I was woken up by the blaring sound of vuvuzelas and car horns. Typically this would have annoyed me to no end. But this was the day of the big World Cup match – Colombia versus Brazil. It also happened to be the 4th of July holiday back home in the US. And while I…
Colombia has a pretty bad reputation when it comes to crime. And I’ve heard all sorts of stories about travelers getting robbed while visiting Bogotá. So as I was walking back to my hotel in the middle of the night, I was a little on edge. The streets were deserted, it was dimly lit and…
It’s no secret that I was a ball of nerves thinking about how expensive traveling in Colombia would be. When I arrived in Bogotá, I’d been on the road for a whopping 10 months. And seeing as my bank account was dipping to an uncomfortably low level, I was determined to live as frugally as…
As I ventured out for my first Colombian meal I sardonically said to my boyfriend, “Screw it, I’m going to eat churraso (grilled meat) today.” And though I’ve been a strict vegetarian for nearly 15 years, that’s exactly what I did. I was absolutely famished after traveling 15 hours from Los Angeles to Bogotá. And…
I spent my first afternoon in Bogotá wandering around the historic district of La Candelaria. I meandered along narrow cobblestone streets, passed by 500-year-old buildings and studied colorfully graffitied walls. My first day in La Candelaria left me smitten. But after spending one week delving deeper into Bogotá’s history, art and food cultures I was head-over-heels in…
After 15 hours of travel, two plane rides and one sleepless night, I finally arrived in Bogotá, Colombia. I’d dreamt of visiting South America – and Colombia especially – for years. But now that I’d finally arrived, something just didn’t feel right. Usually when I first step foot in a new country, let alone a new…
Last August my boyfriend and I made the decision to travel the world, indefinitely. This decision was not made hastily – we planned, we saved, and we sacrificed to make this happen. Timing was everything. We were both at points in our lives where it seemed ideal to finally venture on the long-term journey we’d always dreamed…