Colombia

After 3 flights, 3 taxis, 1 cable car, and 1 colectivo, we arrived at our haven in Salamina, Alto Bonito. Martin and his five dogs welcomed us there, and he made us a wonderful and healthy dinner so that we could cave into our exhaustion and not leave again for the evening.

Hills and coffee forms surrounded the house, so we weren’t too eager to leave regardless.

The following day, we walked through the clouds to town, watching the locals start their day, and appreciating the beautiful architecture in Salamina.

We explored town, walked to the cemetery, read in the main plaza. We tried the local delicacies of huevos al vapor and la macana, as well as drank too much coffee.

We walked back to our home so that we could take advantage of the views on the way. At one point we ran into Martin walking the dogs, and he showed us where to climb over a fence to get the best views.

Very much impressed with Martin’s cooking and not so impressed with restaurants in town, we had him cook dinner for us again, this time some fantastic homemade pizzas.

After some morning yoga, we hired a jeep and driver to take us out to Samaria the following morning. He was friendly as can be, and proud of the area, showing off various sweets along the way.

Having the jeep allowed us to stop whenever to take pictures which was a huge plus. We also got to climb on top for part of the journey.

Samaria, an alternative to touristy Valle de Cocora down by Salento, is a beautiful farm with wax palms. It is high elevation and is usually quite chilly and cloudy, but when we arrived, we had fantastic weather.

The owner of the farm was a great guide, explaining the growth of the wax palms, pointing out different birds, taking things slow.

It was a wonderful little hike, with his two adorable dogs keeping us company the whole time.

After we were done, we stopped in San Felix for lunch where we met an old woman who was very excited to show off her English to us, and then continued on back to Salamina.

In town, we enjoyed the Saturday night liveliness around the park, ate some dinner, ran a few errands, and went back and had some philosophical conversations with Martin the rest of the evening.

The following day was a long day of traveling. First the short bus ride from Alto Bonito to town. Then waiting. Then the bus from Salamina to La Pintada, with too many stops along the way. Then waiting. Then the bus from La Pintada toward Bolombolo. Then waiting. Then hop on a bus heading toward Jardin.

It was 6 pm on a Sunday night when we arrived, and the main square was lively and vibrant. We walked around the park a few times to soak it all in and grabbed some dinner. We were staying at a hotel overlooking it all, so even after going back to our room, we sat out on our balcony and sipped some wine while watching the action.

We heard all the partying going on until the wee hours of the morning, stopping just in time for local restaurant owners to get out and sweep the sidewalks in front of their business.

That morning, we walked around town, enjoyed some breakfast kept company by a super sweet pup, and figured out what hike we were going to do that day.

We didn’t have enough time for the horseback ride out to the waterfall in the cave, so instead, we walked out of town via Calle 9, over the bridge, and then up through beautiful farms of banana trees, yucca, flowers, horses, and so on.

We took a detour and found an overlook of town.

We continued back along the road, heading southwest. The world’s sweetest pup came running out to us at one point, happily grunting for attention.

We finally appeared done with the upward climb and started winding our way downward to the river.

We found a lady who took us on a little tour through a cave full of bats in order to get to a tall, thin waterfall.

And then we found another waterfall.

We made it back into town earlier than we had expected, so we took a long way around town back to the main square.

At that point, we grabbed a beer and an early lunch and then hopped on a bus to Medellin.

The drive to Medellin was absolutely gorgeous, as were most of our drives throughout the coffee region. I had forgotten to take Dramamine though, so I was feeling a bit queasy on those winding roads and was happy when we finally made it.

One Uber ride later, and we were at our amazing apartment on the outskirts of the El Poblado neighborhood, taking in our view of the city.

It was hard to leave that apartment, but we had just the one night in Medellin, so we went out to the Parque Lleras area for dinner and drinks. It was a very different world from the tiny pueblos we had been in thus far. We were excited to actually be able to pay for things with our credit card!

At the end of the night, we caught another Uber back to the apartment, enjoying the city lights from our balconies and bed.

We walked back to Parque Lleras for breakfast the next morning, but that was all the time we had before heading to the airport for our flight to Bucaramanga.

Another long day of travel with flight delays, the flight itself, the wait for the bus, and then the 3.5 hour bus ride to Barichara. It was dark out when we arrived, and the town was quiet and peaceful.

We were dropped off at the main park, which was amazingly fragrant. The church lights guided our walk up the hill to our house.

And what a house it was! Other than being 5 times too big for us, it became my dream home, the ceiling giving way to the open air throughout, the beautiful pool, the balcony that overlooked it but also provided wonderful views of town. I was in love with it.

I woke up with the birds and roosters and church bells and sun and climbed up to my peaceful hammock to enjoy it all.

Once Anthony was awake and we had had our breakfast, we started our trek down the Camino Real to Guane.

Fog interrupted our views, but we didn’t mind. The weather, the birds, and the walk itself more than made up for it.

Two hours later, we made it to the itty-bitty pueblo of Guane, which looked like Barichara’s little sister. Cobblestone streets, white buildings, picturesque church at the park.

Unfortunately, we timed our visit for the morning after a landslide, apparently, and everyone was telling us we couldn’t get back to Barichara because buses couldn’t get through. From now until the rest of eternity, when I talk about how nice and friendly everyone in Colombia was, Anthony will always bring up the one woman in Guane who, when told we needed to get to Barichara, responded “Not today,” and then went back to her book. Seriously. The one example we have of someone not being friendly.

We were about to start the long walk back uphill to Barichara when we found a tuk-tuk driver who said he could get us close at least, and then we could walk the rest of the way.

By the time we got to the mess, it had been cleared off just enough for us to get through. We hadn’t had our fill of walking yet, though, so we wandered the streets, with the occasional stop to really appreciate a good view of the canyon.

But what’s the point of staying in an incredible house if you’re not going to be there to enjoy it? So we went back for a swim in our pool and some relaxation.

We went back into town for dinner, but the rest of the night was spent at home.

But then it was our adventure day. Paragliding.  We took an early bus to San Gil, where our guides with Parapente Chicamocha met up with us. After some paperwork and videos, we were off in the van, climbing up the canyon, surrounded by fog and rain. It was not looking promising.

The final road was too muddy for the van to make it up, so we had to climb the rest of the way. Our guides thought that the weather would be clear enough in about an hour, so until then, we hung out with the group, which consisted of 8 other travelers from around the world.

Once clouds had lifted enough, I was the first one to go. None of the guides spoke English, but they did know enough to tell me to “Run!” once I was fully harnessed in. The adrenaline outpaced the nerves, and a few seconds later, I was running off a cliff.

We went higher and higher until I couldn’t see anyone below us. We glided around smoothly, looking out over both sides of the canyon.

I was euphoric. I loved everything about it. Toward the end of our turn, my guide started performing some acrobatics, while the scenery blurred by with every twist and flip. In no time at all, we were landing.

Anthony was the last to go.

He quickly vanished from site. And then didn’t return. He had been in the air for around 45 minutes probably by the time they gave up on him trying to land back at the launch site.

The guides told us all (through one of the others on the tour translating) that we would head back to town and after Anthony landed elsewhere, he’d ride back separately. I declined this plan, considering Anthony didn’t have his phone and I had no idea when or where we’d meet back up. So the rest of the group went back to town, and I stayed there on top of the canyon with the guides.

They apparently finally got word that he had landed elsewhere, at some park. At least that’s what I thought they were saying, through my very basic understanding of Spanish.

So I climbed into the van with them and took off around the canyon for about 15 minutes. We didn’t find him at the first place we looked, but he was standing there waiting at the next one. He smiled, said hi, climbed into the back with me, and then we made the drive back, our guides jamming out to Spanish hip-hop the rest of the way. That afternoon was the highlight of our vacation.

Once we made it back to Barichara, we went for another swim, and then enjoyed the town for our last night. We walked up to a viewpoint and hung out in the fragrant park. We went to a very nice restaurant for dinner, and took the long way back home for the night.

We woke up super early for our last day of travel. We had a private driver pick us up to take us to the airport in time for our flight. But of course, more flight delays, causing us to arrive in Cartagena five hours later than I had anticipated. So we wasted no time and went immediately to a late lunch before checking into our apartment.

Our apartment was right on Plaza Santo Domingo, overlooking diners, musicians, clowns, break-dancers, the works.

Cartagena was certainly different than the peaceful haven we had left in Barichara, but it had its own chaotic charm. We walked to the wall, appreciating the sunset and the evening breeze, before we started exploring around the Walled City.

We found a group of dancers putting on a show at Bolivar Plaza where I sat entranced, watching them switch costumes and styles.

We grabbed dinner and cocktails on a rooftop and then called it a night.

While the streets were calm and quiet the next morning, we went out with the camera, oohing and ahhing over all the flowers and pretty balconies.

We made our way to the Getsemani neighborhood, my favorite part of Cartagena. The vibe was more laidback, and the walls were covered in street art.

We had a walking tour at 10 am, though, so we walked back across town to meet up with our group.

We had a fantastic English-speaking guide, Edgar. He led us to various shady spots around town where he took us through what we were seeing and its history and significance. He had a true passion for his country, and it was very apparent in the tour.

At 12:30, the tour was over, and we went and grabbed lunch. It was a very hot and humid day, and we were melting, so we went back to the apartment for a swim and a nap afterward.

We walked to the top of the wall at Café del Mar to enjoy a couple drinks while we watched the sun set over the ocean. We ended up seeing more of people taking selfies than we saw of the sunset, but it was still beautiful, nonetheless, though the service was quite lacking.

Once the sun had fully set, we walked back to Getsemani for dinner, enjoying some tapas and pizza while people-watching the square outside.

Afterward, we went to watch the dancers at the park again, and then walked around looking at art and stopping in shops on the way home.

We had time for a delicious breakfast the next morning, but then had to change and pack up for our journey home. While I was excited to see my puppies back home, I certainly wasn’t ready to say goodbye to Colombia.