Fearless Journeys Experiences Medellin
This city of the eternal spring immediately captured our heart. The people we met inspired hope. Fearless Journeys invites you to be transformed.
When outsiders who have never been to Colombia first think about it, often drugs, crime, and Pablo Escobar come to mind. That’s not entirely unfair. After all, in most of our lifetimes, Colombia has been plagued with drugs, crime, and warfare. Death was ever present there.
When you visit most major parts of Colombia today, it’s almost hard to imagine. It is a country that has significantly transformed. There is certainly a lot of corruption in Colombia. Some claim that the narcos here are more powerful and influential than ever before – they’ve just learned to stay out of the limelight and do their business with much less violence.
Upon further reflection, their power is mostly enabled by foreigners (especially Americans) who use, consume, and traffic their products. Economies are all about supply and demand. Colombia is the supply side, but Americans cannot ignore who is responsible for the demand side.
Despite the continuing corruption that happens in the background, the lives of the people of Colombia are much better than they have been in our lifetimes. That can be seen through the thriving parts of cities like Bogota and Medellin. And it’s why Fearless Journeys chose Medellin as a place for our most recent group trip, held here October 25-29, 2023.
Medellin is a beautiful city, full of lush greenery everywhere you look. There are not simply “green areas” of this urban metropolis set aside in public parks, like you might find in New York City’s Central Park, as one example. Rather, in Medellin, nature is embedded within the urban environment. The trees are about as tall as the buildings, or so it seems.
The almost daily rain here (for an hour or two each day) can seem annoying at times, but it’s what keeps the place so green and beautiful. It’s a reminder that rain should not be seen as a burden, but rather a blessing.
The perfect year-round temperatures contribute to the reason people call Medellin “the eternal spring.” And, to make it even more scenic, the city is in a very large valley. More than 4.1 million people live in the metro area and over 2.5 million live in the city limits.
Within minutes after travelers exit the international airport in Medellin they enter a 5.3-mile long tunnel. This tunnel was opened just 4 years ago after 8 previous years of construction. It has enabled visitors to get from the Jose Maria Cordova (MDE) airport to El Poblado, Laureles, or the center of Medellin in as fast as 25 minutes and perhaps 45 minutes with traffic. We made it within 35 minutes or less each time.
The tunnel cuts straight through a mountain and when you come out the other end, your jaw just drops. You see the valley of Medellin before you. It can be picturesque during the day and even more alluring at night, with all the sparkling city lights. Walt Disney himself could not have provided a greater entrance to the show that travelers are about to experience. Medellin immediately captures your heart.
The tunnel is just one of many recent innovations in public infrastructure that has helped improve the economic conditions in Medellin. When a country can easily transport tourists from the airport into the center of its city, it makes it easier, more pleasant, and more affordable for more people to visit Medellin and bring their dollars with them.
And the tourists are coming in bigger and bigger waves each year. In 2022, Medellin hosted over 1.4 million international travelers. My bet is 2023 will be much larger.
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Our group of 9 travelers on this Fearless Journeys adventure came from the United States – everyone was from Florida, and one was from Colorado. We are made up of two lawyers, a state government employee, a political consultant, a nonprofit fundraiser, a writer/journalist, a retired insurance underwriter, and someone who works on oil & gas assets for a private investment group. A mix of gender and ages from the early 30s to the late 50s. Most of our group are single with one married couple who joined us. One was on his fourth Fearless Journeys adventure with us; three were on their third; one on his second; with two new to our travel community.
All came with a great attitude of being open to new friendships, learning from others, and excited to explore a new place together.
With the exception of our guide (me) only one of our travelers had ever been to Colombia – but only to Bogota. Everyone on the trip (with the exception of their guide – me) was experiencing Medellin for their very first time.
They perhaps had no idea what they were about to experience and who they were about to meet.
Fearless Journeys distinguishes itself from almost every other travel experience out there. We believe that the best way to experience a place is not simply visiting landmarks that everyone else visits. We certainly make time for those things and feel they are important. But we go deeper.
Before any of our travelers arrive, we come here first. We build relationships with locals, with a particular focus on innovators and entrepreneurs. In the case of Colombia, we also formed a relationships with one former member of the Medellin cartel who has rehabilitated his life and shared his story with us.
When each of our travelers departs, they are leaving with new friendships, new connections, and contact information to add to their rolodex.
It’s why Fearless Journeys is not simply a vacation; it can also be considered a business trip and thus a business expense.
We each leave these trips as better people. And there’s nothing more formative that travel can do than that.
We believe the world is a better place when we can make connections and bridge divides across the man-made borders that separate us and the cultures that identify us.
We also make sure our travelers have the opportunity to learn about and from the other members of our travel community. This happens organically. When we travel together, we spend more time discovering new things — together. It creates a bond that can never be broken. We break bread with each other and inspire one another. We even continue to have fun long after the trip through our WhatsApp group chats.
We make sure our travelers have a variety of different meals and dining experiences. Enjoying the local cuisine – balanced by our nutrition needs – helps us learn more about a people and truly experience a place.
We also provide plenty of active experiences, including walks around cities (which is mostly pleasant to do in Medellin) and free time in our schedule for personal workouts, time to catch up on sleep, business, or further explore the city on your own or with fellow travelers.
We feed you well, but also try to help you stay active. We accommodate any special needs as well. This is a boutique travel experience.
This post is simply your introduction to the Fearless Journeys Medellin trip. In the next few posts, you will learn about some of the things our group experienced together in Medellin, including:
Staying at the brand new 5-star Click Clack hotel in the heart of El Poblado.
Dining with an American expat and his Venezuelan girlfriend who both live here now. He who holds residences in 6 countries and coaches people on how to do the same for both personal and business purposes; She leads a global online Spanish school, where she helps others develop their Spanish skills — with a purpose — while helping to create networks for them to the places they are visiting or moving to.
Visiting important sites related to Pablo Escobar – and doing so with a former Escobar hitman who was recruited by Escobar at the age of 9. We were terrified by the stories and moved by the transformation one man can have.
Enjoying a 7-course dinner & drink experience at a top 50 LATAM restaurant.
Visiting the center of Medellin, including seeing public art sculptures by local Colombian artist Francisco Botero; walking the city streets and experiencing local shopping markets.
Riding the public metro and innovative metro cables of Medellin.
Visiting with a successful entrepreneur who lives in Comuna 13 – just 20 years ago, this was one of the most dangerous communities in the world. That entrepreneur’s father was killed when he was 10. Today, he is part of making his community thrive.
Climbing the rock at Guatape!
Learning about the business & policy environment – from the head of a local association – on the eve of an important election for Colombia.
You can travel to another city or another country, but it’s almost impossible to have the same experiences as we put together for you at Fearless Journeys. If you have not yet experienced a trip with us, please reply to this email and let me know about your interest.
We are planning future trips to Argentina, Peru, Guatemala, and Colombia in 2024. And we are considering other places as well, including Spain, Mexico City, and even domestic trips within the United States. We want to hear from you of where and when you want to go.
Traveling with us will change the way you see the world and help inspire you to come back home and crush it!
