New Site Page: Photography Portfolio

It's hard to believe it's been 11 months since I began this journey! With the start of the new year, I thought it would be a good chance to recognize all the things that I did and saw last year with a flashback to some of my previous photos. If you've been enjoying the photos …

Thoughts on Bogotá: A Week in Colombia’s Capital

Arriving to Bogotá was a pleasant change after my previous weeks in Colombia. Although I had heard that Bogotá is sometimes overlooked by tourists because of its reputation for being cold and rainy and unfriendly, I actually found the weather to be refreshing and the city much more cosmopolitan than Medellín. Bogotá: Finding Calm in …

Food Recap: Colombia

Colombia was full of things I already love to eat, like avocados and fried plantains; but it was also full of new things I came to love like sweet corn arepas and limonada. Here’s a closer look at the food I got to try in Colombia. Colombian Baked Goods I wasn’t sure what to expect …

Cartagena: 3 Things to Love + 3 Things to Hate (And More!)

Before I decided to go to Cartagena, I mainly got two different evaluations of the city from the people I talked to: #1 that it was beautiful and a shame to miss while in Colombia and #2 that it was horribly touristy and to be avoided at all costs. I wasn’t satisfied not knowing which …

Final Thoughts on Medellín and “What’s Up Next?”

Final Thoughts on Medellín I have to say that I’m kind of ready to be leaving Medellín. It’s not so much that I disliked it, but that I have definitely had my fill of it. The weather, the people, and the fact that the country has come so far since its dangerous past are reasons …

Finding Rhythm and Zen: My Favorite Yoga and Salsa Classes in Medellín

In every location where I’ve made a long term stop on this trip, I’ve found something to focus my time and energy on. In Spain, it was language exchanges – I spent a lot of time socializing at these events and at least sometimes, trying to practice my Spanish. In Buenos Aires, it was even …

Review: Guatapé Tour with Toucan Cafe/Tours Guatapé

After six weeks in Medellín, I still hadn’t done one of the most popular day trips from the city to see one of the most iconic vistas in all of Colombia: El Peñol/Guatapé. But now with time running out, and only two weeks left here, I decided it was time to do the last thing …

Visiting a Coffee Farm in Colombia

I admit it – I don’t like coffee and I never have. In fact, prior to a few weeks ago I had never had more than a sip at one time. So when I came to Colombia, I wrote off the coffee farm tours as something that I wasn’t interested in doing. And I can’t …

3 Tours to Get to Know Medellín

In the past month that I’ve been in Medellín I’ve gotten to do several tours to get to know the city better. Two of the tours were neighborhood/history tours: the first, my usual downtown free walking tour and the second, a neighborhood tour of the Comuna 13 area of Medellín. The third tour was all …

First Impressions: Medellín – Eternal Spring in a City of Eternal Noise

When I arrived in Colombia last month, my first impression was that it was perfect. I had just traveled for two months of winter in South America without proper winter clothes and without heating most of the time. The days had been frequently cloudy, especially in Lima, the city I had just arrived from. But …