Sitting in the atrium at Selina, the co-live/work space in Medellín that I’ll call home for the next six weeks, listening to the rain pitter-patter on the retractable glass roof, I can’t help but wonder how I got here. I mean, I know how I GOT here. It’s just that it feels surreal to actually kick off this new, slow-travel-focused life.

I’m pinching myself awake both because I feel so fortunate to be able to do something like this and because the last couple of weeks getting ready to be here have been a whirlwind. It feels like just yesterday I was saying “two weeks!” And now suddenly I’m here, and wow.

Medellín makes a strong first impresssion. En route from the international airport, the route cuts through a mountain range via an 8 km tunnel. As you emerge and begin to make your way down from the tunnel, you can catch glimpses of the city from far above as it nestles into a narrow valley below. The combination of urban density; steep, jungled mountains; sky scrapers; and hill-hugging neighborhoods creates a unique visual tapestry.

The steep hills of the valley walls on which Medellín is built are nothing to be trifled with. Although I kind of knew what I was getting into when I struck out this morning to explore my new environs here in the Poblado neighbood, the steepness of one incline I trundled up was even more than I expected. Of course I also gained a lot of elevation that I then lost as soon as I turned a corner and started walking steeply downhill. Route planning seems like it can save a lot of unnecessary effort here.

After dropping my bags at Selina until the afternoon check-in, I wasted no time in eating local. I kicked things off with a variation of the Colombian national dish, Bandeja Paisa. This gut-busting plate comes with rice, minced meat, red beans, chorizo, an arepa, fried egg, fried pork skin, black pudding, plantain, and a slice of avocado. I had one called Bandeja Montañera that substituted a steak pounded flat instead of minced meat and no black pudding. Definitely not for the faint of appetite. I probably shouldn’t eat again until tomorrow.