It’s safe to say that this year has been the craziest of my life. Last year at this time I was living the dream as a backpacker, doing things like island hopping around the Philippines, exploring ancient temples in Indonesia and eating my way through the culinary wonderland that is Malaysia. It sounds perfect, but the reality is that…
When I arrived in Colombia I was pretty nervous that I wouldn’t be able to live quite as frugally as I had in Southeast Asia. My goal was to travel on $40 a day. But I had major doubts that I would be able to float myself on a backpacker’s budget. After spending a couple weeks in Bogotá…
I remember the exact moment I booked a ticket to Colombia. After traveling through Southeast Asia for seven months – traversing the region from Laos to Indonesia – my boyfriend and I felt like we’d reached the end of the line. Aaron and I were sitting in our bungalow on the tiny island of Gili…
As we were mapping out the next phase of our Colombia travels, the host at our guesthouse in Bogotá told us that Río Claro was one of his top three favorite destinations in the country. Since David had lived in Colombia for 13 years, this guy most definitely knew what he was talking about. Set in the…
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…