La Octava Bar

Semana Santa spelled 4-day weekend for most Colombians, and those who didn’t have the opportunity to travel, made their way to Parque Lleras last Wednesday night to party late into the night.

I met up with Clint and Jamie in the park and we enjoyed the ambiance as we worked our way through a small bottle of Aguardiente.

I think we all enjoy the relaxed atmosphere when it comes to being allowed to drink in public.

The various neighborhood parks, often no larger than one square block, become popular meeting places and social scenes during the weekends.

Being able to buy a beer from a small shop allows everyone to save money over the prices within the bars and clubs.  This is especially true of the more costly places around Parque Lleras.

After we each had a few shots of the devilish libation, we headed towards La Octava bar, which is a perennial favorite.

The bar is medium sized, with some seating out front as well as inside near the bar and in a separate larger room.

I first heard of it from Paul, the owner of Casa Kiwi Hostel.  I believe it’s his favorite, so he often recommends it to the backpackers passing through town.

Clint said he’d been there numerous times, and even if all the other bars were empty, there’d always be some people there.  I’d been once before with Martin and Amu, but it was a Tuesday night so rather low key by comparison.

Clint recommended the shots for their uniqueness, and unique they were.  I think he mentioned soy sauce as one of the ingredients.  Bleh!

La Octava is a rock bar, which is nice because I can recognize and understand the music.

While we were there, a guy mentioned a new bar was opening the same night, under the same management of La Octava, which would be full of Medellin’s prettiest girls.

The new bar, El Pub de Octavia, was just a few blocks away, and featured a mix of salsa and rock music.

The night in full swing, and the streets packed with people, we made our move toward the city’s next potential hotspot.

To be continued…