I’m leaving my 20s the way I entered them—by traveling! This summer has been non-stop travel since early June, and I can’t wait to put it all into words. First things first, people always ask me how we travel so much, and it’s all thanks to Going! A few years ago, the most expensive and stressful part of a trip was buying plane tickets. Now, it’s rare for us to spend more than $400 on a ticket anywhere! It’s amazing, and I 100% recommend getting a subscription. You can use my referral code by clicking here.
Ricky has wanted to go to South America practically since we met, but the fare to get down there was usually so expensive, so we’ve held off for a few years. But when we got a Going deal for less than $350, we knew we had to snatch it up. We also had a few Delta credits, so we saved a ton on our tickets. The dates coincided perfectly with Ricky’s summer break, and we knew we wanted to do a longer trip. So, on a whim, I got an open-jaw ticket flying into Colombia and out of Ecuador. If I’m being honest, I thought I booked a two-week trip and later realized I booked three weeks (I wasn’t even a little mad about it), but I would have probably done the open-jaw return from Peru if I’d known.
We decided to do a week in Colombia, a week in Peru, and a week in Ecuador (mainly the Galapagos). This worked perfectly for us because we saw so much, but we didn’t cram too many cities into the time we had. This allowed us some rest time as well. To add an extra layer of complexity to our trip, we decided early on that we’d only take a backpack each. This ended up proving easier than I expected at the beginning (I’m not an overpacker but also not a light packer either). We looked at so many backpack options (cheap, expensive, heavy-duty, you name it) and ended up going with these $40 35L backpacks from Target. I can’t recommend them enough! Adding the link here. TLDR: amazing quality, perfect size (no airlines gave us any issues), so many pockets, and the colors are all so cute.
We flew into Bogotá at around 8 p.m. Most people we spoke to had told us to skip Bogotá altogether, and it was something we went back and forth on. Eventually, we decided to just stay one night but have our flight leave pretty late the next night so we’d have all day to enjoy. We stayed at a hotel in Bogotá called Muisca, and it was just what we needed—good breakfast, a nice room, very affordable, and the front desk let us keep our bags there after check-out while we explored. We started our day walking around La Candelaria, and there’s just so much history in its cobblestone streets and tiny colorful houses; you could get lost there for hours. We stopped briefly at Plaza Bolívar and Chorro de Quevedo. It’s easy to do this route because everything is within walking distance and on the way to most destinations.
By now, you should know that I am a sucker for a good museum, and Bogotá did not disappoint! We started with the Botero Museum, and we were both pleasantly surprised with the variety of pieces, the gorgeous building where it’s housed, and the unmatched talent that Botero possessed. We followed the Botero Museum with the Gold Museum, and if you find yourself in Bogotá, both of these are a must. We saw an enormous amount of gold artifacts while honoring the history of each piece and the ancestors who made them. If you are in search of amazing gold and gold-plated jewelry, the museum’s store is fascinating. The prices are incredibly affordable, and all the pieces are made using the same techniques as the museum’s showcases. Most of them are replicas of jewelry displayed in the museum. We had lunch inside the museum at Aracataca Restaurante, and both the food and drinks were delicious. We finished our Bogotá day by going to Monserrate, a mountain that overlooks all of Bogotá and houses a church at the top. The mountain is a little over 10,000 ft above sea level, and we took the cable car up and down (but you could walk if that’s your heart’s desire, it definitely wasn’t mine).
We flew overnight to Medellín and stayed there for a few nights. Medellín was probably our favorite city from the whole trip. As far as cities go, Medellín, Colombia has got the vibe figured out. This city has over 2.5 million people and, as some may know, used to be one of the most dangerous places in the world in the 90s and early 2000s. Medellín is now incredibly safe and absolutely stunning! There is so much greenery all over the city; they’ve invested in building green corridors, botanical gardens, and rooftop green spaces. In just a few years, the city has cooled its average temperature by 3 degrees Celsius and has dramatically improved its air quality.
We stayed in the neighborhood Laureles, and this was one of my favorite Airbnbs. Link here! The rooftop hot tub was stunning, and we used it every night. The cherry on top was the free laundry amenities. Although we’d only been traveling a few days, we did laundry on our last day in Medellín because, well, it was free, and we were only carrying a backpack for weeks.
We had breakfast at Pergamino Cafe (and we loved it so much we had breakfast there again on day two). We then made a few stops at Parque de las Luces and Palacio Nacional. Then we went to Plaza Botero and admired his sculptures for a while. The plaza is perfect for sitting, reading, and people-watching, which is what we did since we had half an hour to kill. Our next stop was Museo de Antioquia, which is right next to the plaza. Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this museum since it wasn’t originally on my itinerary, but I am so glad we veered off course for this one. Probably my favorite of all the museums in Colombia. First off, it is massive, with so many rooms, styles, and artists. I saw everything from local Colombian artists to works from Botero, Picasso, and an amazing contemporary art collection. If you only go to one museum in Colombia, go here! Plus, the museum store had phenomenal art at really affordable prices.
For lunch, we wanted to eat a Bandeja Paisa, a traditional dish from Medellín, and multiple people pointed us to Hatoviejo. After we ordered, I sent a message to my dad to give him an update of where we were. After talking to him for a while, we realized that he and my mom had been to the exact same restaurant (same location) 30 years ago to order a Bandeja Paisa (my mom was pregnant with yours truly and didn’t know yet). That was a beautiful full-circle moment, and the food was amazing. If you go, Bandeja Paisa to eat and Refajo Colombiano to drink should be your go-to order.
For our second full day in Medellín, we did the famous Comuna 13 tour. Ricky and I are very picky with our tours because we don’t want to do extremely touristy stuff, but there are certain occasions when a tour is the best option, and that’s the case with this one. The history of Comuna 13, all the raids the military has ordered in the area, and their dark past with Escobar and the cartels are surprising and heartbreaking. But the most amazing thing about Comuna 13 is the resilience of its people, their desire to better their lives, and their strength for moving forward despite the circumstances. The dramatic change that Comuna 13 has undergone in the last 20 years seems almost impossible, but there they are—thriving! Previously a zone where you could only go heavily armed and where tourists would never dream of entering has transformed into this multicolored, cultural, and artistic neighborhood. A beautiful and motivating experience for sure.
We went to El Pueblito Paisa after our Comuna 13 tour. This is another place that I’d heard mixed reviews about. Personally, I thought it was cute, and there was plenty to do. It’s definitely something to check out if you have some time to kill or would like a traditional lunch. For our last morning (which happened to be our 6th wedding anniversary), we veered off the itinerary again and visited a Cat Cafe in Medellín. This was my first time going to one, and I know they’ve become extremely popular in different cities, and I can see why. So many beautiful kitties to play with and love on while supporting an amazing cause. We had coffee and a couple of snacks and felt like the prices were very reasonable.
From the Cat Cafe, we headed to the airport to head to our last Colombian city, Cartagena. Cartagena is on Colombia’s Caribbean coast, and I have to confess that we didn’t go into the city at all. We’d booked a resort on Tierra Bomba Island called Hotel Fenix Beach. Ricky had convinced me to just do nothing at the beach. This is clearly something I struggle with while I travel because all I want to do is see more and explore more. We booked one of their private villas (the cost was incredibly affordable; I was scared I was being scammed because it felt very cheap to me), and I am adding the link to the hotel because it’s definitely the place to stay in Cartagena: Fenix Beach. You do have to take a 10-minute boat ride to get to the hotel since it’s on an island off the mainland. Along with our villa, the reservation included breakfast and a private concierge. If I’m being honest, those three days consisted of an enormous amount of room service (thanks, Fabio), plenty of pool time (now I’m spoiled and want a private pool everywhere I stay), and lounging in the villa with multiple books. I was able to get with the hotel before we arrived to arrange a private dinner on the beach for our anniversary, and they went above and beyond for us. Although I would have loved to explore Cartagena in its entirety, I quickly realized that to successfully carry out these long trips, I needed to build in plenty of R&R. Fenix Beach was exactly that for us, a little sanctuary before keeping the crazy going.
There are very few places that I’d say I wouldn’t mind revisiting, mainly because I believe there are so many cities and countries to visit that I’d rather go somewhere new. Colombia has been added to the list of places I’d revisit and right now shares the list only with France (because Paris is ALWAYS a good idea). Colombia was stunning, but its people shone even brighter. Everyone had a smile on their faces, was extremely helpful and kind to us as tourists, and just had a friendly/homey vibe. I told Ricky I could live in a place like Colombia, especially Medellín.
Surprisingly, no one batted an eye at my Tourette’s (this was not the case for the rest of South America). One Uber driver asked me about it, and once I explained, he just said, “I have no idea what you’re talking about, I’ve never heard of TS,” and then carried on with his questions about the U.S. and where we lived (we love a subte king). Colombia gets a 10/10 on Tourette-friendly traveling vibes. Even the people who asked or made a comment were subtle enough and moved on quickly after the awkward moment of me explaining.
Next up is PERU!
