Living room
The following is a guest post by Joggie van der Merwe.
After being told about Medellin by a Colombian friend, I arrived in the City of Eternal Spring for the first time back in January 2011.
The main aim was of course to learn Spanish, and for that reason I looked for a fairly comfortable homestay.
I started off staying with a friend’s mom (my only friend on the South American continent at that stage…) in a fairly nice yet tiny apartment in El Poblado.
About two weeks later I was introduced to Guadalupe, or Doña Lupe as I call her. What an awesome place – I moved in the next day!
It’s really a normal house in apartment form – five bedrooms (she rents out four), five bathrooms (two rented rooms have their own bathrooms), a living room, study, dining room and a balcony with awesome views of Medellin and the mountains surrounding the city.
Doña Lupe is super friendly and helped with everything I could possibly have wanted help with.
Both breakfast and dinner were included, with dinner being a positive highlight of the day – always different and exceptionally tasty.
Doña Lupe does the cleaning, laundry and ironing – this proved to be an absolute essential while I was working here in Colombia (I was turning out around 50 hours a week).
Anyway, I had such a great time in 2011 that I’m back for another five months this year.
If you’re looking for a great homestay in El Poblado (one of the wealthier yet nice neighborhoods in Medellin), and you’re keen to practice your Spanish as much as you can, check out Doña Lupe’s website – www.homestaymedellin.blogspot.
She currently has a permanent Colombian student staying here (another opportunity to practice your Spanish – he can’t run away), but you’re also bound to meet other gringos in the house.
Which is great, since we all need keen travel partners every now and again.
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Thanks for this, I will probably stay in Medellin next year for a third time. I have written to Gaudelupe. I am a cyclist and would need to keep my bike handy - is there a garage or other storage for this and would it be difficult to enter with a bike, for example lots of stairs?
Hi Alan,
The apartment is part of a secure complex (dedicated 24h security guard that opens the gate - not because it's unsafe, but that's the way they seem to do it with apartment buildings here...). There's loads of space within the complex, and I know Lupe has a lockable storage room in the basement, so you should be able to store it there. The apartment is on the 3rd floor (2nd floor if you're from a Commonwealth country), but there's also a two lifts (elevators), should you wish to take the bike up with you. You should be able to store it on the roofed balcony.
Cheers
Jo