Medellin Weekend

Valentine's weekend, Katie, Rachel and I headed to Medellin for a couple of days.  Rachel is a huge fanatic of salsa dancing, so that was the main reason for being there.

We flew in Friday night, checked into our hostel and prepared ourselves for the night's activities.  Thankfully, Rachel is amazing at doing hair, so there was no reason to bring all the girly appliances with me.

After dinner, we headed to Free Dance, a salsa (of course) club near our hostel.  Katie and I knew we were out of place right away: everyone there was a pro.  We both got in one dance before the guys figured out our skills and went on their hunt to find decent dancers.  

Deciding not to feel awkward any longer, we left Rachel there and and instead grabbed a couple drinks at a bar in Parque Lleras.  It was the perfect way to unwind on a Friday night.

The next morning, we met up with Brian (a friend who used to work at COJOWA) for coffee before continuing on to the Botanical Gardens.  It was a pleasant way to spend a couple hours being outside. 

That night, we again stopped by Free Dance.  This time, though, they had an hour group lesson before opening the club.  It was a lot of fun, and we were able to dance with several different partners, all beginners or intermediates.  I haven't spun around that much in a long time.  As the night wore on, the pros started to arrive and our dance partners left one by one.  This time, though, Katie and I had been dancing almost non-stop for a couple of hours, so we were okay with calling it a night. 

The next morning I woke up early (not by choice) to run on the closed streets, something Medellin does every Sunday to encourage physical activity.  The air was crisp, and the hills gave my lungs something to work for.  As much as I am not a big-city lover, Medellin does a good job of having open spaces and parks to get away from the traffic and noise.  

All in all, it was a fun way to spend a quick weekend.