I met up with Liliana, a Medellin native and couchsurfer extraordinaire, Saturday afternoon in Parque Lleras. She had previously lived and studied in London for many years, so she was fluent in English. As we got to know each other, she mentioned Sammy, another American would be joining us.
Sammy and Max, friends from Miami in town for the holiday weekend, soon arrived, and the four of us headed to nearby La Octava for drinks (3 Cordilleras and caipirinhas) as the sun set and the streets and restaurants began to fill with paisas. Eventually Diana, a Colombian couchsurfer from Envigado, joined us and we switched venues again.
A half block down from La Octava was Contraporton, a restaurant and bar on the corner of Calle 8 which seemed to be in more of a bar mode on a Saturday night. We sat at a table and ordered a bottle of Medellin Anejo rum with Diet Pepsi and Sprite as mixers. A bottomless bowl of popcorn and carrots were available for snacking.
Behind us was a projection screen playing videos to accompany the wide range of musical genres being played (crossover). My favorites were all featured – Carlos Vives (vallanato), Fonseca (pop), Daddy Yankee (reggaeton), Vincente Fernandez (ranchera), but I don’t recall any Shakira.
Rain started to pour down and with no sign of letting up as the hours passed, we were all content to stay put and get to know each other better. In fact, Max was kind enough to offer me a place to stay in Miami should I pass through or want to come down for a visit once I’m back in the USA.
You gotta love Couchsurfing!
Although i am in travel business, it took a while until the news reached me. Quite unconventional way of traveling, skeptics might say.
Having browsed through several member profiles and reading through testimonials of people who have chosen to travel this way, I am convinced “unconventional” is not bad at all.
Couchsurfing is a great way to see the place you are visiting from the local people’s perspective.