Tag: Medellin Colombia

Where To

September 30, 2026 by Cassandra Johnson

I was not going to get anything done in Medellin, Colombia. Not on that day. Maybe, I don’t remember it correctly. Maybe I just did not get as much done as I had pictured I would. It felt like such a non-starter. I could not really concentrate in my hostel. There was not enough room in the coworking spaces, not as much as I wanted, to be able to kick back and just spend a few hours like I had in Starbucks or other coffee shops (making purchases to support). I was reminded that indy coffee shops from Mexico throughout Colombia for me were sometimes hit or miss, depending on how busy and accessible they were. They may opt for something seemingly appealing for tourism and leave me hard pressed for the things I needed like seating and an outlet for a couple of hours. I learned to really appreciate some and feel bad for not being able to frequent many and equally bad for not being able to both enjoy the ambience and get my work done.

The gentler mix seemed to be the Juan Valdez coffee shops. As soon as I hit Colombia, I was able to escape to Juan Valdez on the upper floor of the airport to avoid the taxistas who assertively asked me where I needed to travel to next. Hotel or hostel? Juan Valdez, small and large, in various spots, malls, separate spots within themselves, next to and across from Starbucks. I am reminded how I became so accustomed to palito de queso and arepa de queso and mocha while getting used to Americanos (since they were the cheapest drinks) and settling up behind my computer, picking up or starting a translator with no boss and only the time crunch of a 2 to 18 hour turnaround time. I wanted to plan it all way better. I wanted to work better.

That day in Medellin was not that day, for I had been there, allowing myself a touring and dancing break, with so much more hanging out with the people staying all around me. I was not going to finish and start all I thought I should and I am glad, for the moment, I was getting better practice at remembering the need to also keep letting go.

City Stops

August 31, 2025 by Cassandra Johnson

When I landed in Medellin, Colombia, I thought it would be hard to leave the airport without taking an overpriced taxi to my accommodation.

I was surprised to find just going up one floor, through the food court-like area that I could catch an Uber very much like I could in New York City or Washington D.C.

Before calling one, I went to Juan Valdez coffee shop to get my bearings. I was so familiar and comfortable with Peru, what was Colombia going to behold for me? Juan Valdez coffee shops would be a regular backdrop along with indie ones. I would find a variety of experiences and a variety of people, naturally.

What I noticed primarily was the “Tranquilo” cultural mantra that many guys and women would direct at me.

Sometimes my overly gracious words in a hotel suite or a grocery shop would translate into not being from there, and they were basically telling me to Relax and Chill. No big deal.

I was pleased. I would rather be overly nice than flippant, and the people here seemed to like me.

They were surprised I had learned Spanish. They were even more surprised I now worked as a digital nomad. They made guesses like “Teacher”? “Student”? and were further surprised when I answered “Translator”.

I thought back to starting to travel again, but this time as someone working on the road (across the skies), by first returning to San Juan, Puerto Rico. I was glad to be transitioning from traveling to volunteer to traveling while working.

This was challenging, however, because most people around me were on vacation. Now it was Medellin, Colombia. Before it was Puerto Rico. Then it was returning to Peru to see if I wanted to go ahead and secure an apartment there for part of the year.

My first challenge was going for the budget friendly hostels. I later learned that spending more on hotel and AirBnBs here and there helped me focus on work and then do touring and hanging out in my downtime.

Hostels did not typically seem to design in remote working spaces but as I traveled more, I found those that had some nice ones.

I also found that Medellin, Colombia had some super affordable coworking spaces. They were abundant in both the Laurel and Poblado neighborhoods. I especially liked Laurel. It was more my vibe and it had both fancy spots and bohemian ones – sometimes intermingling in the middle.

I remembered how I find my flow and then forget sometimes but it was really nice to connect and try intermittently to get between rainstorms and hanging out and working. I was curious if Bogota could be as nice. Imagine my surprise that the vibe and actually less party atmosphere of it compared to Medellin actually led me into enjoying Bogota more. Could I snowbird there, while enjoying family in the U.S.?