere was kept up by the entertaining staff. We would almost forget that we still had to eat and we ordered the churrasco. Although we ordered the steak tres cuatro (medium well), it was far too well done, but the delicious side dishes made up for a lot; nice potatoes and a salad with a delicious salsa of tomate de arbol.

After dinner we went for a final photo session. A photo with the staff was of course not to be missed!

While waiting for the taxi, we enjoyed one last view of Medellín as the line for the restaurant only grew longer.

The surprise was an enormous success!

Written by Jeanette
Travel date: June 2022

There are lots of tours you can do in Medellín, but for us the choice of the Urban coffee tour in Barrio La Sierra (Comuna 8) was quickly made. The combination of coffee and a community tour, completely “off the beaten track,” was the perfect combination for us.

We were immensely looking forward to the tour and were also a bit anxious, since Barrio La Sierra was once one of Medellín’s most dangerous neighborhoods. With guide Arturo, we would be able to see the Barrio’s transformation with our own eyes. To see the tour in this perspective, Arturo had advised us to watch the La Sierra documentary on Youtube (2004) about life in the neighborhood during the armed conflict between paramilitaries, left wing guerrillas and local street gangs.

We met Arturo at the entrance to the San Antonio metro station in the heart of Medellín. The three of us were the only participants, so the tour was private! After riding the tranvía (streetcar) through the Barrio Buenos Aires, we arrived at the metrocable station, where we caught the cable car to la Sierra, the last stop. The view was amazing and the ride was an experience in itself.

In the cable car, Arturo talked to a Colombian-American abuelita and and her daughter, who made the drive to La Sierra purely for the trip, but didn’t dare get out. They knew stories about La Sierra’s violent past and shared them with us. After watching the Youtube video the previous evening, we could vividly imagine this.

After getting off the cable car, we walked to the staircase with 577 steps.

Along the way we saw men building their own cottages. They were very friendly and proud when we asked questions about the construction. Meanwhile, all I could think was: omg, up those long stairs with all those bricks!!!

In addition, we chatted with two friendly ladies who were chatting on the balcony in front of their cottage and spoke to a schoolgirl who has known Arturo since babyhood. She assured us that it was not going to rain (which we feared) and she was right. Not a drop fell!

As we climbed further up, we saw men and women working with sugar cane and we passed the local (new) school.

When the school children saw us, I felt like this gringa immediately stood out next to my Colombian friends.

“How are you” and “I love you” flew through the air hahaha. As did “dame un dollar” -:) but Arturo explained that no money is given, so as not to create a pattern.

After climbing all the steps of the stairs, we thought we had almost reached the coffee plantation for our first coffee “shot,” but nooo…we were not there yet.

It was still a brisk but beautiful hike with beautiful views.

Arriving at Finca “increíble,” we were warmly welcomed by Rosa. We were given a cup of coffee with a sweet goodie, while Rosa began to tell us about the history of the finca. Her father Mauro was the “star of the show” with his wonderful stories and dry sense of humor.

He was also the one who showed us the young coffee plants and explained how to pick the coffee beans so we could earn our second cup of coffee -:)

After picking the beans, our “harvest” was checked, and we were shown the production process.

The taste of the second cup of coffee was surprising: a sweet, aromatic coffee brewed with panela (sugar water).

While sipping this cup of coffee, I asked myself at what time the tour would be finished, because we still had to start the walk back to the La Sierra metro station! Ouch…But……there was a car waiting to take us to the metro station. What a surprise! We quickly bought a few more packs of coffee to bring home and got in the small car. This was a very nice way to end the tour, with lots of ambiente due to the up beat Colombian music!

Arriving back in Medellín, we had much to catch up on. All three of us found it impressive to hear the stories about the history of the barrio and the finca “increíble.” And as often in Colombia, the people and their stories were the real highlight of the day; their perseverance to make something out of their former hopeless lives, the optimism and always…the sense of humor. Still full of impressions and feeling grateful that we had supported the local community with this tour, we headed back home.

Written by Jeanette
Travel date: June 2022