Category Archives: Uncategorized

Friday, February 18 Originally we had booked tickets from Medellín to Cusco arriving the morning of Sunday, February 20. We read that you should get train tickets to Machu Picchu many months in advance and to spend little time in Cusco before heading to Aguas Calientes (where Machu Picchu is) because Cusco is actually atContinue reading “Purgatory in Lima”

It has been one month since we left the USA! To commemorate this marker of time I thought I’d share some general travel tips that we’ve learned along the way, some COVID tips, and some things to know about Colombia specifically. General Travel Tips • You’re on vacation, chill out! You’ll get there when youContinue reading “Travel Tips”

Thursday, February 17 Originally we had played to stay 2.5 days in Medellín and have read that maybe we should’ve stayed even longer but we had a flight to Peru that got canceled so we had to reschedule to a day before to make sure we don’t miss the train to Machu Picchu. So, weContinue reading “24 Hours in Medellín”

Monday, February 14 We had about a 3.5 hour drive from Santa Marta to Cartagena, mostly along the desert-y coast. When we got to Cartagena we finally met up with…our friend Karen!!!The last time we saw her was in India on a trip we did many years ago. We all walked around the beautiful walledContinue reading “Cartagena”

Thursday, February 10 We packed up our stuff and said goodbye to paradise, walked up the hill to the main road to await our ride to the start of the hike. We had done some research on hiking ciudad perdida but overall I imagined backpacking with a small group of people and a couple guidesContinue reading “La Ciudad Perdida”

Tuesday, February 8 We were sad to say goodbye to our hosts, Kathia and Jorge, and to the town of Barichara. We got into a taxi and he drove us to the airport in Bucaramanga which was about a 3.5 hour drive. We took the “main road” which conveys all the big rigs and allContinue reading “Tyrona National Park”

Monday, February 7 If you want to learn Spanish like your life depends on it, try going rafting in one of the biggest canyons in the world, the Chicamocha River. We had a driver pick us up promptly at 8 am and drive us for a little under an hour to a nearby town calledContinue reading “Rafting and eating ants”

Saturday, February 5 We hit the road early, still slightly rainy outside. Again, Stephan talked the whole way sharing his wealth of knowledge about the region. We admired the scenery change as we dropped in elevation from high desert to an agricultural area where they grow coffee, sugarcane, and other fruits and vegetables. The trafficContinue reading “Barichara”

Thursday, February 3 Woke up early and had breakfast at the hostel, walked out to find our driver/guide waiting for us. His name was Stephan, and he was born and raised in Germany but has been living in Colombia for last 10 years doing a variety of jobs (like showing tourists like us around). HeContinue reading “Villa de Leyva”

30 JanuarySunday Woke up early and grateful to find our driver waiting to take us to the airport. Our travel agency had sent us boarding passes already and getting to the gate was easy. We even had time for a cappuccino and a Pan de Bono (cheese pastry) and a meat pastry – the EnglishContinue reading “The Amazon”