By:  Joseph Le

Listen closely to the lyrics.  Try to absorb the culture by dancing all night long until your legs feel like jello and you're glistening with sweat.   Then you will start to get a sense of the pain and the pleasure, the love and the loss ever-present throughout Latin America that is expressed beautifully through salsa music.

Previously I posted a top 10 reggaeton list that was popular.  Some of you asked if I would do the same with salsa and so here it is.  I also added some great bachata songs at the end because I love that style of dance as well.  

By:  Joseph Le

Previously I focused on my favorite restaurants in The Best of Medellin, Part 1 and Part 2.   In my final installment of "The Best of Medellin" series, I move away from food and reveal the rest of my favorite spots!

My favorite gym in Medellin is located at the Charlee Hotel in Parque LLeras.  It occupies 3 of their top floors and you can enjoy the stunning views over the Medellin valley while you work out.

By:  Joseph Le

In my previous post, The Best of Medellin, Colombia - Part 1, I shared some of the restaurants in Medellin that I enjoy.  Today I continue the list, revealing a few more of my favorites in beautiful Medellin.

Great cuisine oftentimes has the ability to bring you back to a certain time and place.  When I have excellent Spanish food, it transports me back to my days living in Barcelona when I was spoiled by the amazing tapas bars, the deceivingly potent sangria and the best seafood paella in the world.   Fortunately you won't need to fly all the way to Barcelona to sample the cuisine because there's a slice of Spain right in the middle of Poblado called Tapas 10.

If you're not paying close attention, you'll walk right past this tiny place like I did many times.  Although it's known as a tapas restaurant, I go there for one reason only...their seafood paella!  Not only is it delicious but very reasonably priced as well.  The paella lunch special pictured below only costs around $10,000 COP.  Wash it down with a glass of their house sangria.

By:  Joseph Le

After living for over a year in Medellin, I was often asked where my favorite places were in town.  Well, I have a pretty long list of recommendations so I've decided to break it up over several posts.  The first couple posts will cover my favorite restaurants.  After that I'll get into nightlife and some other fun categories.  For today's list I'll start off with the basic staples...burgers, ribs, pizza, wings, etc.

So without further adieu, here are some my favorite restaurants in Medellin.  Agree, disagree, or have anything to add? Let me know in the comments section!

This is by far my favorite burger in town.  They also have a great selection of beers as well.  The restaurant is located in Envigado so it's a bit of a hike from Poblado but well worth the effort.

Insider's Tip:  If you're looking for something sweet with your burger, they have superb milkshakes.  My favorite's the vanilla.

Barbocoa Burger & Beer
Address:  Carrera 44A #30 Sur 23 - Envigado
Price range:  10,000 - 20,000 COP

In Colombia, every time you purchase merchandise, goods and services there is a 16% value-added tax (IVA) included in the cost.

If you are a tourist, you can get this tax refunded to you at the airport before departing the country.  
Here is what you need to know:

By:  Joseph Le

There are 2 airports in Medellin, the Enrique Olaya Herrera Airport, airport code EOH, and the José María Córdova International Airport, airport code MDE.  EOH is mainly used for regional and domestic flights and is really easy to get to.  Located right next to the South Terminal bus station, it's about 10 minutes from El Poblado.   Just hop in any taxi and it should cost you around $5,000 COP to or from Poblado.

The MDE international airport is a lot further away from the city center and more expensive to get to, so that is the focus of this post.  Most travelers arriving or departing on international flights will be utilizing this airport.  The MDE airport is also referred to as the Rio Negro airport due to it being in the municipality of Rio Negro.   All methods of getting to the airport listed below can simply be done in reverse if you are arriving and trying to get into Medellin. 

Method 1:  Taxi or "Gringo-style"

A quick travel guide to Angkor Wat and Siem Reap, Cambodia covering the best restaurants, cafes, accomodations and things to do.  

Note:
Cambodia uses a mix of US dollars and Cambodian riel.  Any change under $1 is given in riel.  US coins are not used.  

After coming home from work each day, you probably clear out your mailbox, first throwing away all the annoying advertisements and junk mail, then flipping through the bills, and finally leaving a big pile on a table somewhere with the intentions of opening them as soon as you get some free time...which never comes.  

What if I told you for the last 2 years, I have not needed to throw away one piece of junk mail, have hardly handled any mail myself, and have not even had to go to a bank to deposit checks for that matter. 

How did I go about doing that you ask?  Keep reading and I will show you how to lead a virtually paperless existence using the services of Virtual Post Mail (VPM).

The small town of San Gil is known as Colombia's adventure sports capital.  Don't be fooled by it's small size though, there is plenty to do here including activities such as white water rafting, mountain biking, trekking and caving.  But even if you are not a big outdoor adventure sports fan, you can still spend a day walking the streets and enjoying the town's great restaurants followed by an afternoon (and evening) sipping wine in the town square.