Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil

A Day in the Life: Medellín, Colombia

October 2nd, 2013 | Posted by Ian in A Day in the Life | Colombia | The Places We've Been

This is an installment in an ongoing post series detailing a typical day in one of our destinations. Not everything in this schedule might happen on any given day, but it should give you a good idea of our usual activities.

5:30 AM – Because Medellín is in a valley, dawn lasts a long time here. The sky begins to lighten and turn various shades of pastel long before the sun actually peeks over the peaks.

Morning in Medellín

Morning from our window

6:00AM – The first stop after springing out of bed The second stop after dragging my ass to the kitchen to start coffee is usually our giant window. With near-perfect weather (they don’t call it The City of Eternal Spring for nothing) and a total lack of flying/biting insects, our windows have been open essentially 24/7 all month. Feeling a soft breeze while overlooking the city is a pretty good way to start the day.

6:15AM – Wakin’ up. Chillin’. Readin’.

7:00AM – Off to class. All of you lifelong-learners out there should definitely take a minute to check out Coursera. They offer tons of free online college-level classes from all across the globe in just about any subject that might interest you.

8:00AM – Heigh ho. Heigh ho. It’s off to work I go. (Yes, it’s definitely “Heigh ho” and not “Hi ho” or “High ho.” Trust me, I Gurgled it).

9:00AM – Smoothies, courtesy of Brianna. Bananas, soy milk, oatmeal, peanuts, and ice. So simple, but so tasty.

12:00PM – Lunchtime. We’ve been implementing our usual strategy of cooking in large amounts once or twice per week, then just eating that for lunch and dinner. This month is been chili, soup, and tacos for the past couple weeks. And so many avocados. Is it unhealthy to eat several avocados a day? It seems like it should be wrong.

Mid-Afternoon – Exercise time. We have a small gym in the building, and a couple of terraces to choose from for yoga. It seems that not many people workout outside in Medellín; I think I have made quite a reputation for myself in the neighborhood this month as the pale weirdo who sprints up the hill over and over again.

5:00PM – Do we need more avocados? We might need more avocados. Let’s go to the store to pick up some more avocados just to be safe.

The beers of Colombia

Nom nom nom nom nom nom.

6:00PM – Dinnertime. Maybe a drink or two on our rooftop terrace. Medellín and Bogotá have a few decent microbreweries (Tres Cordilleras, Apostol, and Bogotá Beer Company), so we’ve been trying to get our fill. Our handy excuse has been that we haven’t seen much good beer over the past ten months and can’t be sure when we will again. Plus, Apostol has a Märzen, which we are pretty much obligated to drink this time of year.

7:00PM – Hanging out, listening to the Royals (too bad that’s all over for the year), watching football, learning on Coursera, writing, planning for the next few months. We only just lined up our place in Ecuador next month, and haven’t had much success looking at Peru yet. Probably should get on that. But we just “rented” Despicable Me 2, so I guess it will have to wait.

10:00PM – One last look at those city lights before calling it a night.

Rooftop terrace in Medellín, Colombia

One of our last nights on the rooftop terrace.

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3 Responses

  • Benjamin Shamir says:

    My wife, Molly, came over just now, while I’m reading this post, and commented to me: ”Aren’t this guys so cute? what a great photo of them together”, and I, of course, concurred. you two are AMAZING and we enjoy very much following your fantastic journey. please be safe.

    • Brianna says:

      What a sweet comment! Thank you!! I can’t tell you how much the support means, and we just love hearing your thoughts and feedback and excitement for your own journey. Indeed we are having an incredible time; good to know it is evident in our faces too! Hi to Molly!



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