September 2, 2017 – September 16, 2017

One benefit of having my birthday in mid-September, my birthday is sometimes close enough to a holiday (Labor Day) that I am able to go on an extended vacation as a birthday gift, as I did this year. Since E decided to go to Oktoberfest through a mini-Eurotrip going to mostly cities that I have already visited, I figured that it may be best for me to go on my own. In general, I have no problem traveling solo, especially since most of my recent travels were solo trips, I still wanted to go somewhere that I knew people. What better place than to visit extended family (through my brother-in-law) in Medellin, Colombia. While I was at it, might as well also take an extended layover in Panama City, Panama. So, I convinced my dad to bump up his occasional monthly trip abroad and to meet me in Medellin and Panama. And so we went!

 

 

Sometimes when I travel, I do so many different things that it does not feel much like a vacation. Usually, though I try to balance out busy days and days of relaxation during travelling. Similarly, my dad’s view of travelling abroad is to live in another country for a month at a time, occasionally see the sites, but mostly sit at the coffee shop and enjoy a slower paced life. While he had a month to enjoy Medellin, I only had a little under two weeks, so we visited coffee shops, toured the city, watch movies at night, and took the occasional day trip, leaving us both to feel relaxed rather than stressed. I did enjoy my daily midday naps, and ignoring MOFO in Medellin.

 

 

I arrived in Medellin on September 2, 2017 at night and met my dad and my brother-in-law’s mother at the airport. During the first five days of my trip, my dad and I traveled around to various places in Medellin. We stayed in El Poblado at an AirBnB apartment and we could access the rest of the city by public transportation and Uber. We visited El Centro, Botero Plaza, Nutibara Hill, Parque Arvi, and the other usual tourist spots. We also had a chance to go salsa dancing and visit a coffee plantation only a 20 minute drive from El Poblado. I enjoyed having the opportunity of meeting up with my brother-in-law’s family, particularly his sister and mother, but they were only available on the weekend. Still, it was great to spend time with them when they had the chance.

 

 

On Friday, September 8, I convinced my dad to take a public bus to El Peñol and Guatapé, about two hour ride by bus. While my dad had previously visited both places, he did not get a chance to hike to the top of El Peñol so we hiked up and saw the beautiful view of the reservoir. After Guatapé, we spent three more days in Medellin and then flew to Panama City on September 12, 2017. Of the two places we visited, I enjoyed Medellin much more than Panama, but both places had their charms.

 

 

We spent about three days in Panama, leaving on September 16. During the first two days, we visited various tourist spots including Panamá Viejo, Casco Viejo, Panama Canal, and walked along the water. Unfortunately, we could not get to a beach. The closest public beach was about a two hour drive away and public transportation is not as accessible in Panama City as in Medellin, which is probably part of the reason why I did not enjoy it as much. On September 15, my birthday, we took a rainforest tour through the Panama canal. Both my dad and I enjoyed this trip and made my birthday special.

 

 

Well, that is all for now. I will be posting the photos from this trip in the coming next few days. Thanks for reading!

 

ㅅ_ㅅ