Vol. III · No. 04
Field notes from people who actually live in Medellín — no listicles, no SEO bait.
El Cuaderno
Sunday, May 31, 2026
The El Poblado neighborhood map: Lleras, Provenza, Manila, Astorga, Patio Bonito
On a map they're all 'El Poblado'. On the ground they couldn't feel more different. The honest character of each sub-neighborhood — where to wake up, where to go out, and where to never book a stay if you sleep light.
Sundays in El Poblado: Ciclovía, slow coffee, and the soccer nobody told you about
From 7am to 1pm the avenida shuts down for bikes and runners. Where to enter, where to exit, where to get arepas after. Plus the indoor fútbol you can drop into and the brunch routine that doesn't require a reservation.
Money in Medellín: cash, cards, Nequi, and the ATM rule that saves you 100,000 COP a year
You'll need less cash than you think. Visa works almost everywhere; Nequi runs the under-the-counter economy. The one ATM rule that pays for itself, the tipping conventions nobody explains, and what to do with leftover pesos on the last day.
Guatapé in a day: the right way to do it
Skip the 8am Airbnb tour. Here's how to leave Medellín at 9, do El Peñol without the line, eat trout by the reservoir, and be back in El Poblado for dinner. With or without a driver.
Comuna 13: what to expect, what to skip, and why it's still worth it
It is the most visited tourist site in Medellín for a reason. It is also the most over-narrated. How to engage without turning a neighborhood into a theme park.
Three days in Medellín: the itinerary we'd actually give a friend
Day one: arrive, decompress, walk Provenza without trying to optimize it. Day two: Metrocable + Comuna 13 done right. Day three: Guatapé or the Coffee Triangle. Specific timing, what to skip, where to eat.
Provenza without the Provenza problem
How to spend a Saturday on the most-photographed street in Medellín and still leave liking it. Where to sit, what to skip, and the back-block places that locals quietly prefer.
A walking route from Patio Bonito to El Tesoro that doesn't kill you
Yes, it's uphill. No, you don't need a guide. Three hours, seven stops, ends with arepas and a view.
Coffee shops where you can actually work
Wifi, plugs, no terrible Spotify playlist. Six places, all within a kilometer of our apartments.
Day trips by chiva: Guatapé, Santa Fe, and the one nobody mentions
We don't book the standard tour. Here's the route we send guests on instead — same destinations, half the cost, no pan flute soundtrack.
What to pack — and what to leave at home
Twelve months in, three rainy seasons in. The list is shorter than you think and the weather app is wrong about half the time.