Medellin is the most relaxing place I’ve ever visited. Located in a narrow river valley in the mountains of Colombia, it has the vibe of a beach town that I’ve always dreamed of but never really been able to find. 

Every place I’ve been, in Latin America, claims to have a relaxed culture. But since most places I like to visit are Big cities, there is really a limit to how relaxed life there really can be when there is so much going on. 

In Medellin I found out what this promise is all about. It is a smaller city, there are lots of people but they seem to have a lot of time to relax and enjoy the beautiful nature that surrounds them. 

The food is delicious. Each meal left me feeling satisfied and feeling as if I was healthier for having eaten it. 

Everywhere you look there are men riding motor bikes in shorts and t shirts. People are allowed to smoke marijuana in public and its common to see bars operate under tents, on street corners, serving hundreds of people alcohol without any license, as music blasts from a car or a large speaker.

About Tracey Parker

My name is Tracey Parker. I’m a middle aged gay American Male and I’ve been digital nomading after living in Mexico City, for 6 years. I use what I learned living in Mexico City to inspire really cool trips to other Latin American Cities and these travel guidelines are my way of showing off how I’m always able to put together great trips on the spot without much planning. Read on for personal stories of what I did in Bogotá and tips and guidelines for how you can put together a really fun trip on the fly. I try to share my guidelines and stay away from lists of ‘top ten’ places because things are changing quickly and lists like that don’t age well.

Santiago

The only time I ever jump on Grindr is when I’m new to a city and I haven’t found anything to grab on to yet. My second night, in Medellin, I met a young man named Santiago. If I had a type, it would be Santiago. Someone 23 years old, skinny, who manages to be comfortable enough with his sexuality to be feminine yet confident enough to express his masculinity and not fall into a gay cliche. He had just graduated from college and he had landed a dream job through ‘personal connections.’ Being with Santiago gave me a feeling of how much was possible in life at such a young age.

We agreed that he’d come over to my airbnb after he got off work. I told him I’d go to Metro Poblado to meet him. He got there early. I wasn’t expecting this. A Mexico City guy would have arrived one hour late if he arrived at all. So I put on my shoes, shorts, a polo, and a hoodie. I also put on a necklace that I bought in Huanchaco of Labradorite and Cornelian. I had stopped wearing it because I could feel the cornelian was making me aggressive and horny, but I had a feeling that would come in handy tonight.

Now I had something to grab onto.

I opened my door and a thousand lights shown down on me giving the impression that I was on stage. I hadn’t yet gotten used to the unique kind of beauty that exists in Colombia. 

It was rush hour, it was already dark, and a steady crowd walked casually to the Metro, down sidewalks lined with trees and over small rivers, on wooden bridges, made with tree branches. Soon we’d all cross over an enormous concrete pedestrian bridge that crossed a highway and in the middle, a large river and a new modernized Metro.

The bridge was divided into two sides and crowds flowed in both directions, underneath of us the water flowed north, to the Caribbean. 

I met Santiago and he was way different from what I had imagined. He was tall, and his style of dress seemed very gothic and 90’s alternative to me. I had noticed this was popular in Medellin. But he was coming from work, so he expressed this aesthetic in a very elevated way. What drove me crazy was two round circular piercings on his lip and some in his ear. He looked too cool for me.

I knew everybody was looking at me as a lost tourist, and now they heard me talking Spanish to this beautiful local boy. 

“Who’s lost now cabrones?” I thought in my aggressive Mexican Spanglish. 

I led Santiago back to my house, only this time I was an expert in the neighborhood. He told me about his day.

We got to my Airbnb and I offered him a drink. The pervious Airbnb guests had left half a bottle of Bacardi and I had half an unopened bottle of coke leftover from lunch. I had ordered a beer and saved the complimentary bottle of soda for later. I filled two glasses with ice and made 2 strong rum and cokes with one of the limes that I had bought in the afternoon. 

We sat on my balcony. I could tell he didn’t want to jump into bed, but the conversation wasn’t flowing freely yet either. As I was sitting down to join Santiago, on the balcony, I caught a glimpse of another beautiful young Colombian on the balcony next door. Santiago couldn’t see him, and he couldn’t see me. He was being nosy. 

Was this really happening? If you had told me that I’d spend my second night in Medellin on my balcony, alone, listening to two young Colombian boys flirt over drinks on a balcony next door I’d have believed you. I’d have enjoyed it too. Being in the position I was, and having a sexy admirer was a welcome bonus. 

I can’t deny that I was nervous though. I was going to need another drink and we didn’t have any Coke left (not that kind :)). I’d have to improvise something with the lime, the rum, water, and the sugar by the coffee maker.

My glance hopped from Santiago, to his slender body that bent so sharply at his waist and at his legs which opened widely below. His shoulders leaned back confidently and his skinny chest stuck out as if he were the one who had invited me over. 

My shoulders were hunched over, my legs were crossed, I was wondering if my neighbor was still watching us and how much he could hear.

Fumas mota? I asked him. 

No he responded. 

I threw back my rum. It hit me hard. I hadn’t eaten anything all afternoon. 

And suddenly I decided to copy Santiago and relax in typical Medellin style, in an environment that seemed to bend over backwards to accommodate the people who lived there. 

He was more aggressive and more direct on Grindr. He left nothing to chance. He was a bottom, and he loved having his ass eaten, he told me. But now he was ignoring my bare foot as it lifted his black trousers up along his shins.

He was waiting for me to make the first move, and he was playing hard to get. I decided to give my initiative and impatience a break and see if he would take the lead. I knew he wouldn’t. The beautiful ones rarely do. But I was getting the feeling that Santiago had more to offer me than his elusive butt hole. I wanted to put the pace of the evening in one of the nearby rivers and just let it flow at the pace of Medellin.

We made a little small talk but with Santiago there wasn’t much to get to know. He was a young man on the up, and I was relishing in the feeling of being included in such a fortunate period in somebody else’s life.

Later, we spent about an hour 69ing each other, coming up for air only occasionally. In my bedroom Santiago took control like I had remembered on Grindr. I was laying down with my head resting on two pillows, Santiago hovered over me on his knees and elbows. He placed his fresh clean rear end over my face while he sucked me off. 

It seemed like sometimes he forgot that I had to breathe and I had to remind him by uttering muffled cries for a little space. He giggled and gagged as we played around with each others bodies unconsciously thanks to the rum, or my gracious hosting or to Medellin’s laid back, take it as it comes vibe.

When we were getting dressed I commented on his enormous, thick, uncut, trimmed cock. I would have loved for him to have put it anywhere inside of me but at this point I knew it wasn’t something he was interested in exploring. 

I watched him get dressed. I loved the intimacy of watching a man put himself back together after allowing me to tear him apart. 

He opened up his man purse to get something. Inside of it was a wad of money. Not a huge wad, but enough for him to buy whatever he wanted that day. I wan’t used to being with guys with handbags, especially handbags with wads of money inside of them. I was more used to them asking me for S5 or 20MX or $0.25 USD for bus fare. An amount I knew any of them could have found on the floor, or in the couch, or in their left shoe, but asked me for instead.

Something inside of me felt that I owed them at least that for having shared themselves with me, someone they barely knew. Santiago’s independence was sexy. it made me forget that he was a boy, with a beautiful horse cock that he had no idea how to use. 

It was enough to make me think of him all through the night and the following day. He texted me, and I texted him back. We each left an hour in between reading and response. We seemed to be synchronize in some way, while also being decades apart. 

By the time the weekend came we both ghosted each other. 

I could have chase after him if I needed to. Maybe a part of him even wanted me to. But Medellin had other ideas for me. 

Sauna Cruising – Gay Bathhouse

Google Maps Link

I visited this bathhouse my first weekend in Medellín. I went on a Saturday night and there was a great crowd. It is multi levels. It has a wet and dry sauna, pool, jacuzzi, and upstairs there is a dark room maze as well as an outdoor rooftop smoking area which serves as a marijuana smokers heaven.

The smoking area is half guys in towels and the other half in street clothes who seem to just be there for the weed . . . although as the night progresses they all seemed to make it to the dark room.

Upstairs was a very straight acting, urban, baggy jeans vibe, downstairs was more gay. Dark room was, well, I couldn’t say to be honest. It was hot.

I loved how everybody shared the space and did their own thing and I especially loved how everybody fucked everybody.

Getting to and From Sauna Cruising

One thing that I want to mention is that this sauna is on the other end of what is currently a gigantic homeless encampment in Medellin. Weirdly, the encampment is located squarely on the main zocalo and next to the Metropolitan Cathedral of Medellin. This used to be the center of town and it’s changed a lot. I always like to visit the main square of all latin American cities I go to, and my trip to this one actually scared me when I showed up.

The pictures I took were mainly of the church. I didn’t capture the atmosphere of the place because once I realized the reality of where I was I thought it was a bad idea to walk around snapping pictures with my phone.

It is 10 times more scary at night.

All this being said, I had no problem getting an Uber to pick me up and drive me through all of it. We arrived to Sauna Cruising and there were security (several handsome men chatting and playing cars outside all night), and attendants who took care of parking the motorcycles, which many of the patrons arrived on.

The harder part was getting an Uber to pick me up. I anticipated this and luckily I didn’t leave the club before a car was outside waiting for me. Instead I got dressed, and went upstairs to the outside rooftop party where many of my red and glassy eyed friends were still seated and chatting with with soft music in the background.

I hung out with them and watched as Uber driver after Uber driver rejected my request for a ride home.

Finally one seemed to be coming to pick me up so I said goodbye to everyone and went downstairs. When I was outside there was a handsome young man on a motorcycle who began talking to me. It seemed like he was working for a local app, similar to uber, that arranged rides on motorcycles. I wished I had asked him the name.

He asked me what goes on inside of this club.

“Is it a club with women?” he asked me.

“No.” I responded. “Men.”

He seemed confused and non confused at the same time. He definitely wasn’t uncomfortable.

This conversation left me feeling like I had discovered something truly underground and that’s what I love about Sauna Cruising. While I didn’t make it back a second time, I really wish I had. The underground nature of it made it worth the uncomfortable ride there.

Guayabal – My Neighborhood – The Pace of Medellín

Maybe if I hadn’t become so comfortable and begun to feel so at home in my neighborhood I would have followed up with Santiago to make me feel good again. But my neighborhood in Medellin was so comfortable, I would often not want to leave.

I found an airbnb that was cheaper than the rest in Guayabal. My instincts told me to say out of Laureles and Poblado, which are the Roma and Condessa of Medellin. It turns out my instincts were correct. I would have been comfortable in Laureles, but El Poblado gave me the creeps. It is exactly like a beach town in the middle of a city. All the business are focused on foreigners who want to party like Colombians. Loud clubs and hustlers (not the good kind) on every corner trying relentlessly (like a social media app) to get your attention and trick you in to doing something, normally giving them your money.

Guayabal was located on the other side of the river from Metro Poblado. It bursts with local life. My favorite part was La Biblioteca just behind where I was living. Medellin built a system of libraries during its rejuvenation period. The libraries have parks next to them and they have become sites where locals can smoke marijuana freely out in the open. Similar to what I write about in Mexico City.

The park behind my neighborhood had a grassy knoll next to the library that filled up with students and other potheads every afternoon. We stayed there all through the night or until it began to rain. I loved going to there with no expectations other than to relax, watch the people, watch the small planes take off at the local airport next door, and watch whatever planets or stars I could see in the sky.

Los Miradores

Wherever you are in Medellin, you are always in the shadows of the large mountains that surround the city. At night they are lit up with lights and they are really breathtaking. 

There are several Miradores (observation points) that have become famous places for the people of Medellin to hang out, listen to music, and ride bikes. 

Motorcycle Culture

The bikers are the celebrities of Los Miradores. Next year I want to begin writing Fiction instead of just recounting my own stories. I really want to write a story about meeting a Colombian Chakal who takes me up to los miradores and . . . stay tuned.

Food The Biggest Surprise in Medellin

Medellin is the only place I’ve been, in all my life, where the food made me feel healthier after I ate it. Bottom Left: Breakfast. Chorizo, eggs, rice and beans, and arepa. Most lunch places served the same type of foods with plenty of room for creative customizations of each restaurant. 

Meat Based Places served your choice of grilled beef or chicken, often times with creamy mushroom or other types of savory sauces. These proteins were accompanied by a small portion of French fries, salad (lettuce based, or alternatively carrot or beet based), rice, egg, and a sweet plantain. Seafood places were accompanied by a smashed fried plantain (patacones), coconut rice, and salad. 

All lunches were served with a first course of fish soup (which was way more tastier than it sounds), or kidney beans, which did wonders for my digestion. 

The food in Medellin was the biggest surprise.

Gay Cruising

Once I realized I was in my final days in Medellin I begin worrying that if I kept going with the flow I’d miss out on something. I hadn’t met many gay people so I wan’t able to ask anyone about cruising. 

Everybody told me that there was cruising on top of one of the hills where people like to hike on the weekends. I was doubtful. I doubted that the queens would want to climb all the way up a mountain to do something that they could do at the bottom. 

I ended up going to one of those cruising map websites and found that there were a few places in my neighborhood. I set out one afternoon and found some really low key but beautiful parks. I found a little action at a few of the places. Not Mexico City levels, but after all, I was still learning the scene here. 

One day I was on the Metro and we were all squeezed in, like sardines, reaching up to hold on to the bars to keep from falling. There was a young guy beside me with the typical look I realized most guys in Medellin have. Tall, light skinned, long limbed, with a curly mullet haircut and piercings. 

He looked like a student. Slowly but consistently, we rode the tides of the metro, inching closer and closer to one another until we ‘anciently’ were pressing our warm sweaty bodies up against one another as the trains doors opened and closed letting more and more people on and pushing us closer and closer together. 

We never exchanged glances, but I’ll remember him. The guy who the cruising gods of Medellin chose to be the one to send me the message that yes, guero, we do this here.

Museums

In the middle of my trip, I met another guy on Grindr, and decided to meet up with him in public. We decided to meet at the Library Park, by my house, where everybody gathers to smoke weed and hang out with friends.

We chatted over a huge blunt. I asked him if he liked Museums and he flat out said, no.

This threw me off. That never happened in Mexico City. That was my opener with guys in Mexico City and they always were able to tell me their favorite museum and talk about recent exhibitions that have attended.

Medellín isn’t that the of city, however, they still have enough museums to keep you busy no matter if your trip is short or long. Here are some that I was lucky enough to find out about, and there were more beyond this.

Museo de Antioquia

Museo de Arte Moderno de Medellín

El Castillo

Casa Museo Pedro Nel Gomez

Communa 13

Communa 13 feels a little over touristy for my taste. While I loved the hillside barrios of Medellin, this one felt like it was a fake one, and it reminded me of the Truman Show. I came here early on in my trip, because everybody was telling me to go there. The benefit is that I discovered what a hillside barrio looks and feels like in a safe environment and it gave me the confidence to go up into some others that are not touristy. To this end, I highly recommend Communa 13.

El Poblado & Laureles

Most advice I read, before arriving in Medellín, suggested that I stay in El Poblado or Laureles. I’m really glad I stayed in El Guyabal instead. If you insist on staying in one of these neighborhoods, I strongly recommend Laurels over El Poblado.

El Poblado

El Poblado is just too touristified. Street hustlers are constantly approaching you asking you to buy whatever crap they’re trying to sell. They have no tact and they are blatantly aggressive. I did end up finding a coffee shop called El Pergamino. I went there and occasionally had to deal with this street element. It was slightly annoying. If I had stayed there I would have hated it.

The other thing is the food. The food is bad quality and overpriced. Food in the local neighborhoods is so much better.

Laureles

Laureles has more of a quiet wealthy neighborhood vibe. The food is about the same as El Poblado. The cafes are great but you really misss out on the authentic Medellin food that you’ll get in other neighborhoods.

I’m not saying avoid these neighborhoods all together. I probably went to one or the other every day for an afternoon coffee. But I think you miss out if you stay there.