Medellin-Rainy Season

As I sit here listening to the claps of thunder and the pounding rain outside, I am reminded that we are indeed in Medellins rainy season.  They actually have 2 rainy seasons here.
September-November and February through April.

You can count on it raining almost daily during those months but the rain doesn’t last long.

Average rain fall in Medellin is only 200cm per year so it is not that bad.  The gorgeous sunny days more than make up for the short rainfalls.

Another sign of their “winter”, if you can call it that (average temperatures of 75 during the day and mid to low 60’s at night), is that they have already started stringing the christmas lights over the river for the annual Christmas lighting festival (alumbrados).  Nothing like it in the world!

Bring your umbrella and stay a while! 

Medellin-Parke Lleras-La Triada

La Triada has become something of an entertainment complex. With it’s great restaurant on the first floor and a disco club called OZ on the second floor and a very upscale lounge/club on the third floor called WOKA.

At WOKA, you will think you are in a mountanious jungle area with fake rocks everywhere but real trees with moss hanging out of them.  Soft sofas with pillows, mild comtemporary music, excellent wait staff (and several speak English), great sushi dishes and the best part;  on clear nights, the roof retracts and you are sitting under an open air sky.  It can be a bit of sensory overload but a fun night out away from the loud music of the Discos. A place where you can just sit, relax, eat, drink, socialize and be with friends.

I’ll add some photos of all three places later

Medellin Dining

A lot of my friends ask me about dining in Medellin.  I usually respond, “what would you like” to which they respond, “what is there to consider”?

I can tell you that you can find almost any kind of cuisine in almost any price range to fit most budgets in Medellin.  American fast foods like McDonalds, Subway, Dominos Pizza to Colombian chains like Crepes and Waffles, El Corral, Presto, Frisby to one of a kind restaurants like La Triadas or Il Fourno in Parke Lleras.  If you want chinese, there are several excellent chinese restaurants in Medellin.  Thai, Italian, lots of beef, chicken and local Paisa cuisine restaurants are all over the city.  About the only thing I have not seen are Arabic and Greek restaurants but you could say that about a lot of towns in the US with just over 2.3 million people.

Many of the Parke Lleras restaurants offer full service menus of everything from appetizers, salads, soups, meats, fish, pastas, desserts and full service bars.

Another thing that will impress you about the Parke Lleras resturants is the quality of service, the open air ambiance of most restaurants, the constant flow of people to watch, the lively music played and the social atmosphere of the area.

So I usually respond, how about a fried Pargo (whole deep fried Colombian red snapper) with salad, vegetables potatoes; or how about some Cuban baby beef: then there is always some Thai sesame braised salmon at ThaiCo or maybe you prefer some Italian at Il Furno.  Usually they let me decide because they can’t make up their minds. Mondongos has opened a new location in Parke Lleras.  Sometimes I just take them there and let them sample various Paisa dishes.  Whatever it is, they are rarely dis-satisfied. 

Mangos Disco, Medellin Colombia

Mangos

 

   Mangos is probably the hottest club in Medellin Colombia.  Surprisingly, it is set to an early western theme and has 6 dance stages where the Mangos Dancers writhe and gyrate to everything from Hip Hop, American Popular Music and local Latin favorites like Reggaeton.  The sets are well choreographed and the costumes breathtaking.  Most of the girls have breast enhancements but it is still fun to watch them shake their bodies.

 

    I have met guys that have met girls at Mangos but I would say target identification is tough.  Most are with dates or with a group of friends.  You will need your game to be successful here although phone numbers are easy to obtain.

 

   It took me 3 weeks of convincing Mangos management and security that a video inside Mangos could do wonders for their business with visiting gringos. At first they agreed, then recanted, then agreed.  They made me turn off my video camera light saying it distracted the dancers. I think they were concerned I was trying to steal their dance routines.  You can see much better choreography in the US but you won’t see much finer bodies that you can chat up or get telephone numbers from.

  Mangos is only open from Thursday till Sunday nights and the action does not even get started until after 11:00.  You will see more cleavage, silicon and push up bras in one night than you may see in a month in your home town.  Dance a little salsa and you could be in for a fun evening. 

Buy a bottle of your favorite spirits for the table.  Much less expensive than paying by the drink.  Don’t be shy about asking a girl to dance (unless she is obviously with a date) and invite her to join you for a drink. Most will willingly join you.  Hope you have a little Spanish or someone at the table who can translate.

 

Many local girls save up to be able to go here once per month.  Entry is only $10,000 (less than $5.00 USD) but drinks can be expensive. When they get there, they like to let their hair down and party.  Someone picking up their tab is like discovering gold. Just be macho and tell them “no” when they start ordering Red Bull or expensive imported brands.  They will cower and you will be the boss in their eyes.  They will respect you more if you set limits rather than letting them walk all over you.