Getting In

I had purchased the bus ticket from Bogotá to San Gil online in advance and the website said arrive an hour early and that boarding would be 30 minutes before. Moni assured me this wasn’t true and that I could just show up 15 minutes before the departure time. Obviously I trusted her but I was still a bit anxious when I showed up about 20 minutes before my first bus trip in Colombia. Immediately I was overwhelmed by how huge the Bogotá terminal station and I had no idea where to go. One of the hardest parts about Colombian bus travel is that there are so many different companies so it’s very confusing to figure out which one is correct for your destination. And even then you still don’t know exactly when or where the bus is leaving from (some other challenges – they are never on time so you’re always worried that you’re in the wrong spot and somehow missed it. Or there is a land slide in the road…more on this in a future story). After asking several people I finally made it to the right area for my bus company’s departure. Every time they announced a new bus I asked if it was mine with no success. At this point it was 10 minutes past the scheduled take off time so I was a little worried I somehow missed it. Luckily this Colombian guy who was also headed in the direction of San Gil had been doing the same thing so he sat next to me in the terminal and we began to chat a bit using my limited Spanish (which had improved thanks to hanging with Moni). Finally the bus arrived and we ended up sitting next to each other and chatting for about the first 2 hours. After the first little bit we had to use google translate on his phone to really keep the convo going. It was a good experience and confidence booster chatting with a local for so long. He was quite entertained by it as well. After the first few hours of talking, our conversation was spare for the remainder of the 7 hour bus ride. 

The City

San Gil is in the Santander region and is the action sports capital of Colombia with activities like bungee jumping, paragliding, rafting, bici cable, zip lining, etc. It’s a popular backpacking destination because these extreme activities are all very cheap, relatively speaking. The town itself has a very chill vibe and the people are incredibly friendly. You could walk around at night time and feel completely safe. It was a nice blend of relaxed vibes in town and thrill seeking adventures outside of town. The roads in town had very steep inclines and like all the colonial style towns it has a plaza in the middle facing the church. There was also a river that runs through town with a beautiful botanical garden along side it. One of the major draws to the area, and the reason for so many action sports, is the Chichamocha Canyon which I’ll describe in further detail later.

The Hostel

I stayed at Macondo Hostel which was a beautiful property with a hot tub and a nice garden area with hammocks for chilling. They had a daily board to sign up for action sports which made it super easy to plan your next adventure, and to see who was doing what activity. There was also group activities at night like Fútbol Monday and Tejo Tuesday. The whole place had a very communal feel to it. 

The owner was an Australian guy, Sean, who came out here 20 years ago when Colombia only had 4 hostels at that time. He rafted the Rio Suarez with friends and knew he had to grow the industry here. He had a great perspective on Colombian tourism and the area. 20 years ago everyone skipped Colombia when coming from Ecuador and headed straight to Venezuela so people thought he was crazy and now it’s the opposite. It’s quite interesting how quickly things can change. I don’t think my parents would have ever imagined going to Vietnam and now it’s one of the most popular backpacking spots in the world. 

My only complaint was the beds themselves sucked. They were very creaky bunk beds so if you slightly moved in your bed then it was very noisy. And I had the top bunk too so that really sucked. Luckily my fourth night I was the only person in my dorm so my 4 person dorm turned into a private room. 

The People

The interactions I had with locals was in the market, at restaurants, taking taxis, and doing tourist excursions; and my love for the Colombian people continues to grow. Everyone is really friendly and happy to talk to you even if the conversation is limited. I had some really great taxi rides where I got to continue practicing my Spanish in its basic form. 

It was incredibly easy to meet people at this hostel because of all the extreme sports activities. You would sign up for an excursion and odds are multiple other people in the hostel would be doing it too so it made for a strong bonding experience. And then at night everyone would talk about the activity they did and start making plans for the next day’s adventure. 

I met so many people here between the excursions and Tejo Tuesday that it would be crazy to list them all but some that I was closest with were:

• Kirsten (Netherlands)
• Nanette (Curaçao)
• Pauline (Belgium)
• Aviv (Israel)
• Obri (Israel)
• Jaime (Australia)

Tejo Tuesday

The scoring for Tejo was different than when we played in Bogota but the general concept was the same. We did teams of 4 with three games done tournament style where the winner got a free taco plate at a Mexican restaurant in town. I was on a team with Aviv, Omri, and Jaime and we ended up being the champions going 3-0 (still undefeated in my tejo career, should have quit while I was ahead) which won us the free tacos. It was a really fun night and great opportunity to meet a bunch of different people from the hostel. 

Parque Natural El Gillineral

On my third day in town I decided to take a break from adventure activities and just wander around town. I had already rafted and paraglided, which is what I came here to do, and I was too scared to bungee. Some of the other activities looked fun but I wanted a chill day. I spent my morning wandering around the market and bought fresh veggies and pasta to cook for lunch. That afternoon I strolled down to Parque Natural El Gillineral, the botanical gardens in town. It was a very beautiful garden with a nice variety of tropical plants and flowers. I was really enjoying the peaceful alone time walking through the park in a state of bliss. I sat down on a mossy bench and took a deep breath appreciating how grateful I am for this experience. I had some very deep and insightful thoughts sitting on a that bench reflecting on my life over the past few weeks. Colombia has been such amazing place and I couldn’t have asked for a better way to start my trip. I was 2.5 weeks in and it felt like I’d been here a lifetime.

Chichamocha Canyon

With a length of 141 miles and a depth of up to 2,000 metres, the Chicamocha Canyon is often tipped as the second-largest in the world.

Paragliding

I really wanted to raft the Rio Suarez (most intense rapids in the area) but the water levels were too high so I decided to do paragliding as my first day activity. No one else in the hostel had signed up for paragliding that day so it was just me and a Colombian couple in the car. It was a beautiful 1.25 hour drive winding up the mountain with small towns and houses on the hills off in the distance. As we got closer to the launch off point there were spectacular views of the Chichamocha Canyon.

The instructor gave us a run down on what to do and less than 15 minutes after arriving they strapped me into my suit, attached me to the guide, and we were off.

It was such a crazy feeling just running off the edge of the cliff with the massive canyon below putting all your trust in both this stranger and the gear. Once up there it was actually very chill and relaxing. You can just put your legs up and let your arms free while the guide does all the work. It was an insane bird’s eye views of the Chicamocha Canyon below as we flew through the air moving with the wind. I couldn’t stop smiling as I tried to soak in every second of the experience. I could get used to this flying feeling and gorgeous view.

When the wind pushes you up and down it’s a weightless feeling and when it pushes you side to side it’s a bit shaky. I felt safe the whole time although for a second the back of your mind does wonder what would happen if something went wrong. But then you ignore that fleeting thought and go back to enjoying the incredible experience while it lasts. 

Toward the end the guide asked if I liked roller coasters. When I said yes he started jerking us side to side then did a bunch of 360s in the air. This part was wild. Seeing the world spinning so quickly around me while flying in the air had my heart racing and my stomach churning. I felt dizzy after that part but overall was fine. 

Then what I feel like is the most challenging part…landing. Similar to docking a boat, you never get the landing perfect the first time. We had to circle around a few tries before he got us at the right angle and height to land. As we got close to sticking the landing I had to stick up my legs and plopped onto my butt when we hit the ground. It was supposed to be 20-25 minutes but I ended up being in the air for a little over 30 minutes. Wow what an incredible experience! And it cost a little under $50 which is way cheaper than it would be at home. Afterwards me and the Colombian woman from my car chatted for a bit while she waited for her husband to finish. It must have been the exhilarating rush from paragliding but I was speaking very well and had one of my best conversations to date with her. 

Rafting

On my second day, Rio Suarez still wasn’t open so I decided to settle for rafting the Chichamocha River which was the medium level intensity. There was a huge crew of us from the hostel going which made the 2+ hour bus ride a lot more fun. The landscape was desert-like inside once inside the canyon as we got closer to the river for rafting. Although the standard safety speech is a necessary evil before rafting but it always makes you even more anxious/nervous when they bring up all the different what if scenarios. They had 2 kayakers going along with the rafting which always provides an extra level of comfort. 

It was absolutely beautiful rafting down the Chicamocha river between the canyon. Besides the fact that rafting is a thrilling experience, I always love the feeling being on the river getting a different viewpoint of the surrounding area, especially after paragliding over the Chicamocha the day before. The first hour was pretty mellow floating down the river, chatting amongst ourselves on the raft, and soaking in the gorgeous landscape. But the last 30 minutes got more intense including one section that was probably the most nonstop rapids I’d ever done, which really wore out the arms. Overall it was a moderate rafting experience as far as the rapids go but there was a few heart racing moments. None of the three boats seemed like they had expert rafters so there was a few times where the guides intentionally avoided the crazier rapids. I wish we had just gone for it but oh well maybe skipping it was for the best. The very last rapid did nearly knock me off the boat but the tight grip of my foot saved me and in the end no one fell in from any of the three boats. Solid day on the river and once again rafting proves to be a strong bonding experience with the people that you do it with. Afterwards we were treated to a nice 4pm lunch in the backyard of a local family that lived nearby our exit point from the river. 

Camino Real Village Hike (3 days, 29 miles, 8080 ft elevation gain, 5900 ft elevation loss, point to point)

Kirsten and I decided to do the unguided 3 day Camino Real trek from Cabrera to Los Santos passing through 6 colonial villages and going from the top of Chichamocha canyon down to the river and back up the other side. It truly was an adventure through the countryside of Colombia. Most people just do a small portion of this hike going the 2 hours from Barichara to Guane but I had stumbled upon the multi day trek online a few weeks prior and thought it looked interesting. It’s very off the beaten path so there wasn’t really much info about it other than a couple blog posts. It was awesome to see that our hostel had a section in the excursions booklet dedicated to this trek. Since it required going to remote villages and wandering through rural farms I was glad Kirsten said she was interested in doing the trek because this didn’t seem like the type of thing you’d want to do alone. Nanette joined us for a portion of the first day going from Cabrera to Guane before taking the bus back to Barichara. 

Day 1: Cabrera > Villaneuva (15.1 miles, 4222 ft elevation gain, 1800 ft elevation loss, point to point)

Cabrera > Barichara (Stats include walking around Barichara. 5.9 miles, 1600 ft elevation gain, 300 ft elevation loss)

• Starting point of the trek. Tiny town that for some reason had 6 cops hanging out at the square at 8am
• Started out with very steep uphill slope using rocks as “steps” and following the Jesus plaque pilgrimage (there was at least 10 of them along the way up). Challenging start to the morning as we gained about 1000 feet in the first mile but leveled off after about 25 minutes and then we just followed a road into Barichara. Rewarding to enter the town by foot

Barichara > Guane (4 miles, 100 ft elevation gain, 1200 ft elevation loss)

• Barichara is a very charming and relaxing town that is a popular day trip/one night stay from San Gil
• This sleepy small town was once named most beautiful town in Colombia
• Stone streets surrounded by white buildings with red shingle rooftop and gorgeous hillside views in the distance
• Seemed like an easy place to spend an evening just wandering down every street in town soaking in the vibe. But also it all looks the same so it was easy to leave after eating a 10am lunch and 30 minutes of wandering around
• Windows open in the buildings that you’re too curious not to peak in

• Hike to Guane is classic Camino Real walk for those looking to just do a couple hours. This segment and Jordan to Los Santos were the only sections during our 3 day Camino Real trek that we saw other people
• All downhill along “cobblestone path”. Beautiful views along the way and going through some nice green landscape
• The entrance to Guane was my favorite of any village entrance. All the sudden you find yourself walking into this quaint little town nestled in the valley with an even more stunning backdrop than Barichara and the smell of fresh food wafting from the window of the first house you walk by
• We grabbed an afternoon drink then said our goodbyes to Nanette

Guane > Villaneuva (5.2 miles, 2500 ft elevation gain, 300 day elevation loss)

• Started out with narrow uphill along overgrown trail. Could tell this was a path not traveled very often
• Next section followed a gravel road with the occasional farm house on either side of the road. Sometimes we were greeted by barking dogs, and while my experience with dogs in Colombia has mostly been positive, these dogs were very protective of their land and would sometimes flash teeth. So it actually became a bit nerve wracking to where Kirsten and I would carry a stick or rock to protect ourselves just in case. It started out as a gradual uphill but toward the end it got really steep and since we were already over 10 miles into our day it was quite exhausting
• Finally we got to the top of the hill (much harder than expected) and could see Villanueva off in the distance. But first we had a couple miles of downhill through some pretty muddy sections

It was an incredibly long but rewarding first day of the the journey. Walking through four villages felt like something out of medieval times or Lord of the Rings. We had an amazing hotel in Villanueva that night. All the other guests were Colombian families and couples then in comes too sweaty gringos that had just hiked over 15 miles all the way from Cabrera. We earned our nice stay! It was at the top of the hill so had phenomenal view of town, pool, snake slide, hot tub, friendly staff, and a tasty dinner. After the shitty sleeping situation in San Gil, it was so nice to have a comfy queen bed.

Day 2: Villanueva > Shangrila (8.8 miles, 905 ft elevation gain, 4000 day elevation loss)

• Beginning of the morning was all along a dirt road through farm land with some nice views of the hilly, rural landscape
• Reminded me a bit of walking along a ranch road in west Texas but much greener surroundings
• On several occasions we shared the road with the cows

• After about 2 hours we approached the Chichamocha Canyon and the real beauty began to set in. Absolutely stunning views from the top of the canyon, the river, and all the surrounding landscape
• I have seen the Chichamocha Canyon from the air, by water, and now by land so I’d say I truly conquered it…and it did not disappoint from any of the three perspectives
• We knew this part would be hard given how downhill it was to the river and the lack of shade but sheesh the sun was intense and it was a douzy on the knees
• Plus some sections you really had to be careful going down with the rocks. But all so worth it as the views were continually amazing throughout.
• Got a close up look at the changing fauna as you went down through this dry tropical rainforest seeing cacti, succulents, salimancha, aloe, etc

By about 12:30 we finally made it to Shangrila and once again had a nice accommodation with a big pool. At $40/person, it was pricey for Colombia (although LBR still insanely cheap) but it also included all 3 meals, pool access, and a spacious room with 3 beds and 3 fans inside a white adobe hut. Okay fine we’ll settle…

We had a great afternoon hanging in and around the pool just soaking in the sun and relaxing. Just before sunset we walked the 5 minutes to the river where there was a shaded area with hammocks setup. Ahhh the good life.

Day 3: Shangrila > Jordan > Los Santos (5.1 miles, 2956 ft elevation gain, 100 ft elevation loss)

• A little over a mile on flat ground from Shangrila to Jordan. There were 3 dogs following us the whole way, 1 from Shangrila and 2 others that joined us along the way
• Crossed the bridge over the river and it was all uphill from there to make it back to the top of the canyon
• Nice, wide cobblestone path but it was nonstop up and had some steep sections which were tough on day 3 legs
• Even though it was early in the morning the sun was blazing and we were sweating out more water than we were drinking
• This trail was heavily trafficked with most people going downhill into the canyon. We stopped at a few of the rest points and chatted with people. More Spanish practice!
• There was a kid grabbing mamones from the trees and he threw us down some. It’s a little fruit that is kind of like a lollipop where you peel the skin then suck on the inside

Wow what an accomplishing feeling when we walked into Los Santos, our 6th and final entrance into a colonial city. The town was bustling on a Sunday morning and it felt like we were in the big city after what we had experienced the past few days.

After some breakfast and ice cream, we had to figure out the journey back to San Gil which was not nearly as straight forward as getting to Cabrera because now we were on the other side of the canyon. This part of the trip turned out to be harder than hiking over 25 miles in 3 days. Per Sean’s instructions in the hostel booklet, we took the bus toward Piedecuesta but we weren’t passing through the city he had mentioned to get off. We had told the bus bus driver we were going to San Gil so once we got to this fork in the main road he told us we could get off here. All the sudden we’re just standing on the side of the road just hoping we can catch another bus back to San Gil. While this usually works out for the local Colombians we were looking and feeling lost. This kid also waiting in the same area started talking to us and basically said since it’s a holiday weekend all the buses driving by here will be full and we need to go to Piedecuesta to buy a ticket. Well shit should have never gotten off the first bus. After waiting a bit longer the kid flagged down a taxi for us and rode with us into town to the bus station. He was super helpful and we were able to get tickets for San Gil departing in 30 minutes. But then he lingered around which made Kirsten nervous that he wanted something more from us. I told him we’re good now and offered him some money but he kindly declined and just wanted to snag a photo with us for Instagram. You never know what someone might want to get from you but turns out he was just a super nice and helpful kid. Then in classic Colombia fashion our bus showed up over 20 minutes late and since it was a holiday the traffic back to San Gil was terrible. We had left Los Santos just after 11 and didn’t get back to San Gil until 6. It was a long ass afternoon on the bus but after hiking 3 days it was nice to just sit. I was taking the overnight bus to Medellin that night so this was just the beginning of many more hours sitting on a bus.

Well it’s been about a month since this happened but here’s a fun tale about my unexpected visit to Bogota that turned into a 5 night stay. I wrote most of this awhile back but it’s just taken time to write the last few sections and add the photos/videos.

When Life Gives You Lemons Make Lemonade

After 10 days in the Magdalena region it was time for me to move on from the North of Colombia and head toward the center. My next destination was San Gil, the extreme sports paradise of the country and a popular backpacker destination. Rather than taking a bus I found a cheap flight that went from Santa Marta to Bucaramanga with a connection through Bogota. I was going to spend the night in Bucaramanga then take the couple hour bus the next day to San Gil. In hindsight I shouldn’t have flown at all and should have just taken the 15 hour bus to San Gil all the way from Santa Marta but everything happens for a reason. 

It was almost time for my flight to board from Santa Marta to Bogota when all of the sudden the departures board said delayed for an hour and a half. Uhhhh what the fuck, I could see the plane just sitting at the gate. A slight panic took over me because my connecting flight to Bucaramanga was just over an hour after my original arrival time in Bogota. Great, now I need to figure out how to handle this situation using my limited Spanish. I went to the gate showing the worker my connecting flight to Bucaramanga to convey that I would be missing it and she said some things I didn’t understand, but I did get that she needed 5 minutes to figure it out. For the next 45 minutes I would periodically go up to the counter and was always given the 5 more minute sign. I knew I was in for an interesting night ahead. While I was worried at first I started relaxing and thought fuck it, what can I really do. It’s not like I’m actually in a rush or have anywhere to be. My flight out of Colombia was in 4 weeks so I’ll be fine with whatever happens. At this point the most important thing was that I could at least be with my bag that I checked at the end of the night. 

We finally began boarding over an hour after the original take off time and I knew I had no chance of making my connection. I asked one last time and she smiled and said well at least you can have a fun night dancing in Bogota. Good point. The airline did at least upgrade my ticket to economy plus and put me in the second row where I had more legroom and got served food and a drink for the 50 minutes flight. Okay better than nothing. 

As expected I landed in Bogota past the time of my flight take off for Bucaramanga. Well the good thing about that is I know my bag is here. I asked someone at LatAm what to do and they said go to the additional services counter. Well low and behold my flight was just one of many that had been delayed going to Bogota so there was a massive crowd of people waiting at additional services fighting their way to the front. Well this should be fun. I spent over an hour waiting trying to get some attention but it seemed like each person at the counter was taking over 20 minutes and the line was going nowhere. 

I decided to go down and get my bag but since I had to exit security to try and figure out my flight situation I couldn’t get to baggage claim. Once again me and a bunch of people had the same issue and everyone is trying to hand their ticket stub to the baggage people to get help. Meanwhile they’re taking tickets then just standing there doing nothing. What a shit show. I could even see my bag going around the carousel. But this took another 10-15 minutes. I went back upstairs to try one more time to see what I could do about my flight/at least get some sort of hotel voucher but after another 20 minutes of waiting and going nowhere I said fuck it I’ll just take matters into my own hands. I had landed at 9:30 and it was almost midnight at this point and I was tired. I was just going to get a hotel and take the bus to San Gil the next day since it was only 6-7 hours from Bogota. I’m done dealing with LatAm. My Wi-Fi wasn’t working great in the airport but I was able to get it to work long enough to get me a hotel so I had a destination to tell a taxi. When I got in the guy said it wasn’t in a great location but I really didn’t care at this point I just needed somewhere to sleep. It was a bit ghetto on the outside but the room was actually nice. 

I checked my email and saw that I had one from LatAm saying my new flight to Bucaramanga was at 7:15 the next morning. Well shit. This was a time when having cell service would have been handy. Had I known that I would have gotten a hotel right by the airport. Whatever it wasn’t meant to be. I was in no mood to wake up in a few hours, taxi to the airport, fly to Bucaramanga, then take a multiple hour bus to San Gil. So I decided that I was still going to skip it and just take the bus from Bogota to San Gil. Plus I had my friends from La Ciudad Perdida trek in the area so maybe I’d grab lunch with them. 

I woke up more refreshed the next morning and after FaceTiming with the parents for the first time I hit up Moni and Caro to see what they had going on. I wasn’t originally going to even go to Bogota but after really connecting with both of them on the trek I was thinking about spending my last few days in Colombia in Bogota since all international flights go through here anyways. But the wheels started turning in my brain, I’m in Bogota right now and it was already Thursday so if my friends are free this weekend then why not just stay here now rather than wait. Both of them were thrilled when I texted saying I was in Bogota due to missing my connection and that they would be happy to show me around this weekend. Problem solved. My missed connection to Bucaramanga was the universe’s way of reconnecting me with the friends that I had just made and given me the opportunity for them to show me the local Bogota experience.

Bogota The Local Way

I spent my first and last night sleeping at Moni’s place (well she lives with her aunt so actually her aunt’s place) and then I got a hotel nearby for the two nights in between because I didn’t want her aunt to feel like I was encroaching on her space. Although I really should have just stayed there the whole time because I was always with there and barely used my hotel.

I really liked Moni’s neighborhood it reminded me of the Heights or Montrose in Houston or Lo-Hi in Denver. It was north of the center and had a much more residential and safe feel to it. Very chill vibe with lots of beautiful trees and plants; nice restaurants and coffee shops; and boutique shops. Multiple times a day we would walk her aunt’s dog Aurelio around the neighborhood so I really got a good feel for the area. Most backpackers just hangout in La Candaleria area so this wasn’t the typical Bogota experience which I was glad to get.

The People

I only hung out with people I already knew spending the entire time with Moni (besides when she had to work on Friday so I explored the center by myself), Thursday night and all day Saturday with Caro, and all day Saturday with Gorka and Leira as they had just arrived from Barichara. It was amazing to see all my friends from La Ciudad Perdida trek and re-connect so soon after that experience to solidify our lifelong friendships. Moni and Caro did a great job showing me the local lifestyle in Bogota and I came away from the experience loving the city thanks to them. They are also both such amazing people that are super fun to be around and I am grateful to have met them on the trek. I’m also so happy that I got to spend another day with Gorka and Leira in a city environment rather than on the trail. They are also great people to be around and I hope some day to visit them in Basque Country. The all day Saturday hangs with the group was such a fun and memorable day and solidified my love for Bogota.

I’m also starting to really love the Colombian people. Now that I’m at least slightly better and more confident at Spanish I have had some very happy go lucky interactions with vendors and people on the street (more on that below). Even though I speak slowly and poorly people are so much more receptive when you are at least trying. 

The City

Bogota is the capital of the country and a huge city with a population of around 8 million in the capital district and 11 million in surrounding metro. It has an elevation of around 8600 feet which is even higher than Denver and was a huge change of pace coming from coastal Santa Marta. The traffic was terrible and the drivers were crazy. It felt like many big cities where it’d be easy to get overwhelmed as a tourist so I was glad to have the help of two locals showing me around or at least telling me where to go. The buildings are kind of run down looking and not very pretty and there wasn’t really much of a skyline; the city had a grittiness to it. But there were some nice plazas and the mountains are right nearby to the east which provides a beautiful backdrop when looking that way. There is also a lot of green space and beautiful trees especially in the north as I mentioned above. And of course no big city would be complete without some solid museum options for art, history, and culture.

Food

All the meals I ate out were delicious and there are so many options for every type of food. The day I wandered around by myself I went to La Puerta Falsa (per Moni’s recommendation) for ajiaco. I knew it was going to be good when there was a line out the door. This traditional Colombian dish, especially in Bogota, is a soup with shredded chicken, onion, garlic, spices, and a half ear of corn. I had to ask the women next to me to learn this but you also pour in the capers and cream that they give you on the side for added flavor. It was delicious and one of my favorite Colombian meals that I’ve had!

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Another traditional meal I had was cerdo de costillas which is a rib soup in a very light broth. The taste was pretty plain but Moni told me it was good for hangovers so it was necessary on Sunday morning. It was also super cheap. I got that and a bottle of water for 10,000 pesos which is roughly $2.50.

On Saturday night the whole crew: me, Moni, Caro, Gorka, and Leira went out for a nice dinner at this trendy spot Chichería Demente that had a live band playing toward the end of our meal. We did family style sharing fried pig intestines, empeñadas, steak, pork, potatoes, and salad. Caro promised me they cleaned the pig intestines thoroughly…well that’s comforting. It was actually pretty good thanks to the fried part. Reminded me a bit of the rubbery taste of calamari.

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Drink

Aguardiente (fire water) is the national drink of Colombia and it kinda tastes like Jaeger. I didn’t love it but also didn’t hate it. Caro was a big fan so we took multiple shots of it every night I went out with her. The first night I was pretty drunk since I hadn’t really been drinking much on the trip and went from sea level the day before to high altitude. Throughout the weekend I also had a few shots at Moni’s aunt’s house of different types of aguardiente they had lying around the house.   

I had some nice interactions with locals on my day exploring alone. I was walking to Choreo de Quevedo which is the main plaza for drinking chiche (a corn based alcohol) when I discovered this cool little alleyway with vendors that I decided to walk through. I started chatting it up with a few of the vendors and everyone was so friendly and enjoyed speaking to me in my broken Spanish. I was telling them about all the aguardiente shots I took the night before and they were laughing. They ended up offering me a sample of bicce *look up* which was pretty tasty. Then I continued along to try a few samples of chiche in the plaza. I’m glad I tried it but wasn’t really my favorite.

All around Bogota there are BBCs (Bogota Brewing Company). It was a great place to make an afternoon stop or to pregame for your evening. I think I ended up at 3 different ones over the course of the weekend.

The Nightlife

I thoroughly enjoyed the nightlife in Bogota, the streets were always bustling with people and the clubs were packed with good times. On Friday night Moni and I went to a multi story club that had reggaeton on the second floor and house music on the rooftop with lounge style seating. It was nice to bounce back and forth between the two depending on the mood. I left this night with a new found appreciation for reggaeton – I love looking around the club and everyone is getting down so hard to the music and singing every single lyric to every song. You can just see and feel the passion and joy in the crowd. It’s such a fun energy. 

On Saturday, Caro took our 5 person Ciudad Perdida crew to the Ghetto Project which is one of the biggest clubs in South America and has 7 different rooms of music. Felt like being at a music festival where each room had a totally different vibe. We ended up spending nearly 4 hours here dancing in the different rooms. I hadn’t partied much on the trip up to this point and this was the perfect big night out in Bogota. Amazing crew of people with great music options in a huge club. Can’t beat that on a Saturday night.

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Tejo

Tejo is the national sport of Colombia that would also be very popular in America; it’s very similar to cornhole but with explosions. You take your tejo, a metal disc shaped stone, and toss it onto a board made out of mud trying to get as close to the center as possible. Then surrounding the center is packets of gun powder, 2 or 4 depending your rules, and if the tejo lands on one then it explodes (called a mecha). Obviously the explosions are always super fun and followed with lots of cheers and hugs. Each player gets 1 toss per round then you score based on a few different scenarios (these rules changed by city): (1) no explosions or center then closest player gets 1 point, (2) explosion then 3 points, (3) center then 6 points, (4) explosion and center then 9 points. Then the highest score total for that round gets the points. We actually played slightly different rules in bogota but those are more similar to my other experiences. 

Anyways my first time playing was the afternoon me, Moni, Caro, Gorka, and Leira all hung out. It was the perfect Saturday daytime drinking game. None of us were great but we were having the best time. We were in no rush just drinking beers and slowly playing the game. I ended up doing pretty well and got 5 explosions. I was 1 point away from winning and ended the game by getting it smack in the center. The competitor in me was pumped to win my first Tejo game especially against two Colombians. I’m considering opening a Tejo bar in Denver, I think it’d be a hit. Just not sure what kind of regulations America would have on a bar game with gun powder involved.

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The Center

My only alone time was on Friday when  I went to the center by myself while Moni worked. I really enjoyed walking along Carrera 7 where there are street performers, people playing chess, and vendors selling leather products, artisan goods, crystals, hats, backpacks, etc. Lots of street activity going on. It started to rain so I popped into the Gold Museum which turned out to be incredible. 

Museo del Oro (Gold Museum)

The museum has such an incredible collection of gold figurines and other artifacts from indigenous tribes all across Colombia. It was a very fascinating museum but an overload of information especially since I supplemented the tour with an audio guide. During La Ciudad Perdida, Jose told us that there were some domborros here so it was cool to see them and have a greater understanding of what they mean to the indigenous people. 

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I also really enjoyed learning more about the cosmology and spiritual aspects that the pieces had for the different communities and getting a better understanding of how the shamans interacted with the world. When a shaman is in a trance he feels he gets transformed into a bird and enters other dimensions in the cosmos communicating with spirits, consulting about illnesses and the future, learning chants and dances; and then bringing all this knowledge back to his people. I knew that jaguars were symbolic in these cultures but didn’t realize how important bats were as well. I ended up spending 1.5 hours there, which is a long time for me to be at a museum, and even that was moving through it pretty quickly.

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Museo de Botero

After filling up on ajiaco I made my way over to Museo de Botero to get my art on. Francisco Botero is the most famous Colombian painter who is know for his very distinctive style where everything is rotund – people, fruits, animals. I really enjoyed some of his works and grew a greater appreciation for him after making my way through a couple rooms. He was also a brilliant sculpture. 

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The museum also had some works from other famous painters (Picasso, Dali, etc) but a majority was dedicated to Botero. 

La Candaleria

This is typically where backpackers stay. Lots of colorful buildings with mountain backdrop. The Choreo de Quevedo with the chiche shots that I talked about earlier is in this area. Nice to walk around for a bit but I was so glad to be staying further north in the city. 

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Lazy Sunday

I was planning to leave for San Gil on Sunday but after the crazy Saturday day and night I decided against taking a 7 hour bus. Will I ever make it to San Gil???? Yes but just needed a lazy Sunday first. Moni and I spent the whole day watching movies and shows on Netflix. It was so needed. My life has been so on the go since leaving Sarasota and it was incredible to just do nothing. We only left the house to walk Aurelia and get a quick dinner and ice cream. Then after 5 nights in Bogota, I finally left on Monday morning for my first Colombian bus experience.

I’m already falling a couple weeks behind on this blog so I apologize to anyone waiting on the edge of their seat for the next post. It’s hard to keep up with when I’m out here living the life. I take lots of notes along the way but piecing it all together and adding the photos/videos is time consuming. Especially when uploading to WordPress on the Wi-Fi here sucks and takes multiple attempts. It’s all worth it in the end. 

La Ciudad Perdida (The Lost City)

The 4 day trek to La Ciudad Perdida was one of the things I was looking forward to most in Colombia. It’s the reason why I started in the north in the Magdalena region. I booked this months in advance so I had at least something big planned to start my trip and I wanted to do a multi day trek early to get that true South American hiking experience and this was the perfect one to start out with. I booked it for a few days after my arrival so that I had some time to adjust to the Colombian lifestyle. The altitude wasn’t too high but the trek is 4 days in the jungle with nearly 10,000 feet of ups and downs, 35+ miles of hiking, and a high probably that it will rain. I have done a few 1 day backpacking trips before but this was certainly going to be a challenging adventure like none other that I had been on. 

History

La Ciudad Perdida was built by the Tairona people, one of the largest and oldest indigenous tribes in Colombia at the time, starting around 600 CE and taking nearly 300 years to complete (600 years before Machu Picchu) until the Spanish took over the land in 1511. Lost for 400+ years until found accidentally by a gold looter on a hunting trip in mid 1970s (according to our guide the indigenous people in the area knew about it but didn’t tell anyone). The looter was with his son and they shot a bird to eat which required them to cross the river to find it. They saw the beginning of the steps up to the city and knowing that it looked important walked to the top. The whole area was covered by trees at this time (only about 10% is uncovered to date) and they found all these circular rock formations where houses used to be. Knowing that many indigenous tribes used to bury their people underneath their house with gold possessions (jewelry, armors, decorations, etc), two families of looters controlled the area and spent the next 3 years uncovering gold under each circle. One day they found a massive gold indigenous head and one family shot another. Gun fighting and violence broke out and the area became known as El Infierno Verde (Green Hell). Finally the site was reported to government in 1975 by Francisco (Frankie) Rey who became in charge of the anthropologists and archaeologists because he knew all the routes to get there.

Once the government was in control it took 6 years for restoration to finish. The first name given to the city was Burótica 3000 but then it was changed to La Ciudad Perdida (the lost city). In 1982, Franky Rey was the first tour guide to lead a group to the lost city. There was a period in the 90s where no tours were held due to the area being controlled by guerillas. And even when they started back up there was a hostage situation in 2003 where the guards had to be brought in. Coincidentally enough since any press is good press, it got La Ciudad Perdida on the radar and actually led to more people going on the trek than before. Now it has become a place of sustainable tourism for the area; you can only get there by hiking with a guide and everything is local: guides, chefs, food/drink/souvenir vendors/campsites. It is still certainly nowhere near as popular or crowded as Machu Picchu but is starting to gain more notoriety. However since there is no train and the only way to get there is a minimum 4 day trek through the jungle, it requires an adventurous person to see this magical place.

Wiwa Tribe

Our tour had 2 guides from one of the indigenous tribes in the area known as the Wiwa. Some of the other groups we saw didn’t have any indigenous guides so I’m very glad that I chose the Wiwa Tours agency and would highly recommend this choice for anyone interested in this trek. The experience was way more meaningful having guides that are actually indigenous and can tell us first hand about their community, culture, and history. Plus I’d much rather give them my money. Both of the Wiwa guides were named Jose and while they were kind of quiet and reserved at times, they had a good sense of humor and were very grateful to guide us on this tour sharing their knowledge about the land and their culture with us.

They only spoke Spanish (and Wiwa of course) so while we did have some basic conversations together, I wish that I could have chatted more with them and asked more questions. Each night they would teach us a few words in Wiwa then periodically quiz us throughout the day. It was very challenging to remember the words but I think it added a lot to the experience trying to learn some of their dialect. And they really appreciated us making the effort even if they would sometimes scold us for not remembering. The words that stood out most to me, and I am going to try to use forever was counting 1, 2, 3: Sqwah, Moah, Maygwa.

On the first night while sitting around the bonfire they shared some of their culture with us which I am going to share with you. There are actually 4 different tribes living in this part of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta: Wiwa, Koki, Arhuacos, and Kamkuamos; and you can tell them apart by their hats. While they live independently and in different parts of the mountain, all of them share certain aspects of their culture for hundreds of years. At one point in history the tribes were living closer to the coast but unfortunately guerrilla groups took over the land farming marijuana and cocaine and pushing the tribes further into the mountains. 

All tribes have an important object known as a poporro in Spanish or domborro in Wiwa (which is how I will refer to it). The male becomes an adult at age 16-17 when he receives his domborro from the shaman. It is kind of shaped like a gourd and it’s used for the individual to put his thoughts into. Inside the domborro is a white powder made from seashells. The seashell is transported from the coast using bamboo then burned in the fire to dry it. The Wiwa male will put coca leaves in his mouth from his bag (only women pick the leaves) and then use a thin wand like tool to get the seashell powder inside the domborro and combine the saliva from the coca to create this yellow paste. He then slowly spins this paste around the the domborro which causes it to stick to the outside. Every few weeks or months they remove all the yellow paste and start fresh. The Joses were constantly doing this process throughout the 4 days unless it was raining and they had to cover their domborro. Wow what a way to collect your thoughts especially when hiking! I’m considering doing something similar now.

Another cool tradition of the Wiwa tribe is that instead of shaking hands when you pass by someone, the two people exchange a bit of coca leaves from their bags. It was funny because one of the Jose’s would always take way more than he would give, especially when the other person looked much younger…seniority trumps in all cultures.

Food

Our chef, Diana, absolutely crushed it in the kitchen and on the hiking trails. She would always leave after us then zoom passed us on the trail already cooking the next meal by the time we arrived at the lunch spot or our campsite for the night. We had 3 incredibly tasty meals a day that were all gigantic portions, which was super necessary and helpful for all the hiking we did. Each meal was accompanied by a refreshing juice. And in each spot there was always a 5 gallon Gatorade cooler of filtered water so we never had to worry too much about running out.

In between meals, while on the trail, we would occasionally take breaks at designated areas where we would snack on watermelon, pineapple, and oranges. Having some sugary fruits midway through the hike was such a nice reward and always helped us keep moving forward. These spots also had vendors selling water, Gatorade, and other snacks. 

Lodging 

I wasn’t sure what to expect about our sleeping accommodations but was pleasantly surprised with how nice they were. Each campsite had a line of bunk beds with mosquito nets, kitchen, dining area, bathrooms with showers, and lots of clotheslines. Some of them had other amenities like a bonfire or a place to buy snacks, beers, and souvenirs.

Flora and Fauna

The entire hike had the quintessential jungle feel with luscious trees and plants of many shapes, sizes, and shades of green that were all densely packed together. Many trees had vines dangling from their branches reminding me of Tarzan or Donkey Kong; and the size of some of the leaves and palm fronds were astronomical. I wish I knew more about trees, plants, and flowers to where I could immediately recognize the different types and spit out facts but alas that is not a skill I currently have. Sometimes when I hike in Colorado I picture this future life where I’m hiking with my kids and telling them all about the different flora in the area. And at the time they think it’s lame and that I’m a loser for knowing so much about all this, but then later in life they realize how interesting it is and are glad to have all that knowledge. 

We saw a variety of animals over the course of our 4 days. Some of which were standard farm animals – horses, mules, chickens, and pigs; but we also saw a poisonous snake, a parrot, a crab, frogs, hummingbirds, countless different butterflies, and a variety of weird bugs. It was necessary to regularly apply bug spray and impossible not to come away with a few bites. I had some on my legs but it wasn’t too bad. Jess and Casey got absolutely eaten alive and their bites looked a lot worse and more inflamed than mine.

The most prevalent animal of them all was man’s best friend, dogs! There would be dogs roaming around the campsite areas begging for food. And then they would follow us from campsite to campsite all the way to the top of La Ciudad Perdida. Those cute doggies have probably done the trek thousands of times.

The Group

I had an absolutely great group for the trek, I could not be more grateful for how closely we all connected. There was a strong bond from the start and it only strengthened as we made our way up and down through the jungle in the rain and mud. We had a perfect split of 5 native Spanish speakers and 5 native English speakers. And all the Spanish speakers were good at English too, but also this was an amazing opportunity for me to work on my Spanish since everyone was so patient with me; speaking slowly and helping me get through the convo. I also learned so many new words and phrases to practice afterwards. It’s so much easier to learn when your hiking through the jungle with someone for 4 days rather than a quick interaction in the city. I connected on a personal level with everyone over the course of the trek and have so many new good friends after going through this experience together. The three Americans were on a 2 week after they just finished working on a movie together called Throuple, coming to an Indie film festival near you next year! And they had a fun, goofy chemistry together as the New York film artistic types trekked their way through the jungle. They were constantly interviewing each other for a video they were making of the trek.

-Jess (Brooklyn but originally LA): actress in Throuple. I asked her the first night around the bonfire what else she’d be in and when she said Shameless I nearly lost it. I thought she looked familiar earlier in the day! I go wait were you Carl’s girlfriend in the later seasons?! Indeed she was. I told her I had to fangirl a bit the next day and ask some questions which she allowed for. I kept it brief! Will definitely continue to follow her career. I trekked with a star (and am now friends!) and saw her in all elements

-Casey (Brooklyn but originally Wisconsin): producer of Throuple. She had a really happy go lucky and silly energy while also being very smart and well spoken. She asked good questions and made insightful statements 

-Julian (Manhattan but originally Long Island): cameraman of Throuple who took lots of artsy photos throughout the trek capturing the essence of the people and landscape. On the quieter side but when he did talk he was hilarious, especially when bantering with the girls. His humor reminded me a lot of Joe Eichner 

-Tess (London): friendly British girl. Enjoyed her company but connected the least with her 

-Monica aka Moni (Bogotá but originally Nieva, Colombia) my Spanish teacher that spoke slowly with me and taught me new words, and person I probably talked to the most in English on the trip as well. We had some great convos – both silly and deep and really got to know each other on a personal level. We are both Leos and had a lot of similar personality traits. Her and Caro we’re friends that came into this experience together 

-Carolina aka Caro (Bogotá but has lived all over): kind and loving soul who was very spiritual – super into meditation, yoga, astronomy, etc. She had a very positive energy and was always comforting to talk to

-Freddy (London but originally Colombia): super friendly and funny guy who you could always rely on to dap at the top of the trail or crack a wise joke. Fan favorite for most people

-Gorka (Basque Country): Dating Leire. Hilarious character – even though his English was only average he made some funny jokes and everyone was always laughing at his comments in Spanish. Me, him, and Leire were usually hiking at the front. 

-Leire (Basque Country): incredibly nice and easy to talk to. Had some solid convos in both English and Spanish 

-Guides

   -Santos (Santa Marta but originally Venezuela): we immediately connected on the bus day 1 and became homies. Always smiling and grateful for life and living in the moment

   -José (Wiwa indigenous tribe): always in front and constantly building more paste around his domborro. Pushed us hard to learn the Wiwa language 

-José (Wiwa indigenous tribe): told us about the Wiwa culture. Santos was trying to help him learn English so he had me teach him a few phrases on the second day

The Trek – 37.1 miles, 9500 feet elevation gain, in and out

Day 1 4.4 miles, 1600 feet elevation gain, 200 feet loss, point to point

Got to the Wiwa Tours office and immediately started chatting it up with the American crew. The easy thing to do of course. But I also chatted a bit with Gorka and Leire at making an effort to speak some Spanish. Even though I wasn’t great they were impressed with my communication for how little time I’d been learning (I later found they spoke English pretty well too). There was 10 of us in the group and 3 guides (described above) and we hopped in two separate mini vans for the 2 hour drive to El Mamey where we would start the trek. I was with the Americans, Freddy, and Santos and the good conversations were flowing as the energy before the trek was very high. After a stop off halfway through the drive for coffee, snacks, and coconut water we got on the bumpiest and worst road I’ve been on in Colombia to date. Finally we arrived at El Mamey and got to know the rest of the group better over a big lunch with chicken, rice, plantains, lentils, and salad. Caro had lived in Israel for a number of years when she was younger and we bonded on our Jewish heritage. 

The start of the hike was an open road through town that led into a wide trail in the forest. Then it was an open section where half the road was for motorbikes, similar to the 360 Mirador trail in Minca. The hottest part of the day was unshaded and when we did the steepest part so it was pretty brutal. Luckily we made a stop about halfway up at a drink stand where a cold Gatorade was such a life saver. I practiced my Spanish with Monica and we also just talked about various life things in English. She worked for an online gambling company and knew what it was like to deal with software developers so we connected on that. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the tech industry in Colombia is rapidly growing right now. Hmmm maybe I’ll just get my next job here. 

After a short first day and a sprinkle of rain toward the end we arrived at Vista Hermosa which means beautiful view and it lived up to the hype. Pretty comfy bunk beds with mosquito nets, showers with cold water, long picnic table dining area, fire pit, and place to buy souvenirs and beers. After everyone showered and some of us had a few beers, it was dinner time where we had a delicious fried fish with rice and plantains. After dinner we sat around the fire and learned some great info from the Joses about the Wiwa tribe and the domborro (which I spoke about above) and they answered some of our questions about their tribe and culture. It was also the first day of learning the Wiwa dialect and they taught us five words to know. Some of us stayed up looking at the stars and sitting around the fire having deep convos a la fogota (bonfire) talking about why we chose to do the trek, telling random life stories, and discussing near death experiences. This is also when I found out that Jess was on Shameless.

Day 2 11.8 miles, 3600 feet elevation gain, 2900 feet loss, point to point

5AM wake up was rough but it was so worth it for the insane sunrise with crazy colors bursting in the sky over the horizon. I can see why they call it Vista Hermosa. 

It was so worth the early wake up, and to prep us for the long day ahead we had a nice big typical Colombian breakfast – eggs, plantain bread, sweet bread, and assorted fruits.

Now we were truly hiking in the jungle of the Sierra Nevada. Steady up and down in the morning with a few very muddy parts where you really had to make sure you didn’t slip when going down and domino everyone else down with you. I fan girled Jess about Shameless, but only for about 5 minutes, before talking about a few other things in the movie star world. Throughout the morning I had solid hiking convos with various other people in the group as everyone was in good spirits at the beginning of day 2. At one point I was asked by Santos to help one of the Jose’s with English so that was a fun interaction. I also received more Spanish lessons from Monica. Even though the conversations were basic and brief it was a good exercise in speaking and listening.

I was really in the perfect mindset. This is exactly what I came on this trip to do, hike in beautiful places and meet new people, and I was achieving both of these at once all while walking through some of the most incredible jungle landscapes that I’d ever seen. My mind and my soul were at such peace as we were surrounded by massive plants and trees making our way up and down a variety of different pathways – narrow mud trenches, dirt trails, and rocky steps.

Along the way we would pass by some other travelers on the road – tour groups heading back, the occasional mule led by a local, and indigenous people chopping down plants and going about living their mountain lives. It took us about 3-3.5 hours total before arriving at our lunch spot. But before eating we got on our bathing suits and hiked another quarter mile to a beautiful cascada (waterfall). It was super refreshing and there was a great group energy as we swam under the waterfall and felt the incredibly powerful force of the water. After 30 minutes of playtime we walked back and had her another bomb lunch – soup, chicken, rice, plantains.

A little bit of post lunch chill time and then we were off once again with a big afternoon ahead. I was walking toward the front with one of the Jose’s (which was the case most of the trek as most of you know I’m a fast walker and like to be in front) and it was fascinating, but also not surprising, to see the local knowledge he had. He walked with a very rhythmic pace and knew the direction at every split in the path without a second of hesitation. You can tell that he is truly one with this land and knows every in and out in the area. He exchanged coca with every other indigenous person that walked by and used his domborro all day to collect his thoughts (wish I could do that with my hiking thoughts). He was constantly chewing coca leaves and spinning his little stick around the outside to create the paste.

The first section in the afternoon was 1.5 hours of what Jose called “Colombian flat” which has lots of ups and downs but not too steep either way. Most of trail was along the river so it was very peaceful to hear the constant noise of the flowing water. We passed by an indigenous town and got to see naked children playing in the water. It felt like something out of National Geographic. There was a little girl walking by with a machete in one hand and carrying multiple satchels of cut plants in the other – kids grow up fast in these cultures providing labor and service at a young age. Alex, do you think Maya can be trusted with a machete?!

The next section was nearly an hour of straight uphill that was very steep. Hardest section of the trip so far. I was trying to keep up with Jose which was tough because he never once stopped for a break. I had to take a breather once or twice just to regain some energy. It started raining slowly toward the end of the hard section and then all the sudden was dumping by about 2:30. Luckily we made it to a covered spot for our afternoon snack of fresh pineapple and oranges where many other groups were also waiting. But at this point it had become a torrential downpour with no end in sight. After resting awhile we eventually just had to go for it. The rain had slowed down and was much lighter but the terrain was completely flooded.

The final hour of the day we had to deal with streams of water rushing down the path and non stop mud. And the rain was still coming down but at least it was relatively light compared to before. We crossed water ways by skipping on top of rocks and hoping not to slip. Sometimes you had to get ankle deep in the water and just get your socks and shoes absolutely soaked. You can’t help but think about the blisters that are probably forming but what are you going to do but keep going. Your clothes are absolutely soaked and your legs are covered in mud. A part of me is like this is horrible and a part of me loves every second of it because hey I’m trekking in the jungle – this is the wild experience that I wanted to have. One that I will never forget. You don’t even think about how steep the incline is and whether your going up or down, because all your focus is on the next step, and making sure that you don’t slip and that you don’t step in too much mud or water. Rain or shine we have to get to the next camp. It was an incredibly accomplishing and relieving feeling when we finally made it to camp.

Wow what an amazing but also trying day. Truly was a trek through the jungle with all kinds of landscapes, terrains, and weather conditions. We made it!! After hanging our clothes and taking a quick shower, we sat around the table chatting about the crazy day over some hot chocolate and popcorn. Shortly after was another tasty dinner – spaghetti with some sort of orange sauce with fish. Everybody was super tired after such a long day. I chatted with Monica for a bit and we felt like we were high on hiking from the day. We got into some funny conversations and just couldn’t stop laughing about everything we were saying (of course we were both being hilarious). Ended up in bed by 8:30.

Day 3 10.7 miles, 1600 elevation gain, 3000 feet elevation loss, point to point

After a nice 4:30am wake up and another large breakfast we were finally on the last stretch to make it to La Ciudad Perdida. We hiked along the river during another Colombian flat section and a couple places required hopping along rocks in the water to cross little streams that had formed after yesterday’s rain. Then there was a fun section where we crossed the main river by “zip lining across” aka two people getting into a little carriage and then the guides pushing you across from one side and people on the other side using the rope to pull you the rest of the way.

Once across we had just a quick 1200 steps up before reaching the entrance of the lost city. I couldn’t help but think about the gold looter shooting the bird that landed on these steps and following it all the way up to the top excited to see what it led to. 

These weren’t your average steps and each one varied in shape, size, and distance to the next one. You really had to watch your footing as you stepped up each one.

Alas we finally made it and what an accomplishing feeling it was!!! You could immediately feel the strong and powerful energy of the land knowing that it’s history traces back more than a thousand years and picturing how it used to be when the Tairona civilization lived here. Santos told us the story of the lost city’s discovery (which I detailed at the beginning of this post) and the Joses chimed in adding info about the importance of the city to their tribe and culture.

While the Tairona people didn’t leave any writings for future indigenous tribes, they did engrave maps into the rocks showing them the paths through the mountains and the surrounding landscape.

And of course we weren’t done yet, there was still countless more steps to make it to la cema (the top). We would periodically stop along the way for more stories about the lost city and the Tairona people. This place really was so magical – the history, the views, the energy, the isolation from everything else in the world, and that special feeling knowing that we worked so hard to get here hiking two full days up and down through mud and rain. It was total bliss and the whole group was soaking in every single moment.

The views from the top were absolutely phenomenal – down below you could see many of the circular formations where the homes used to be and off in the distance was a beautiful view of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta; a mountain range that I have come to love dearly.

While we sat on the top silently taking in all the beauty, Jose handed us snacks on a silver platter.

After about 30 minutes we started our descent and headed a different direction through the lost city. It was much bigger than I thought it would be and I’m sure at one point it was a bustling metropolis in the Tairona community. The only indigenous people that are currently allowed to live here is the chief of the Koki tribe and his family. He was not around to greet us but we did meet his daughter who sold little bracelets for $0.50 which obviously we all bought and I have worn every day since. Once we got back toward the entrance we did a short group meditation guided by Caro at first before taking in the silence. It was an incredibly powerful experience for all of us given the strong energy of the land. When I closed my eyes I saw Zach’s facing smiling and watching over me in approval of the experience I was having on my trip so far. I had strong emotions of both happiness and sadness seeing his spirit so vividly. I wasn’t the only one who had a deep moment during the meditation as Casey was balling in tears afterwards. It was a very powerful meditation and a great way to say goodbye to this magical place. I really do hope to return some day.

And just like that we were back on the 1200 steps except it was much harder to go down than it was to go up. You really had to focus on each step going down and tilt your shoes sideways to avoid slipping because one wrong move could lead to a serious injury or even worse. Of course we took it very slowly and carefully and everyone made it down in one piece. After another zip line over the river and the 30 minute walk back (where it started to lightly rain), it was time for lunch. Everyone was beaming with energy after the experience we just had at La Ciudad Perdida. We had reached our goal and it far exceeded expectations. But we weren’t done yet, now we had another 1.5 days hiking up and down through mud and rain following the same path through the jungle that led us here. This is when the true endurance test began. After a nice lunch and a bit of rest, we started what turned out to be the most challenging stretch of the trek. It rained nonstop for all 4 hours that we hiked and the mud had gotten ridiculous. The trail was uphill to start and then pretty much downhill the rest of the way as we sloshed through mud and rain with wet shoes and socks. The group ended up splitting up as everyone was starting to go at very different paces through these tumultuous conditions. Gorka, José, and I were in the front scampering down the muddy inclines trying to make camp quickly as possible. Much of the afternoon was silent and all our concentration was put into avoiding slipping in the mud. We stopped a few times to wait for others and eventually Leira and Julian caught up. 

We were making great progress and almost back at camp when all of the sudden there was a huge water crossing that came out of nowhere and required us to go through water that was over knee high. Where the fuck did this come from? At first we thought maybe Jose was taking us a different way but of course he knew what he was doing. In a matter of just over 24 hours a “river” this large had formed due to the crazy amounts of rainfall. At this point our shoes were already soaked so it didn’t even really matter that we just went right through it. The water was moving quickly so it was important to not get taken down while going across (hearing stories later Tess fell twice during their crossing). 

It was such a relief when we finally made it to camp; everything I had on me was completely soaked. I took off my shoes and socks and holy shit my feet were fucked. The skin was so tender and multiple blisters had started to form. Owww. I applied some Neosporin and tried to tend to them but it hurt so badly. I couldn’t even wear my sandals later because they rubbed too much. I had to just walk around barefoot and in pain. The rest of the crew made it back looking miserable from a very challenging afternoon and I wasn’t the only one with wrecked feet. The weather and land conditions made the afternoon of day 3 the hardest stretch of the trek by far. We were all glad to be chilling at camp after such a long day but the high energy from the morning at La Ciudad Perdida had shifted to a much different mood. And the campsite didn’t even have any beer which was much needed at that time.

Everyone felt better after another delicious Diana dinner and afterwards while sitting around a bonfire Jose showed us the process to make their woven bags that they use to carry around the coca leaves. It was fascinating to watch him use this tool to strip down this plant that looked like an aloe leaf and uncover these fibrous strands that ultimately are used to make the bag. He let a few people try the process of stripping the plant but my feet hurt too much to be in the mood for volunteering. It was pretty incredible that they even discovered this fibrous material in the plant but then again his tribe had been living off the land for so many years. Just one plant seemed like a lot of work and it would take hundreds just to make a small bag. Then we had our final quiz on all the Wiwa words that we had learned (which was probably 15-20) where it was girls versus guys. My Wiwa, like my Spanish, was not so great and Gorka and Casey ended up doing the best and were rewarded with a special Wiwa bracelet. We went to bed early that night around 8:30 after an incredibly long day. I got my worst night’s sleep of the trek, possibly because my feet were bothering me so much. 

Day 4: 10 miles, 1800 feet elevation gain, 2600 feet elevation loss, point to point

I woke up struggling from a terrible night’s sleep and with my feet still blistered and tender. Oof today is going to be rough. How am I going to trek for another 4-5 in my current state? Luckily I had some tape that I used to wrap up my feet so the blisters weren’t rubbing too much while walking. At least I had one more semi-dry pair of socks but of course my shoes were still very wet. After breakfast we were off one last time and the first 30 minutes was tough trying to ignore the pain in my feet. Add on the fact that it was a steep uphill to start so my already sore calves were absolutely burning. Even though I felt pain and discomfort, I found my stride and was able to push past these feelings and find a state of zen to enjoy these last few hours deep in the jungle. In spite of it all, I was still in the front right behind Jose and chatting it up with Leira as we went through a long downhill stretch. I recognized most of the trail as we headed back the other way and it was crazy to think about how much we went through over the past 48 hours and how different the mindset was coming back versus going there. Man I love hiking so much and this four day trek just further proved how powerful of an experience that it can be. The beauty of a long hike is that it’s not only a journey through the wilderness but also through the mind. Sometimes deep thoughts and memories surface and other times complete silence. It can be peaceful and relaxing or it can be super challenging and requires you to push yourself to keep going. 

We were only about 5 miles from the end when we did possibly the hardest 10 minute stretch given the circumstances. My legs were toast at this point and it was a steep uphill section that was incredibly muddy so it took all the strength remaining in my legs to not slide back downhill. Each step was harder than the last and I had to really push myself to make it to the top. I was so glad when we got through that part and relieved to find out that there was only one more small uphill before being downhill the rest of the way. Not long after we made it back to the Vista Hermosa campsite for one last snack and refreshing fruit juice. This was also the point of saying goodbye to Diana. Wow what a saint! She really provided us with such incredible meals and it would have been so much harder to hike as much as we did without being well fed.

It was all downhill the rest of the way and after a good convo while walking with Santos, Gorka, and Leira; I slowed down to chat with my American friends. We discussed the trials and tribulations of the hike and I’ll through our favorite parts and key takeaways from the experience. It was a good way to recap the journey and to close it out reflecting on how much we gained from the trek in just a few days. Something Casey said really resonated with me. She brought up how rewarding it was to have the little snack breaks along the way where something as simple as a few pieces of fruit or a sip of juice was such a treat and that she wants to apply this mentality to her regular life. My takeaway from this is that life isn’t just about getting to the top and you should enjoy the smaller, simpler things as you go. Instead of always looking so far ahead sometimes it best to appreciate taking one step at a time. I find that there are many parallels in hiking and life experiences.

It was the greatest feeling as we walked back into the small village of El Mamey and crossed the proverbial finish line once we got to our lunch spot from the first day before the hike. It was all high fives, hugs, smiles, tears of joy, and any other positive emotion you can think of as each person got to the end. We fucking did it!!! We endured tough weather conditions for four days hiking in the jungles of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta to La Ciudad Perdida and back. The celebratory beer and fried fish lunch was the icing on the cake to an absolutely incredible experience. Maybe someday this area will be the next Machu Picchu (which I have mixed feelings about – would love to see the community making more money but there are also negative repercussions with increased tourism and commercial activity) but for now it is the perfect off the beaten path trek that I would highly recommend to anyone. I was really looking forward to doing it as a starting point to my trip and my expectations were shattered. On top of the amazing hiking experience and beautiful landscape I went through, I truly made some lifelong friends that I hope to stay in touch with. Spoiler alert – I already had a great experience with Moni and Caro spending time with them in Bogota (also had some overlap there with Gorka and Leira and we all spent a day/night together), a city that I hadn’t even planned to visit before the trip but more on that later. 

Parque Nacional Natural Tayrona

I went straight from a 4 day trek getting back Sunday late afternoon and going right back to it heading to Parque Tayrona the following morning, which I’m crazy for but I had booked a flight for Bucaramanga on Wednesday and felt that I needed to stick to my original schedule of doing Tayrona on Monday and Tuesday. In hindsight I really didn’t need to stay 2 nights, 1 was more than enough, but I didn’t know this going in. It seemed like there was going to be more to do.

I left for this trip the day after finding out about Adam so my energy to be social was low. Chatted briefly with a couple people at the campsite but it was a good opportunity for alone time. I’d done a lot of activity and socialization in my first 8 days in Colombia. Plus I needed to catch up on journaling and Spanish practice. I learned a bunch of new words during the trek and had some other ones that I had looked up after the fact. 

I’m out here all alone so it’s tough when trying to grieve a lost friend. Especially because you do make great friends backpacking but a lot of it is in the moment and temporary. Which normally I love and is my specialty but this 2 day trip was for me time.

On top of my grieving mood, a few things about this trip didn’t go smoothly. (1) The tent sleeping situation turned out to be miserable. It was incredibly hot and sticky in the tent and I could never get comfortable. I tried going to bed around 7:30-8 but couldn’t fall sleep forever and could never stay asleep in the middle. I should have just left after the first night but was too adamant that I had already booked both and figured I could use the chill beach time on the second day…which wasn’t wrong (2) I forgot to restock my wallet with cash so I had a very limited supply. Nowhere took card and everything was expensive so I lived on fruit juices as my source of both hydration and meals. Luckily they were incredibly tasty here, some of my favorites so far. I always mixed banana with another fruit to ensure it was filling. My lack of money actually was a blessing in disguise in the fact that I didn’t buy endless beers for no reason. As a matter of fact I didn’t buy any. I was even rationing water purchases so beer was not top priority. (3) I brought my portable charger but no cord. I asked multiple people to borrow theirs and they also didn’t have one. I didn’t realize this the first day so I was listening to music on the beach all day but the second day I kept my phone off so I had enough battery to navigate the hike on Wednesday.

Hiking

Tayrona Entrance – Cabo San Juan (4.3 miles, 318 feet elevation gain, point to point)

The trail had beach jungle vibes with big trees and green plants in some spots then coastal beach views in others. Path of wooden boards in beginning was nice but it only lasted the first half and then it was super muddy. The mud was worse than the Ciudad Perdida in certain places. People were going so slowly and I zoomed past them even with my tired legs from four days of trekking right before this. Luckily my blisters and sore feet had already started healing pretty well thanks to all the Neosporin I had been putting on.

Cabo San Juan – Calabazo (7.0 miles, 1696 feet elevation gain, point to point)

After another terrible night’s sleep on the second night I got up just after 5am and started the trail while the sun was rising. I was so ready to get out of this place. The hike immediately had a jungle feel which was cool and I was all alone at that hour with the silent trees. At the first fork the way AllTrails suggested was closed since it was indigenous land. I trust the sign in the park way more than AllTrails so I took the other route which eventually linked back up with the original route I was going to take. Right away there was a small water crossing which required me to take off my shoes and socks (no more wet shoe walking if I could avoid it). Then the trail was so narrow and overgrown that I could have really used a machete to get through (at least I had my pocket knife). I lowered my shoulder and plowed my way through like a running back behind his lineman. It looked like I jumped in a pool by the time I got past this section because all the leaves were soaking wet from the rainfall the night before. The next couple miles reminded me of the Ciudad Perdida with steep uphill sections through mud trenches. My calves were hating me for putting them through this again so soon but I had to keep pushing forward and just take a few more breaks than usual. There were certain parts that would be more of a switchback in America but in the Sierra Nevada you have to just go straight uphill sometimes. The scenery was incredibly gorgeous though and I was really enjoying the peace and quiet having the trail to myself this early in the morning. Occasionally I would hear the howl of a monkey off in the distance which reminded me of jungle hiking in Costa Rica. Overall it was an incredible hike and much better than the one from the main entrance to Cabo San Juan.

Beaches

Cabo San Juan

Got lucky and had beautiful sunny blue skies both days. It rained like crazy at night while I was in my tent but the weather was perfect for beach chilling during the day. While Cabo San Juan was nowhere close to Siesta Key beach, it was a nice spot to just relax and soak in the sun. There was a decent bit of people but I always able to find a spot to lay out. I would occasionally dip into the water for a few minutes always keeping an eye on my stuff. The temperature was great and it was a nice cool down.

Playa Nudista 

When I saw this on the map I knew I had to give it a shot. I had never been to a nude beach and what better opportunity than when traveling by myself. When in Tayrona. I made my way down to the end of the beach and plopped off my bathing suit letting loose parts that usually don’t see the sunshine. I spent about 1.5 hours on this part of the beach taking a few nice skinny dips in the water along the way. No photos from this one…sorry.

Overall I was fortunate to have good beach with Tayrona and the hiking was also nice. It was a good spot for my current headspace to have some solo time to both grieve and relax. While I would still recommend it, if I were to do it again I would just make it a day trip or spend one night max. And I wouldn’t do the tents again.

So that’s where I’m at with the blog! In reality it’s about 2.5 weeks behind and I’m currently in Medellin. Just finished my first of two weeks of classes in a really awesome Spanish immersion school and am stoked to party this weekend. For the fist time since April 15 when I quit my job, Friday actually means something! I’ve earned my weekend celebration.

I know that I’ve already had multiple blog posts and told so many stories, but now my South American adventure has finally begun.

Just wow I am in a state of total bliss. My first week and a half in Colombia has been an incredible experience and completely justified my decision to take the rest of the year off to backpack around South America. It took a day or two to adapt to this lifestyle but now I am totally in the zone. I have spent my time in the north in a region called Magdalena and it’s an absolutely gorgeous place – a great mixture of beautiful beaches and mountainous jungle landscapes. I used the city of Santa Marta as my home base town for staying a night in between each adventure and storing my large bag. I explored some of the amazing areas nearby – Minca (jungle town), La Ciudad Perdida (4 day trek through the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta to the Lost City), and Parque Tayrona (coastal national park). I’m going to separate this into two posts since La Ciudad Perdida has so much content behind it.

I have had so many amazing interactions already. Of course most of them are brief – just a night or two – but it’s just such an awesome experience to connect with so many people so quickly; the bond of traveling is so strong. It’s certainly equivalent to the music scene but also in such a different way. The convos about where your going and where you’ve been are always great but I also love getting perspective from so many different cultures and backgrounds. I feel like I’ve learned so much in such a short time period from other people. I’ve already made so many great connections from just being myself. I am so grateful for who I am and this this trip has been such a great reminder about myself and my personality.

Magdalena Región

Top 3 Highlights

1) Top of La Ciudad Perdida on day 3 of the trek

2) Sunrise from Vista Hermosa campsite on day 2 of the trek

3) Swimming in Cascada de Marinka (Minca) with the pool all to myself

The Landscape

Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta is one of the highest coastal mountain ranges in the world reaching an elevation as high as 18,700 feet (Cristóbal Colón which is actually the highest point in Colombia) just over 25 miles from the Caribbean coast. This mountain range is actually separate from the Andes. I did a damn good job conquering it hiking 65.9 miles and 17,100 feet of elevation gain over an 8 day stretch. Needless to say my calves are killing me.

The People

I didn’t get the best vibe from the people of Santa Marta (more on that below) but I did really like the energy of the Colombians working at the hostel; they were very nice and helpful. I also really liked the people that I interacted with in Minca and Tayrona, it was a much more relaxed and welcoming vibe. The Colombians on my trek to La Ciudad Perdida were amazing people who were incredibly friendly and had a great energy. They spoke great English and were very patient with me when I spoke Spanish with them. I still have a long way to go but I gained more confidence in my speaking abilities over the course of this first 1.5 weeks. I wasn’t planning on going to Bogota but now I might so that I can see Monica and Caro and get a first hand experience of the city with locals.

Colombia has had a brutal history the past 80 years that has screwed over the common people so it’s understandable that people have their guard up sometimes. But in spite of it all, people seem to be very happy and are grateful for what they have.

The Food/Drinks

The best food I had was cooked by Diana on La Ciudad Perdida trek, every meal she cooked for us was amazing and the portions were huge! Traditional breakfast in this area seems to be scrambled eggs with a circular corn bread patty and a side of mixed fruits – papaya, melon, and pineapple (sometimes watermelon). For lunch/dinner the chicken is tasty but the meat is average at best and both are usually served with rice, beans, and fried plantains. The arepas I’ve had were quite nice as well although my stomach got a little rocked after the 2nd round. My favorite meal has been the fried fish. It’s incredibly crispy and cooked perfectly; you just have to watch out for the bones! The accompanying hot sauce for meals isn’t too spicy but adds a nice flavor.

And of course the fruit drinks and coconut water have been amazing since it’s all so fresh. On the trek they were a thin liquid juice and I really enjoyed the lulu one. In Tayrona the juice was more like a smoothie with real fruits blended with ice, sugar, and either powdered milk or water. The coffee has been good but not amazing. More on that when I talk about the coffee farm tour I took in Minca.

Cities

I spent 4 nights in Santa Marta most of which were separated by trips to different cities in between, 2 nights in Minca, 3 nights (4 days) doing La Ciudad Perdida trek, and 2 nights in Tayrona National Park.

At the beginning of each city I will give a rundown of the hostel I stayed at and the friends I made, for myself to remember the names and country they are from when I read this in the future, but also to make it easier to reference people in the stories. It is so amazing the diverse group of people that I have already connected with.

Santa Marta

Hostel

Cacao hostel (3 nights all separated by a few days) had a nice low key vibe to it with a pool that I never used. I spent 2 nights in a 6 person dorm (which I was lucky that there was only 2 of us both times) and 1 in a private room. Very easy to sit outside and interact with the other guests. I chatted up quite a few other people besides these 3 but they were the ones I connected with most.

Friends

-Sarah (London, England) First friends!

-Liz: (Leeds, England) First friends!

-Ada: (Dominican Republic) She was volunteering for 2 weeks to work and stay for free so she became my rock at the hostel since I kept going in and out between trips so I also knew Ada would be there when I got back from wherever I was going.

Home Base

It was a long Saturday of travel going back in time when flying from Porto to Madrid to Bogota to Santa Marta. Starting with the flight from Bogota to Santa Marta I felt like a fish out of water. As far as I could tell I was the only non Colombian. The gate was changed and this woman was trying to chat with me about it. Could somewhat communicate in the basic form and we became gate friends but everyone speaks so quickly and there’s so much I don’t know. Definitely a huge challenge. Just something I am going to have to get used to. Motivation to practice my Spanish with more focus on ways that help me communicate in daily life. Got to my hotel just after midnight and immediately passed out after a 20+ hour day of travel.

The culture shock continued the next morning. I woke up at 6am since I was still on European time and eased into my day catching up on my blog. Then after breakfast at the hotel I decided to walk along the water to see what Santa Marta was all about. I felt like every single person was staring at me wondering what the fuck I was doing there and one or two groups yelled something at me. It was a little unsettling but I later found out from these British girls I made friends with at my hostel that they got cat called and vocally harassed by almost all the guys in the streets and on motorbikes so I actually had it easy. As a white male in America who is the most privileged person in a majority of situations in life, it’s very humbling to be somewhere where your viewed as an unwelcome outsider. But from their perspective I really don’t blame the average Santa Marta citizen for their viewpoint on me as a gringo walking through their town. They have lived through a long history of economic and social injustices where they cannot even trust their own government due to corruption and class favoritism so why would they care about me.

There’s no way to sugar coat it, I was not a fan of Santa Marta and neither were most people I met. It’s just the biggest city and capital in the Magdalena region that acts as a jump off point to a bunch of other really cool places to go. Basically find a hostel here to use as home base and drop off your big bag then get out.

I had a funny interaction during my first lunch. I was very jet lagged and overwhelmed by everything and ended up at a very local restaurant where I ordered the carne not knowing what I was actually going to get. They brought out this meat soup and when I finished I asked for la cuenta. The lady looked at me and says very quickly in Spanish: we haven’t even brought out your meal yet. Oops totally didn’t realize what was going on.

Once I got to Cacao Hostel on Sunday morning my energy was immediately lifted by being around other backpackers. A big part of this style of travel is meeting new people and being a part of the community that is formed by all of us that are backpacking around these countries. It rained all day and night so I just sat outside under the awning chatting with Sarah and Liz the entire time. We had some really great convos and it felt good to make my first connections of the trip. I needed that social energy in my life even more than I knew. It helped ease the hidden anxiety that I had to start my trip. I was able to feel more comfortable with being in Santa Marta and started getting super excited for what was ahead in my travels as they were both further along in their trip. Toward the end of the night Ada joined us and added her own flare of energy.

Most of the people I met in my first 1.5 weeks were traveling by themselves which is really great to see as a solo traveler myself. I was also pleasantly surprised that people were anywhere from their early 20s to their early 40s. While Southeast was an absolutely incredible place to backpack, most people were 18-25, which was great for 22 year old me but I’m glad South America seems to be a bit older of a crowd. 

I was back at Santa Marta on Wednesday after a few nights of Minca and it turned out to be a really fun time. It started out as a low key night since I had my 4 day trek the next day. I bought veggies and pasta to cook at the hostel and was just chilling when Ada and some other staff members suggested we play a game. We played a guess a music game with 2 teams where you listened to the first 3 seconds of a song and had to say the song name and artist. The category was popular songs 1950-2000s and it was mostly classic rock. It was pretty funny because I was the only American amongst this diverse group of people from all over the globe so I definitely had an advantage but people knew the songs surprisingly well. This game really raised the energy of the place and next thing you know we were doing group karaoke together to classics by Queen, Spice Girls, and Backstreet Boys.

My other night in Santa Marta was the Sunday after my 4 day trek to Ciudad Perdida. Sarah from my first night was actually there again so it was great reconnecting with her and talking about the trek (she had done it starting the day before me) but she had a 7pm bus to Medellin so it was brief. When I first saw Ada upon entering the hostel she barely recognized me and then goes oh my god you smell so bad. She wasn’t wrong – 4 days in the rainy jungle will do that. Luckily I booked a private room for the night since I knew I would want to have extra space and comfort after the trek. 

Unfortunately this turned out to be a really rough night. I had received some messages from various friends during the trek saying call me immediately when you can. I found out that my friend Adam in Tel Aviv passed away in his sleep. I was in a state of shock and grief the rest of the night. I have never gone from such a high coming back from my trek to such a low hearing this news. He was an incredibly happy and healthy guy so it was baffling to hear. One of the most genuine souls I’ve ever met and truly a guiding spirit. We had so many amazing travel experiences together as roommates studying abroad in France and I will always cherish the time we had together. He taught me so much and was always such a great friend who had my back. I’m crying right now on my bus to Tayrona writing this but I know he’s watching over me during my adventures ahead. I will channel his incredible energy and never ending curiosity into my soul as I move forward with my travels. He was a great linguist and I hope to use that as a motivating factor for my Spanish studies during this trip. I’m so grateful to have gotten to see him for the first time in years just a few weeks before when I was in Tel Aviv. It’s a reminder how fragile life can be so appreciate your loved ones and take advantage of any good opportunity you can.

Minca

Hostel

Finca Bolivar (2 nights) had a really relaxed and private vibe. It was hidden behind a gate that we each got a key to and it had its own private river access down below and viewpoint above (neither of which I used). It was a small hostel and I really enjoyed the company of everyone in it. Also the owner Nicolas was a very friendly Argentinian guy who gave me a map and circled recommendations he had around town for activities and food.

People

-Tomas (Prague, Czech Republic) I loved this guy. He was such a high energy character and full of interesting stories. He was married to Brenda so he knew Spanish very well, had great English, and obviously knew Czech. We really connected on both party stories and intellectual conversations. He said I had buena anda (good vibes). They are about to move to Singapore for Brenda job so maybe I’ll visit one day

-Brenda (Mexico): Tomas’ wife and a super nice lady. It seemed like she was always traveling for work while he went off exploring the city   

-Koen (Amsterdam, Netherlands) Had a strong connection and great convos with him as well. Another well traveled, interesting character that recently rode his motorcycle from the top of Oregon to the bottom of

Mexico making many stops along the way 

-Dan (Dublin, Ireland): had the cajones to cross the border of Venezuela and spend a few days in Marakaibo so it was interesting to hear about that experience

-Marie (small city, Germany): showed photos of Bolivia and gave me some good tips on what to do there

-Ronaldo (Minca, Colombia): owner of Mexican restaurant that Koen and I chatted with for an hour+

-Vivi: Berlin, Germany. Wasn’t at our hostel but Koen invited her to meet us for dinner the 2nd night and she had a fun, silly energy to her 

My first night I made friends with all the various people in the hostel described above and grabbed Mexican food for dinner with Koen where we met Ronaldo. He was the owner of the restaurant at his and we were the only people there so ended up chatting with him and his friend for over an hour. First real good convo with a local Colombian. Genuine guy who really just wants the country to be well received in the international community and be a top tourist destination.

The second night me, Tomas, Brenda, Koen, and Hein (another Dutch guy from the hostel) went to dinner and got beers at the arepa place I had lunch the day before. Two German girls, Vivi and another whose name I forget, also met us there and we had a great group energy going. It was only 10 and the party could have easily kept going but there wasn’t much open in town and we decided to just go back to the hostel and call it a night.

Arrival

I took a colectivo (mini bus) from Santa Marta to Minca. They wait for all the seats to fill up then off we go. It was pretty hot and stuffy but for just over $2 can’t really complain. Multiple stops were made along the way to drop off locals or to have giants bags of something (maybe fruit) thrown onto the top of the mini van to transport to Minca. Throughout my time in Colombia taking public transportation I found it fascinating how they would also use it as an opportunity to transport physical goods either above or below the vehicle.  

Got off the bus and immediately heard the sounds of the river flowing, birds chirping, and bugs buzzing; and smell the fresh scent of the jungle trees after a night of rain. Ahhh I’m already so much more at peace than being in Santa Marta. This is the type of experience I came for. I loved the vibe of Minca. It’s a sleepy town but has a very laid back vibe and some great jungle hiking. There are also numerous coffee plantations some of which also produce cacao or chocolate, and multiple places to go on a bird watching tour.

Hiking

Pozo Azul via Minca (4.5 miles, 860 feet elevation gain, in and out)

I immediately started my morning with a hike since I couldn’t check into my hostel yet. First half of the hike was a steady uphill along the road from Minca to the actual trailhead. It was peaceful to be surrounded by trees again and there wasn’t much traffic besides the occasional motorbike coming by. There was a bunch of mini vans parked at the trailhead, seems to be a popular tourist spot for local Colombians to take group vans from who knows where. It was a little under a mile downhill to get to the Pozo Azul (blue well) and there were little huts along the way that sold drinks and cooked snacks like empanadas and chorizo. At the end was a watering hole between a tiny waterfall and the rest of the river that people swam in. It was a little cold but quite refreshing on a warm day. Then I hiked back up the trail and down the road to my hostel Finca Bolivar.

360 Mirador (5.7 miles, 1729 feet elevation gain, in and out)

After a tasty arepa sampler lunch I started hiking toward Candelaria, a coffee and chocolate farm. It was a pretty steep uphill battle along a wide trail that was occasional paved on one side for the motorbike route. As I got closer to the farm, I saw that I was only about a mile/mile and a half from 360 Mirador which is supposed to be a great viewpoint. It was already almost 3 so it was a risky move given the rain comes anytime after 1 pretty much every day. But the sky still looked decent so I went for the viewpoint over coffee. The trail got more narrow and jungly as I went higher and there were some good views of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountains along the way. It was relatively challenging way up to the top and as I got closer the dark rain clouds started moving in quickly. Shit better hurry…but it was too late. The Leo in me really shows when I hike, and I was too proud to turn around, but by the time I got to the top it was lightly raining and you couldn’t really see anything except dark clouds. There was a faint view of Santa Marta and the ocean but certainly not the awe inspiring 360 view I hoped for. Oh well it was still a nice reward to make it to the top even without the views. The hike down was pretty miserable as the rain continued the whole way and gradually got harder toward the end. I was soaked and muddy by the time I made it back to the hostel.

Los Pinos via Marinka Waterfall (7.3 miles, 3009 feet elevation gain, loop. Could have been more miles but I didn’t do the last few miles downhill and took motorbike down when I could finally get one)

Another 7am wake up and after getting ready and grabbing a quick pain au chocolate from a little French bakery in town, I was on the trail by about 7:45. It was a steady, slight uphill climb along a wide trail and after about 25 minutes I made a stop at the Oído del Mundo (Ears of the World) waterfall which was small but the surrounding area was beautiful.

I continued up and made it to Cascada Marinka by about 8:45. I had heard from Tomas that it was quite crowded but since I got there so early I was fortunate enough to have the whole place to myself. The water was so refreshing and I swam in the pool for 15-20 minutes before other groups started showing up which was my cue to leave. 

The next section of the hike up to Los Pinos was incredibly challenging. It was nonstop steep uphill sections through the jungle with very narrow pathways and one part where there wasn’t even a path; I just had to scramble up the hill hoping that all trails was leading me the right way. My legs were already a little sore from my 2 hikes the day before so I had to stop multiple times along the way. Oh geez I hope I didn’t go too hard in Minca…I only have 1 day of rest after this before my 4 day trek. Whatever this is what I came here to do. There was some nice views along the way but once again nothing to see when I finally made it to Los Pinos (scenic viewpoint at the top). You literally couldn’t see anything but dark, misty clouds. Two Dutch guys and I sat at the top hoping it would clear up but instead it started raining. Sigh. Just like 360 Mirador it was all about the challenge but no view as a reward. I guess this is the risk you take when hiking in Colombia during the rainy season (which apparently used to end in late April but now it’s pretty much all year round in these parts). Rather than going down the same way, I decided to keep doing the loop in hopes that I would get a motorbike once I got closer to civilization. It was rainy, my legs were sore, and I was hungry so I didn’t feel like walking the extra 2 hours downhill to Minca. Luckily once I got to the town of El Campano, it didn’t take long to hop on the back of a motorbike and pay my way to the center of Minca. I rewarded myself with a nice BBQ ribs lunch.

Hiking through the mud trenches

Coffee Farm Tour at La Victoria

On my last morning before taking a colectivo back to Santa Marta, I did a coffee farm tour at La Victoria with Koen and Hein. They were walking there but given that I had hiked hard the past 2 days and had a 4 day trek the following day, I told them I would just meet them there via motorbike. It was about $7.50 for both ways which was totally worth it. The tour came with 2 small cups of coffee and was incredibly informative. The farm has been around for 130 years and they still use the same processes and same machines that they always have. There is nothing digital about this place. When one of the machines breaks down, they repair it with parts in house. Almost the entire factory is water powered with the exception of just 2 machines.

The coffee beans are picked high up in the mountain then placed in these pipes where the water powers them down to the farm. The beans are then separated out where the top 80% are put into one pile (and exported out of the country) and the bottom 20% are put into another pile and are used for local Colombian coffee. So actually the best Colombian coffee isn’t even in the country itself. For the lower quality beans they put on a tarp and sun dry it. For the higher quality beans they dry it using a furnace. Once we reach the roasting stage, it’s 15 minutes for light and 25 for dark; they do about 20 minutes for a medium roast. Light roast is actually higher strength caffeine since less gets burned off which makes sense but was news to me. La Victoria is just a producer and not an exporter so in the end all the roasted beans get bagged and shipped to their next destination where they’ll be combined with beans from other farms to make the final product. 

Overall it was a really cool experience to get a first hand look at how the coffee beans get processed from a farm that has been doing it the same way for 130 years. Afterwards I got a bomb sandwich and carrot cake from their cafeteria. A+ spot

So that’s it for the first half of my time in the Magdalena region. More to come soon on La Ciudad Perdida and Tayrona National Park.

By Tuesday morning in Tel Aviv my positive line was looking very thin and dim and by that night I was testing negative. I was finally able to book my Wednesday flight to Porto Tuesday afternoon and join for the last few days of the family trip. But Alex and Tonya have been incredibly risk averse in the Covid world especially right now when they have so much going on with Alex quitting his job and them moving to Canada next month so unfortunately they couldn’t risk seeing me at all and they didn’t really want anyone else in the family to either. They changed their flight to Friday morning so I could at least have 1 full day with the parents, Paul, Nichole and Jade. While I would have loved to spend more time with everybody it was still better than nothing! Plus this gave me an opportunity to explore Porto for a day at my power traveling speed rather than with children. I love my nieces and nephew but it’s a much different pace of travel with kids. Also I had my own hotel rather than staying at the Air Bnb which gave me my personal space.

The People

I immediately loved the vibe of Porto, all the people I interacted with were incredibly friendly and welcoming. Basically the opposite energy of Israel. I met great Israelis but it’s just so much more intense of a culture and the Porto energy was a warm welcome. I had a great Uber driver who had lived in Porto his whole life and acted like my tour guide during the rush hour traffic ride from the airport to my hotel. He told me about some of the different neighborhoods, gave recommendations of things to do and places to eat, and talked about where he vacationed to – usually the Azores, southern Portugal, and northern Spain. Somehow we started talking about Colorado wildfires and he told me about a Portuguese law that requires cutting down trees within 50 feet of your houses to prevent fires. Interesting stuff. Always refreshing to talk to a local about their city and lifestyle.

The welcoming energy continued with the friendly concierge at the hotel. They gave me a glass of Port wine and a Portuguese tart upon my entrance. They also provided me with a map and many recs on what to do in the city. I brought up Primavera Sound and one of the girl’s was going! This ended up being a good starting talking point with a lot of people.

The Food

Porto is all about the seafood so obviously that was going to be my main focus. I got some pretty good sea bass at Fish Fish the first night but the real highlight was the whole crab and creamy shellfish soup that I ate at Majára. My Uber driver from the airport told me it was his favorite spot in town and he’d been coming over 20 years and his recommendation did not disappoint. The restaurant was in Matosinhos which was about a 30 minute bike ride so I showed up to this semi fancy place for a 3:30 late lunch/early dinner sweating through my shirt. Might not have flown later in the evening but was fine given the time of day. It was the best crab that I’d ever eaten. So much fresh meat in the claws that just came out perfectly with minimal effort. The head is stuffed with a delicious crab meat filling and even the legs were incredibly meaty. I had no idea what it was about to cost since they charged per kilo. I was a little worried it would be absurd but screw it I was balling out. Turned out to be just under a kilo and cost 40 euros. Not bad at all given what I got.

I also had a great breakfast during my solo wandering day at a place that I had read about called O Diplomata. They served build your own pancakes with so many options and had super tasty fruit drinks! The server was Incredibly upbeat and friendly; loved his energy. I got two pancakes of their current house special and did two build your own pancakes with banana, maple syrup, and Oreo crumbles.

And you can’t go to Porto without getting franceshina their traditional sandwich. Ate this at Mercado Ferreira Borges during lunch with the fam on Friday. It’s made with bread, ham, sausage, melted cheese in a tomato sauce. It kinda tasted like a ham and cheese lasagna. It was tasty but very filling.

I also found it funny how ornate and nice all the McDonald’s looked from the outside.

Historic City

Porto is the second largest city in Portugal and has been around an important port city on the Duoro River since the Roman age. The city has some very old architecture along the winding cobblestone streets and there are ornate churches everywhere! I realized that I haven’t been to Europe since studying abroad in 2012 even though I’ve been to over a dozen countries in the last decade. My world travel has strayed elsewhere but sure is nice to be back in Europe…even if only for 2.5 days. Forgot how old the cities look and feel. But then Porto had free Wi-Fi throughout the city which was pretty progressive for a place that’s been around for over a thousand years. A lot of the buildings are attached and very flat looking from the front. They looked like a Hollywood movie set that you could flick and tip over. Very hilly city as you go inwards from the river. Lots of narrow alleyways to get lost in but the city is still easy to navigate either toward the river or toward the main square.

The city is known for Azulejo tiles which are these beautiful polished blue stone tiles that have geometric patterns or are used to tell religious stories and you can find them everywhere. Lots of the churches have them on the exterior and the Sao Bento train station is a prime spot to see them.

Torre dos Clérigos – great panoramic views of the city; can see endless red tile rooftops; Duoro River leading into the Atlantic; countless monuments, churches, and squares

Bolhao – pedestrian walkway through center with shops, restaurants, street musicians. Good spot to find an outdoor patio to drink a beer and people watch

Porto Cathedral – has been main church since 1200s. Prime location at the top of the hill right overlooking the river on one side and the city on the other. Heading down to the river/up from the river depending which way you go has these winding maze of cobblestone passage ways and staircases surrounded by houses where you feel like you should be lost but it all funnels into the same place

Bridges – there are 6 bridges (soon to be a 7th according my Uber driver) that cross the Duoro River. You can do a river boat bridge tour which the fam did before I showed up but I got to see 3 of them during my wandering. The most famous is the double decker Luis I Bridge which was designed by Gustav Eiffel and was the largest span of any bridge if this type when it was first built.

The Beaches

During the afternoon of my solo day I rented a bike and road along the river walk to various beaches ultimately making it to Matosinhos for my dank crab meal. I stopped at Ingleses Beach which had pebbly sand but nice rocky coastlines. After chilling there for an hour I continued along. The further north you got the nicer the beaches got. Damn stopped at the wrong one. After lunch I laid out on Matosinhos beach which had great sand and much more liveliness with people surfing and playing soccer.

The Music

To cap off my solo day I crossed the Luis I bridge to the park Jardim do Morro. I read it was the spot to be for sunset; it lived up to hype and then some. The tiny park was packed and there was a ripping live band that had an incredible drummer. I could learn a thing or two from him for 82 Moons. In addition to the great music the sunset over the river with the city backdrop was absolutely incredible. The colors changed from bright yellow to a fiery red and it lasted for 30+ minutes. I was sad that I didn’t bring booze but Jardim de Morro answered my prayers and had a concession stand selling beers and pina coladas served in a pineapple. I was chatting up a girl next to me and she said they always have live music in the park for sunset. This place is paradise!!

I also had the pleasure of going to Primavera Sound, a music festival that is held around the world in various major cities. Paul got my dad into Beck a few years back and he was one of the Friday night headliners so we got him tickets to the festival as his birthday gift. And of course Paul, Nichole, and I wanted to go too. The other headliner that day was Pavement so I was excited to finally get the opportunity to see one of the legendary founders of Indie rock. We thought it was going to be a midday into evening thing since it was a city festival but this is Europe so that was not the case. Beck played 10:30-11:30 which was an incredible set but I wish it were longer than an hour. Pavement was on from 12:45-2:15 which we stayed for most of. They were awesome!! We heard some of the hits and even the other songs just had that classic Indie sound; still crushing it in their 50s. So nice being back at a festival again and boogieing with Dad, Paul, Nichole, and thousands of strangers. The DJ stage went until 6 in the morning but no way were going to make that with this crew especially when we all had to fly out the next morning.

Grateful for My Time in Porto

Even though my original week long trip to Porto got cut short and I didn’t get to spend nearly as much time with my family (or any time with Alex’s family) because of Covid, I’m so glad that I got to enjoy 2.5 days there. I packed in so much during my solo day sight seeing the historic city in the morning, hiking the river and laying on the beach in the afternoon, and catching the sunset to some great music at Jardim de Morro. And the one day with the family was also incredible just all being together. I wish I got to spend a few more days there but am grateful for what I got.

Airport Travel Reality Check

Travel can be incredibly challenging especially if you haven’t done your proper research. And boy did I get slapped in the face hard before starting my South America journey. When I got to the counter they asked for my Colombian migration form. Didn’t know that was a thing that needed to be done in advance. The Porto airport Wi-Fi kept cutting in and out. I would almost complete the form and it would freeze. Asked to borrow a stranger’s phone and got to end and it said it couldn’t complete try again in a few minutes. It was a total mess and I was getting very frustrated. I finished it after over 30 minutes only to struggle to pull up the email on the Wi-Fi. Can’t catch a break. I finally was good to go on it and when I get back to the counter she asks for proof of onward travel through plane or bus. Are you fucking kidding me!!? I don’t have that I’m a nomad. Well apparently that’s a thing in Colombia; it was my fault I didn’t know (I did look into visa requirements at one point and don’t recall seeing this) but also researched after the fact and read that a lot of airlines don’t even let you book a one way flight there. Thanks for the advance info Iberia. I was totally losing it at this point but I had to get to Colombia at all costs and my flight was supposed to start boarding in 10 minutes (of course it ended up boarding and taking off late). So I hopped on my phone and booked a flight a little over a month down the road from Popayàn to Quito because I knew I’d be in that general area of Colombia at the end. I didn’t have enough time to mull over other options, I just needed proof of something so I could get in this damn flight. Hooray it worked! Quite the learning experience to start my trip. Note to self always check if proof of onward travel is required when doing travel with no clear end date.

South America Here I Come

All that being said I am Colombia bound and after 2 amazing months since quitting my job, my solo South American adventure is finally about to begin and I am so ready for it!! I feel like I’ve already been traveling for a lifetime. My excitement level is through the roof right now. Now that’s it actually happening the nerves are kicking in too but that’s par for the course. There will certainly be challenges along the way but also so many amazing experiences and growth opportunities ahead. Cannot wait to conquer the Andes mountains!

I’m going to change my writing style on this blog post and this might be how I do it from here on out. Instead of telling the tale in chronological order like I did the first few posts, I’m going to focus on broader topics and tell the stories underneath. That being said I will still follow the order of the cities I visited. And of course I have to tell a couple stories first to set the scene.

The Prelude

In case you don’t know, Birthright is a free guided trip to Israel if you have at least one Jewish parent or have converted to Judaism. Like any good Jewish mother, my mom bugged me for years to go on Birthright. Not that I didn’t want to go on a free guided trip to Israel with a bunch of people my age range…of course I did. But things got busy with my own personal travels every year that it just hadn’t worked out yet. I mean how am I supposed to go to 19 STS9 shows in a year and go to Israel, there’s just not enough time for both! I would have definitely regretted not taking advantage of such an amazing opportunity; both as a world traveler exploring a new country and a Jewish/Christian raised person going to the holiest of lands. Birthright used to only go until the age of 26 and recently extended the age range to create trips for 27-32 year olds, which bought me a few more years. However they made an announcement earlier this year that this would be the final summer doing the trips for the older age group due to lack of participation so this was literally my last possible chance to make it happen…and I’m so glad that I did.

On the morning of our take off I briefly met some of the other people in the Birthright group before we went to the counter to get our tickets. Everyone had to answer an intense questionnaire before checking in where they asked me things like do you have any Arabic friends, who did you stay with last night, and name four Jewish holidays. It’s probably a good thing that Israel has such a heightened sense of security given the history of the country but sheesh I wasn’t ready for this type of questioning especially at 7am. I passed the test but when I got to the ticket counter they didn’t have a ticket for me…uh what?! Welp Birthright is off to a lovely start. What does that even mean?? I kept my cool but was also pretty pissed off/confused. Not only was I stoked to go on Birthright but this was also the jump off point for traveling to meet my family in Portugal then ultimately get to Colombia. Luckily there was a local Birthright staff member who was there to ensure things go smoothly leaving the airport and she was incredibly helpful. We figured out when I requested to cancel my return flight, they ended up canceling both flights altogether. Good thing my email correspondence clearly stated just cancel the return flight from both me and the person who had responded. The girl called up Birthright explaining the issue and ended up getting the situation resolved relatively quickly. One of the people that was supposed to go on the trip couldn’t make it because of Covid so they just switched the names on the ticket; otherwise Birthright would have had to sack up and pay for my flight day of cost. Or if it was sold out I don’t know what would have happened but no need to worry about that. Phew dodged a bullet there to start to my international travels! It’s always something. The Birthright leaders of our group, Zach and Healy, had to wait back with me during this whole process which gave me a chance to have a solid conversation with both of them. They are both really awesome and laid back people so I knew we were in good shape for the rest of the trip. Plus Zach had lounge access so I ended up joining them for a free breakfast and a mimosa. Bank error in my favor. After our first quick group ice breaker in the airport we boarded the plane and were off to the Holy Land!

Birthright Overview

Rather than get into the nitty gritty detail of every interaction and everything we did on this incredible 7 day journey through Israel, I’m just going to give an overview of the group and the trip as a whole then I’ll break some of it down further.

The Group

I cannot say enough about how amazing our group of people was – we went from a bunch of strangers on day 1 (a few people went with friends/family but no one came in a group larger than 3 and most people came solo) to being a close knit community by the last day. Really the family vibes began the second we landed in Israel (even though it was 4am the energy and connection between all of us was immediately there) and remained until the very end only strengthening with time. Throw a bunch of random Jews on a free trip to Israel and they immediately bond. Birthright you sure do know the secret to success.

I originally thought there was only 7 people in our group based on the Birthright App but it turned out to be a group of 28 (31 for the couple days when 3 Israelis joined us). I ended up having at least one great convo with every single person in the group which is really rare and awesome. Of course I vibed more with some people than others but I was pleasantly surprised with how easy it was to get along with everyone. Lots of good senses of humor in the group; jokes were landing left and right. I was worried it would be mostly New Yorkers but it was actually a diverse group of people – jobs, where from, background, and interests. And the nice thing about doing the trip now versus being a college student is that everyone had lived their adult lives for a number of years now – being professionally employed, traveling, figuring themselves out, etc. I think it gave us all a much greater appreciation for (a) going on this trip (b) learning about Israel and its connection to our heritage and (c) making meaningful relationships with each other. We all made the choice to escape our busy lives and do Birthright. I truly made some lifelong friends from this shared experience.

The Experience

First off huge shoutout to our tour guide Pauline. She was an absolutely incredible wealth of knowledge about Israel, Judaism, and every single stop we made along the tour. She provided us with the facts. And although you sometimes knew what she personally believed, her presentations stayed as unbiased as possible and she did her best to present multiple sides to the story. Boy was she a talker but it was so impressive just how much she knew about such a wide array of topics. I know she’s a profesional tour guide but I would love to be that well spoken about anything (okay maybe I can hold my own when it comes to Sound Tribe, Phish, and whatever job I’m currently working but that’s about it). I’ve always loved facts, history, geography, etc but unless you really put in the effort to dive into specific topics and study them to drive it fully into your memory then it’s impossible to become an expert. Especially as an adult with a busy life.

I was pleased with the diversity of activities we did during the trip: wandering through multiple shuks (outdoor markets), exploring the old city of Jerusalem and the Western Wall, celebrating Shabbat, visiting multiple museums, showing remembrance in a cemetery, sleeping in a Bedouin tent, staying at a Kibbutz, doing a wine tasting, taking part in an archaeological dig, hiking Masada at sunrise, floating in the Dead Sea, going out in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, touring an agricultural farm in the desert, and doing a painting class in the park.

While there were some religious aspects to the trip…I mean it was Birthright after all, they really didn’t push it down our throats too much which was nice. We had nice Shabbat and Havdalah celebrations on the rooftop of our hotel in Jerusalem and did an exercise related to Jewish values but otherwise there wasn’t much religious activity. Of course a lot of the things we saw and the stories that were told relate to Judaism but nothing was forced.

Birthright is about finding your identity as a Jew and to their credit this trip did increase my Jewish identity. I haven’t been around that many Jews since my days at Tulane (pretty sure Jordan is my only Jewish friend in Denver). And I will say that being Jewish does create this instant sense of community with other Jews just feel like being a Sound Tribe or Phish fan where we don’t know each other but we all have this commonality that brings us together and creates this instant connection. Look I’m not going to forego my South American trip to become a rabbi or even practice Judaism more than I did previously, but I do a feel stronger sense of pride right now to be Jewish. We’ll see how long that lasts, I’m still in the Birthright honey moon phase.

Israel Overview

Israel is such a fascinating place with so much diversity of religions, cultures, and landscape; you can truly feel the layers of history and the passion of the people that live there. It’s the birthplace of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam so it’s a melting pot of fierce religious beliefs and has been the center of many conflicts over the years. I’m not going to go into any history lessons – ancient or modern – because it’s a very complicated history where every side has different perspectives depending who you talk to. People really learn to question things here. Seems to be the Israeli mentality; with the hand they are dealt they have to. I certainly don’t do enough critical thinking about important issues in the world because it’s easy not to when you live in your own bubble. I want to be better about this going forward because this type of thinking helps solidify your beliefs…or question them. Either way it’s a good mental exercise. In Israel their bubble is right at the heart of conflict no matter which side you’re on so these topics are very real in their every day life. And people still choose to live here in spite of it all. They’re actually very happy to live here, and they embrace life to the fullest.

The People

Two great examples of the will of the people and their pride in living in Israel come to mind. (1) We visited Sderot near the Gaza Strip and people have 15 seconds after a rocket warning to seek shelter. That’s it! Every house and bus stop has a bomb shelter attached to it. And yet people still choose to live here. Mind boggling. (2) At the agricultural farm in Talmei Yosef, this area gets hit with roughly 6000 kasam rockets per year. And what do the people do…they used the scrap metal to turn the rockets into gorgeous art pieces – necklaces, menorahs, flowers, and more. I’ve never seen a more beautiful use of recycling; they take something so bad and turn it into something so good. Of course these are just stories from the Jewish perspective; I’m sure every side living in Israel is full of stories about people that passionately want to live in this Holy Land.

A couple more quick points on the people in Israel. It’s a very forthright and direct culture. According to Pauline there is no word for awkward. People say exactly what they are thinking and even if there’s some brief tension it clears the air and everyone moves one. This made for a lot of terrible customer service experiences. I had some good ones, but most of the time it didn’t seem like people gave a shit what kind of service they gave. Definitely doesn’t help when you don’t know Hebrew. Speaking of reasons to learn Hebrew; Israeli girls are stunningly beautiful, especially in Tel Aviv. I had to pick my jaw up off the ground countless times. I’ve never seen so many attractive women per capita. Okay mom I’m ready for a nice Jewish girl now.

The Food

I had heard great things about Israeli food but Birthright certainly did not do it justice. We had a couple good meals – Bedouin dinner in Han Hashayarot, home cooked dinner in the Kibbutz, and our final meal in Tel Aviv; but otherwise all the sanctioned meals were not good. Obviously it’s hard to complain about free food but these meals made Bruff (my college cafeteria) food look gourmet. We ate way too many meals at our hotel Jersualem Gold where the food was almost comically bad. Every lunch/dinner would have a plate of melted ice cream sitting there waiting for us for dessert. Along with a bunch of other terrible buffet style food that was the same every time. Dinner was probably just leftover lunch slightly reheated. The best part about these meals was making fun of it. Our other hotel food wasn’t great either. We did have some opportunities to buy meals ourselves and I got some tasty falafel and shawarma particularly at the shooks. Outside of meals some things that were great was the snacks, the sweets, and the olives.

I had some really incredible food during my quarantine time in Tel Aviv. I became a huge fan of Sabih for breakfast. It’s a Jewish Iraqi dish made with pita or laffa bread and filled with eggplant, hard boiled egg, chopped salad, parsley, amba and tahini sauce. Pickles and hot peppers come on the side. Another random great meal I had was Minchet Abish – Ethiopian ground beef stew with onions, peppers, paprika, fenugreek (spice), berbere (spice blend) eaten with injera (Ethiopian flat bread). It’s finger food with great flavors; the berbere really adds a nice kick. Way better than the Ethiopian place in Edgewater public market…shocker.

Jerusalem

First stop on Birthright was Jersualem, the holiest city of them all where all 3 major religions collide. We landed around 4am and I was running on maybe 1 hour of plane sleep but I somehow felt great; probably the excitement of being in the trip and meeting new people. I was very chatty on the hour bus ride from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. I quickly became friends with Ben as we nerded out about Phish and ultimately became joke partners in crime throughout the trip. He was on the trip with his hometown friend Jared and we hit it off immediately as well. The 3 of us ended being roommates for the first couple stops of the trip. There was quite a few others I also connected with right away. Our first stop on the tour was a great viewpoint of Jerusalem where we got the first of many informative spiels from Pauline and did our second group ice breaker. It was going to be very challenging to remember everyone’s name in such a large group but I got there eventually by the end.

The Shook (Outdoor Market)

We made multiple trips to the shook throughout our 3 night stay in Jerusalem. Now it really felt like we were in Israel; it was like something out of a movie seeing all the locals interact in the market. You could buy nuts, sweets, spices, rugs, random trinkets, whatever. There was quite a bit of activity on a Thursday afternoon as people were making purchases for Shabbat the next day. It was also quite interesting seeing Hebrew written everywhere. Growing up I always associated it with saying prayers or reading from the Torah but going to Israel makes you realize it’s just the national language of the country, whether your Jewish or not you know it. Another interesting observation was seeing soldiers walking around with their rifles and pistols flashing. If I saw someone with a gun in a market in America I’d feel scared shitless but here it just felt normal. Had a couple classic Israeli meals from the street vendors – falafel and shawarma as well as some tasty rugellah and falafel.

The main area of the shook was a whole different beast at night. Music was blasting and people were going wild on tables dancing and acting fools. It was quite the party but upon further investigation everyone looked so young; the average age was probably 16-18. Still a fun scene to witness. I loved that there was bars lining each side where you could buy beers and shots and just drink in the streets. Reminded me of the good old New Orleans days. On Shabbat night after splitting a few bottles of wine outside Jerusalem Gold we went out with the other 27-32 year old Birthright group. Even though the entire town shuts down on Shabbat the Russian bar was open. And when they saw a group of 20+ show up at 12:30 they’re closing time changed to 4am. They knew the check would be worth staying open for. I ordered a drink called “Your Gonna Die” that had like 6 different kinds of alcohol and came out rainbow colored. Oh boy here we go. The drink lived up to its namesake. At first I was super chatty bridging the gap with the other group but then at some point my memory fades and everyone got to a sloppy drunk Colin. Oops. The drink did warn me with it’s name. Let’s just say it was a slurry and blurry walk home that night.

The Old City

The crème de la crop of Jerusalem is the old city. Even though there are so many layers of history here it’s currently broken down by quarter: Jewish, Christian, Muslim, and Armenian. Surprise, surprise we were spending our day in the Jewish quarter. Once again Pauline provided good insight and stories behind it all; if only I had half a brain to remember any of it. Still fascinating to hear it in the moment when your actually seeing it live. It adds ways more value than just wandering through without any context. We had free time during our lunch break and were only allowed to stay in the Jewish quarter but Dad told me I had to see the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and when I asked Pauline she said it wasn’t allowed. At first I was going to follow the rules but when I found out others left the area to get tattoos I said fuck it this is my trip too. And I was so glad that Ben and I ventured over there. I mean this is the burial place of Jesus and where he rose again. How could I not see it?!

Western Wall after lunch was a powerful experience – center point of prayer for multiple religions. Naturally I chanted Divided Sky by Phish when I was there, because that’s my prayer of choice. The Orthodox Jews were intimidating with their intense prayer and glaring eyes. The tradition is you write a prayer for someone else and put it into the wall. I sent my prayers out to Vicky to find a job and I’m so glad I did. When I told her about it she had been having a super rough day and even if it didn’t work directly to find her a job it really made her day and that was so worth it in itself. The wall is vey powerful and moving but also kind of a backwards ass place. The sides are divided between men and woman; and while boys can be Bar Mitzvahed here woman have basically no rights. Guys can pretty much wear whatever whereas woman have to cover their shoulders and legs. The very religious are living in the past and it’s pretty fucked up actually. I tried going into this one section where Orthodox Jews were heavily praying and I felt unwelcomed. They should do a Maya Jane Coles Cercle set there to the lighten the mood. All that being said it was a very cool experience and certainly a must see in Jerusalem.

Other Activities

We were in Jerusalem for 3 days which was a day too long in my opinion but there was a lot to soak in. Some other stuff we did while there:

• On the second day 3 Israelis joined us for a few days of the trip. This is a key part of Birthright as it allows us to interact first hand with local Israelis that are in the same age group as us and really get to understand their lifestyle and viewpoints. They were all great but I connected especially well with Ori since he is a guitarist who is also super into music. We made each other playlists to share our musical tastes with each other and discover new music. I love doing this and plan to do so whenever possible on my South American adventure. Music truly transcends all languages
• Lecture on the Israel-Palestine conflict. A topic that certainly has to be discussed while in Israel, we had a really good speaker who told us the history of the conflict since the forming of Israel as a state in the 1940s. He was a very knowledgeable guy and the overall presentation was well done. He stuck to the facts and it was as unbiased as an Israeli Jew could make it. He also had a great sense of humor. The biggest problem was how hot it was in the Jerusalem Gold basement; a COVID hotbed. More on that later
• Shabbat service on the rooftop of Jerusalem Gold. Wonderfully led by Healy who is studying to be a Rabbi. She fits the billing perfectly as a young, hip Rabbi in Brooklyn. I have no urge to go to a synagogue but with her at the helm I’d consider. It was crazy being in Jerusalem for Shabbat because literally the entire city shuts down; except of course the Russian bar that serves the Your Gonna Die drink. We also did Havdalah which I had never done before but it celebrates the ending of Shabbat and the start of a new week
• It’s Birthright so of course we had to do at least one what it means to be a Jew type of activity. But it turned out to be surprisingly fun and insightful. We split into groups and had to choose 5 cards out of this deck to answer the questions (I’m paraphrasing) of what will keep Judaism alive 100 years from now and what values you hold to your Jewish faith. My group was all half Jewish and had fairly similar beliefs to where we came up with our answers relatively conflict free; not all groups could say the same. Then after presenting our answers slowly it went down to choose 3 cards then 2 then 1. It made for some great debate/conversation and was a highly informative and entertaining exercise. Okay Birthright I see you bringing out the inner Jew in all of us
• The Israel Museum I was pretty hungover for this one thanks to the Your Gonna Die drink so didn’t get too much value out of a museum experience. The big take away was that it has the Dead Sea Scrolls but Ben and I were too busy fiending for coffee to get much out of that. Seemed like the museum had some potential but not for me in that moment
• Mount Herzel – cemetery that had some beautiful graves and carried a lot of emotion hearing the stories of some of the people buried there; especially when Pauline and Ori each shared a story about one of their friend’s there

Negev Desert

Off to the desert we go. Crazy how quickly the land in Israel goes from green shrubbery to arid desert. Welcome to the Negev; where my camels at?! We made a couple fun stops along the way that day. First stop was the Haella Valley Winery where the guy telling us about the wine didn’t look a day over 16 but hey I don’t think there even is a legal drinking age in Israel and he knew his shit. This was a nice stop off. We got to sample a lot of different tasty Whites and Red; and even a Rosé (not the two colors blended à la Evan style). Naturally I bought a few bottles.

Then we did an archaeological dig at Beit Govrin which was a really cool experience. The guide was very passionate about the land and what could be uncovered. We went into a cave and all got shovels and buckets to see what we could find. Then we used these giant sifters to see if anything else was hiding in the dirt we collected. It was crazy how much pottery, charcoal, and glass we found in less than 20 minutes of digging. It really opens your eyes to how much is yet to be discovered about many ancient civilizations. I really enjoyed this experience; not your average thing to do when traveling to a foreign country.

The night cap to that evening was at Han Hashayarot which was a Bedouin tent…kinda sorta. More like a tourist property that simulates what being at a Bedouin tent would be like for Birthright groups. But we did have an actual Bedouin give a speech on the lifestyle and it was quite impressive the beats they make while cooking. Speaking of cooking, the food was incredible too. Some of the best we had on the trip. And there was also a camel stable or whatever it’s called for camels. They responded quite well when I blasted Camel Walk by Phish. We were supposed to go on a group walk to see the stars at 9 that night but I was absolutely exhausted from all the nights of drinking in Jerusalem and chatting nonstop; so I ended up passing out around 8:30. I’ve seen the stars…many a times. I also know that 9 is way too early for them to even be good yet. And I’m so glad I skipped out on this one because first of all I heard it was whatever and second we had to be up at 2:15 for our drive to do the sunrise Masada hike.

Masada

Wow what a place! We were the first bus there arriving just before 5am, so early that we had to wait at the gate before it opened; which we all bitched about at first but so worth it once you saw the line that formed behind us. We did a short 15 minute hike up to the top (ah it was so nice to be hiking again) and looking below us made getting there early that much better. There was a line of people marching up Masada as far as the eye could see. The history behind it is crazy with King Herod building it as a fortress in the mid 30 BCs and a group of Jews committing mass suicide in the early 70s (70 CE not the 1970s) rather than being captured. Needless to say I thought seeing things in Europe were old but this shit dates way back. It was hard to even fathom how long it’s been around. I’ve done some sunset hikes and usually am somewhat disappointed. More so because the experience is that it goes from dark outside to slightly less dark and that’s it. And I’ve done sunrise Angkor Wat and Horseshoe Bend; two absolutely stunning places in the world. But the sunrise didn’t really make those experiences any better. Masada on the other hand was one hell of a sunrise. Watching the sun pop up in the distance was absolutely phenomenal; you truly got to watch it rise in the horizon.

Pauline gave us the whole story behind Masada; none of which I remember, but again hearing it in that moment added so much value to what we were seeing. We made a few more stop offs while at the top but the most memorable was this spot where the whole group yelled into a canyon and the sound echoes for miles. I’ve never heard anything like it. Then we got to hike down Masada Snake Path which zig zagged it’s way around the mountain. In a different world where I was doing this on my terms I would have hiked up this way as well.

Dead Sea

Next stop was Ein Bokek, a town on the Dead Sea. First of all it’s wild to look at your elevation here, roughly 1300 feet below sea level. The Dead Sea lived up to the hype. Being able to float on the water like that is a crazy experience. You couldn’t drown if you tried. You actually had to force yourself not to get pushed back up to the surface. Lying on your back and floating was mandatory. And it was crazy how silky smooth your skin felt after floating in that salty ass water. It only got smoother after putting mud all over your body. As amazing as the Dead Sea was, the highlight might have been the watermelon popsicle they sold at the convenience store. That shit was so fire especially on a 100 degree day.

Kibbutz Tzeelim

I had no idea what a Kibbutz was going into this experience but I left wishing we stayed there longer. Less Jerusalem more Kibbutz as the Torah used to say. It’s basically a commune where people have their own houses then share common spaces like playgrounds, pools, basketball courts, etc. We had motel style rooms but then a shared outdoor space between them so it was a way better vibe than Jerusalem Gold. And the food that we had cooked for us was incredible!! This Arabic woman that used to run a Mediterranean restaurant in Georgia was our chef and we finally had a fire dinner. Nice to see the Arabs and Jews can at least peacefully coincide when it comes to eating a dank meal.

Shvil Ha’salat in Talmei Yosef

This was a day trip to an agricultural farm, which was one of my favorite activities that we did. It was super impressive how this desert farm is able to grow strawberries, cherry tomatoes (which I learned originated in Israel), cucumbers, carrots of all colors, and hot peppers. They used some very interesting farming techniques. The strawberries are grown above ground in a greenhouse by hanging the planters in the air so that it’s easier on the back to pick them and less likely for bugs to get into them. Also they use bugs that don’t like strawberries to eat the other bugs. For the soil they reuse coconut husks which does a great job soaking in the water. It was the best strawberries that I had ever tasted; all the veggies we ate were delicious. Hmmm maybe I’ll open a strawberry farm in the desert somewhere, seems like a good life.

This was also the place where they turn the kasam rockets into art as I described earlier. Another cool thing they taught us is that pigeons are born with a magnetic pull to their birthplace in their beak hence why they could be used to send secret messages and always know where to go. We even released a group of pigeons to wherever their home may be.

And of course what trip to a vegetable farm would be complete without eating the hottest peppers available. I redeemed myself after getting crushed in Mexico and ended up eating 3/4 of the spiciest one they currently had. I was sweating through my shirt and the spice lingered for a bit but overall it really wasn’t TOO crazy.

Sderot

The bus made a quick stop at Sderot on the way to Tel Aviv which is a town right nearby the Gaza Strip. As I discussed earlier there are bomb shelters everywhere and you have just 15 seconds to find cover once the alarm gets sounded. Wild stuff. Even though I figured we were fine it was slightly nerve wracking being there. Probably the only point of the trip that I felt a little unsafe. All the buildings in the town had this very plain architecture and coloring; reminded me of the East Berlin communist buildings.

Natanya

We didn’t actually stay in Tel Aviv so our hotel was in Natanya, a beach town about 25 min north of Tel Aviv. This was the nicest place we stayed the entire trip. Ending on a high note. Although unfortunately the food here was once again not great. It looked good but the taste was bleh. Although in hindsight maybe it’s because I had Covid.

Tel Aviv

Nightlife

The first night staying in Natanya was the Birthright crew’s chance to go out in Tel Aviv. Per Adam’s recommendation we started at Teder which was a great spot for a big crew because it was a giant outdoor courtyard with picnic tables. Adam (my roommate when studying abroad in France) ended up meeting us there too which was really nice to see him. We caught up a little but not se much as I would have liked because I thought I was going to stay with him after Birthright. After a few drinks we went to Kuli Alma which was more of a classic bar playing hit music. I was drunk at this point and unsuccessfully tried chatting up some cute Israeli girls. This was really my only true night out in Tel Aviv since I found out I have Covid afterwards. Right after Birthright ended us extenders went for a beer in Jaffa at an outdoor bar right on the water. This beautiful location is where I got slapped in the face with a positive Covid test (more on that below). Toward the end of quarantining I did go out one night with Adriana and Jake to an outdoor bar in Jaffa as well as for delicious cocktails at Imperial Bar. And my last night I met up with Ori, Paul, and Nick for beers at the Beer Garden. So I did have a few other minor glimpses of Tel Aviv night life but nothing crazy.

Beach

The beaches in Tel Aviv are incredible! The sand is super nice although it does get insanely hot. It was more difficult to walk on than the coal walk I did in San Miguel. The water is an clear bright blue and was the perfect temperature for swimming. You can rent beach chairs and umbrella for a pretty minimal price which is definitely the move because the sun is super intense. The boardwalk goes all along the beach and is filled with people walking, biking, and scootering. I took it as far down as Jaffa and as far up as Hayarkon Park which is the big city park in town with multiple gardens and lots of green space. I walked all around it one day while blasting Sound Tribe at the Eastern. The sunsets over the water were fantastic every night.

Jaffa

The old city of Jaffa is beaming with historic energy and super fun to explore. It has fantastic views of the Tel Aviv skyline and the beaches lining the coast. On the last day of Birthright we did an art activity where we painted it from afar. Then we went to the center to discuss our takeaways from the trip and have one final meal together. I was impressed with how deep everyone got with their trip takeaways. A bunch of jokesters can be serious sometimes too. There’s also a really cool shook in Jaffa. I explored it a second time with Adriana and Jake walking through the narrow pedestrian alleyways surrounded by plants and 1000+ year old bricks.

Closing Remarks

Overall Birthright was such an amazing experience and I’m so glad to have taken advantage of going on this trip. I made some great lifelong friends, got to explore Israel and some of the incredible things it has to offer, and came away more proud of my Jewish identity. I will definitely be returning to Israel again in the future as I feel like we only scratched the surface with this trip.

Shitty Covid Ending

On the last day those who were returning to America had to take a Covid test (of course this rule ends up getting removed less than 2 weeks after our trip). Some people were starting to feeling sick the last day or two so there was a nervous energy in the room. Low and behold 5 people in the group tested positive. Yikes. One girl was supposed to be the maid of honor at her friend’s wedding the following weekend (luckily she did end up making it). Those poor souls were forced to quarantine in a shitty hotel in Tel Aviv where they could only go up to the rooftop for sunlight (prison style) before being transferred to Jerusalem for a few days where they at least had a little freedom. I took a test after the last day was done since I was going to be staying with Adam for 2 nights and then leaving for Portugal afterwards to see my family. My heart sank when it was positive. I had been feeling a little tired and scratchy throat that day but was really hoping it was just because we had been on an 8 day trip where we were on the go nonstop and I had talked so much. Those are the same symptoms I would have had even if I didn’t have Covid. Everything had been smooth sailing since my retirement began but testing positive for Covid threw me off course. I was still glad I didn’t do the sanction test because I would have been forced to live by there rules with no freedom. I ended up getting 2 different hotels over the course of the next 6 days. Nothing too exciting to talk about other than Covid ruins shit once again. The first 2 days my throat was scratchy and I was very low energy but then felt fine after that. After a few days of isolation I went to the beach/park to get some fresh air, hung with some of the Birthright extenders, and ate a few dank meals. I also finally washed my clothes at a laundromat. In the end it gave me the opportunity to further explore Tel Aviv (even if limited capacity for a few days) and I really got a good feel for the city. But I ended up missing more than half my family trip to Portugal so that really sucked.

Looking back upon it Birthright was a Covid super spreader event waiting to happen. There was over 30 of us in a bus daily for 8 days where most meals were buffet style and multiple lectures were given in stuffy enclosed rooms. Maybe it was their plan all along to get us Covid so we had to stay in Israel longer?! In the end at least half the people in the group tested positive by the time they got home or if they had extended. Shitty ending to an otherwise incredible trip.

I wrote this before Birthright but didn’t get the chance to post it because I was too busy living in the moment of that trip and am just now getting around to it.

Unfortunately I tested positive for Covid right after Birthright so that fucks up part (if not all) of my Portugal trip with the fam but I am currently quarantining in Tel Aviv. More to come on that story with the Birthright post but there’s a little sneak peek into where I’m at right now.

It was a great 9 day stint in Sarasota, got exactly the rest needed to re-energize myself and completed the last minute planning/research required before my adventure begins. I kept saying I would figure out all the loose ends for my trip when I got to Sarasota and can proudly say that I accomplished everything I wanted to. My life for the next 7 months is packed, and I’m officially ready to live out of my backpack. I also spent a lot of quality time with my parents and eating my Dad’s amazing cooking; saw Grandpa twice; practiced Spanish daily; went on the classic boat ride to Old Salty Dog; got incredibly sunburnt on Siesta Key beach; watched the eclipse; had lunch with Carol at Zach’s bench; sold my car for twice the trade in value I got offered last year; got dinner with Jared and Peter; went to David and Patti’s condo; had dinner and drinks with Steven, Sarah, and Cristian; and of course ate a Pub Sub. It was jam packed but still relaxing. I now feel more mentally ready than ever for the trip and am so excited for what’s ahead! So many months of preparation all leading to the journey ahead.

But I had one last stop in America before leaving the country for the rest of the year. What better place to exit the US than New York City?! May not have seen any live music or had any super late nights out in the city that never sleeps but I got a real first hand experience of what NYC is all about. I caught up with so many different friends, walked all around the neighborhoods of Brooklyn and Manhattan, chilled in the biggest parks, ate bomb food, went to a museum, and soaked in the energy of constantly being around thousands of people. Just like my week long trip to SF last year I feel like I truly know the city better and get why so many people want to live in these two cities even though rent is astronomical and the lifestyle costs a fortune. I would never live in either city (well maybe briefly if I won the lotto) but I will definitely continue to come back throughout my life.

It was also a good reminder of how I want to prioritize my time when I travel to big cities in South America. I think if you truly understand your own style of travel and what you get the most pleasure doing then your trips will be a so much better experience. You don’t have to force yourself to do what’s popular if it’s not something your into because there are always so many other things a city or place can offer that provides more value to the individual traveler. That’s also the beauty of traveling solo, you get to choose what you want to do, and not have to worry about the group. Of course I still love the social interactions of traveling with a group or getting pushed into doing something you wouldn’t normally do that you end up really enjoying.

I flew into LaGuardia and got picked up by the G Train himself. And no that’s not a subway line, it’s one of my good friends from Tulane, Matt Garber. He lives in Queens so not in the heart of the city or the most glamorous borough – immediately lots of trash in the street and scaffolding on the buildings. In the words of Garber “this place sucks” but he’s also a die hard Mets fan so he’s used to things sucking. We shot the shit for a bit then called it an early night because he had to work the next day.

Day 1: Where Brooklyn At?

Can’t start my first morning in New York without a bagel and lox so I walked to Bialy’s. It really is true that New York bagels are so much better than anywhere else, the perfect softness. Now that I was full and caffeinated it was time for some exploring; took the E > 6 > 4 to the Brooklyn bridge. Done like a true pro. I’m a cheese ball so I was listening to all the classic New York songs on the way:

-Empire State of Mind: JAY Z and Alicia Keys

-N.Y. State of Mind: Nas

-New York, I Love You but You’re Bringing Me Down: LCD Soundsystem

-New York City: moe.

-New York City: Peter Malick and Norah Jones

I walked across the Brooklyn Bridge with thousands of other people; you could tell who was a tourist and who was a local based on how fast they were walking and whether or not they were stopping every 5 feet to take a photo. The views of Manhattan from the bridge are absolutely incredible with the expansive skyline and the allure of America’s biggest city off in the distance. And of course the view walking toward Brooklyn is no slouch either. I was dance walking across the bridge to LCD Soundsystem which was perfectly fitting music to cross into Brooklyn to. There was tons of street vendors on both sides of the bridge selling hats and random souvenirs but none of the salespeople were pushy like you would see in other countries.

Once across I strolled along the Brooklyn Bridge promenade which had all sorts of daytime activity going on. Pier 2 had basketball courts, ping pong tables, and a playground all with the amazing city backdrop across the river. Pier 3 was this beautifully forested park on the pier with fresh spring scent in the air and narrow pathways winding through art sculptures. Felt like it could have been a haunted maze with someone popping out at every corner.

Then I made my way up from the water and walked the Brooklyn Heights, which has that classic New York look you see in movies. It’s a residential neighborhood with old brick buildings that have stoops and fire ladder escapes and are so close together that it’s hard to tell where one ends and the next begins. These buildings have definitely seen some crazy shit over the years. NYC has such a storied history, both good and bad, and you can really feel it in the air when you walk through the different parts of towns. I continued walking through a more busy downtown Brooklyn to Fort Green Park and got lunch at Walter’s for some good ole fashioned American food and an ice cold one. From there I made my way down to Prospect Park and found a shady spot in the middle of the park under a tree to lie under and chill.

I am really impressed with all the green space in the city. There are so many parks everywhere that no matter where you live you’re just a short walk away from one. And they are really beautiful and lively parks too. I guess since everyone lives in such a small space you have to take advantage of getting outside and hanging in the park especially with great late spring weather.

I walked through Prospect Park Woodlands, Brooklyn’s last remaining forest, and it almost felt like taking a hike in Colorado (minus the elevation) with the luscious green trees and dirt pathway. This type of space really puts my soul in its happy place. It may not be the mountains but just the peace and quiet of walking between the trees elevated my mood and mindset.

After a long day of walking all around Brooklyn I made my way to the SE corner of Prospect Park to go over to Joe’s place (my college roommate 3 of the 4 years). Good thing I’m a fast walker and like to hike long distances so I can cover a lot of ground walking around a city. My landlord when studying abroad in France said “tu marches comme un Parisian” which means you walk like a Parisian, and she’s not wrong. Being a fast walker also helps me look less like a tourist. Best way to get to know a city is walking around soaking in the energy of the neighborhoods, people watching, and gazing at all the different buildings, restaurants, and shops. It also gives me a better directional sense of the city layout. And the best part is it’s free!

Joe has an incredible spot! It’s the top floor of a 3 story townhouse and it was actually a really good size space, especially for New York. And he is only a 1 block walk away from Prospect Park. We decided it made more sense to just hang around his area rather than going all the way back to Garber’s place in Queens for me to change just to head back into the city. So in true wook backpacker status I borrowed some of his clothes and channeled my inner Joe Eichner look. We grabbed a drink at his neighborhood bar, The Double Windsor, and it just started dumping rain. Looks like we’ll have to hang around here for a few drinks but it all worked out because we had a lot to catch up on. Luckily the rain had pretty much stopped by the time we hit the subway toward Chinatown for dinner. It was a Tulane family affair that night at Wu’s Wonton King, a classic Chinese restaurant with the Peking ducks hanging from the windows and lazy Susan’s on the table (although ours didn’t have one). We had a great turnout of classic Tulane hosses – me, Joe, Scotty, Garber, Nate, and Owen. I hadn’t seen most these guys since before Covid and Owen since graduating college so it was an awesome reunion. Even they all hadn’t seen much of either over the past few years since everyone gets busy in their own lives and that whole pandemic thing. It was really great to see everyone, and not gonna lie…we’re all crushing it. Roll wave! Scotty is a great chef and knows how to order at this type of family style Asian restaurant so we let him take charge. Ahhh reminded me of the Yen and Vicky days where they ordered the different Dim Sum plates and I just had to show up and eat the delicious food. Unfortunately got no photos of the boys all together or the food; was too busy catching up but I really do need to be better about capturing the moments during this trip. I’ve never been great at that but it really is worth it later.

After dinner half the crew went home. That’s how you know we’re in our 30s now, 3 out of 6 people go home at 9 on a Friday night. This same crew that would party til sunrise in New Orleans. Oh well such is life. Me, Scotty, and Joe went to 169 Bar for Scotty’s friend’s bday party and it was kinda fun but way too packed standing around the leopard print pool table while people were trying to play. Joe and I left after a few drinks and headed to Montero Bar in Brooklyn to meet his girlfriend and another one of their friends. And the last pleasant surprise of the evening was that Mark (another Tulane friend) met us there as well. We ended up doing multiple rounds of whiskey shots and beers just like the good ole days. I was pretty toasty by the end of the night. No clue what time it was when we left but obviously wasn’t going to make the trek back to Queens so I ended up sleeping on Joe’s couch.

Day 2: Party in the Park

Woke up the next morning feeling a little rough, damn you whiskey shots!! Luckily the bagel and lox from Terrace Bagels helped settle my stomach. Although they had a heavy hand on the cream cheese and I had to wipe some cream cheese mountain off. Joe’s friend had biked over but the two of us were still feeling rough so we needed a dumb comedy on Netflix to help ease us into the day and Senior Year hit the spot. After a quick jaunt to the bookstore, because that’s what you do when you hangout with Joe, we rented City Bikes and road about 30 minutes to Marsha P Johnson Park in Williamsburg for Joe’s friend’s bday celebration. It was a nice, mostly downhill ride through Brooklyn and I feel like I really got a good sense of that area between walking around the day before and that bike ride. Marsha P was a really small park and you technically weren’t allowed to drink in it so we had to hide all our Seltzers in Joe’s bag but it all worked out. It actually had a great view of the city and wasn’t very crowded which on a warm spring day like this probably couldn’t be said about most parks in New York City that day. I got to see yet another Tulane friend for the first time since college as Marco also hangs out with this crew of people. It was really good catching up with him, he’s always been a super genuine guy and very easy to converse with. I also chatted quite a bit with a handful of other people; I really enjoyed Joe’s friend group. A lot of intellectuals that like to read books and are very well spoken. Even though I have my big party side to me I can fit in with the best of them with that crew too. The Leo in me has always prided myself in adapting to whatever type of people I hang out with.

Before I knew it we were still in the park as the sun had gone day and it was already 9pm. Five hours flys by when the booze and conversations are flowing all around. While there were snacks at the park none of us had actually eaten dinner but instead of going that route we went to drink more at one of the guy’s from the park’s apartment in Williamsburg. It was a super nice building and his place was dope, but the real highlight was the rooftop with incredible views of the city. Based on what other people have said their rent is I wouldn’t be surprised if this place cost $5K/month. We were reaping the benefits though because that rooftop was a great place to be hanging and drinking on a Saturday night. My 30 year old ass would much rather party with friends on someone’s apartment rooftop than go out to a bar.

All of the sudden it was 1am and I had over an hour commute to Queens and was starving. As you all know I suck at leaving the party but luckily Marco was trying to leave too so I used his exit as my cue. The 1am subway crowd was certainly quite interesting. While waiting for it to arrive people were shit talking this one guy across the tracks. Just glad it wasn’t me. Even though I am very mellow and conflict free, my skin toughens and senses heighten in situations where there is potential danger afloat. I mean I have lived in New Orleans, Houston, and Denver; and have traveled to countless big cities domestically and internationally so I know how to handle myself. 

Once I got on the subway there was this dude passed out using his pizza box as a pillow. He eventually woke up, took out a slice, ate a bite, pass backed out again, and repeat. I got off at the 2nd to last stop and he was still out cold. That dude was probably going to be riding back and forth on the J line all night. I made it back to Garber’s and luckily he had ordered a ‘za so I finally got some food in my stomach. We chilled briefly but it was late at this point so we called it a night.

Day 3: Upper West Siiiide

Woke up and hung with Garber for a bit but he had his weekly volunteering gig at the animal shelter so I just chilled and ordered Thai food from Kin’d. Don’t think South America will have much authentic Thai food so I had to get one last papaya salad before the trip. It was tasty and had a nice kick to it but still can’t match the spice of the Yen Ton version. Then I gathered all my things into my giant backpack for the migration to Jared and Annie’s apartment (Denver friends that recently moved to NY) in the Upper West side by Central Park. In hindsight I could have left my giant pack and just brought my day pack since I was gonna stay with Garber again on Tuesday because he lives closer to JFK. But that didn’t cross my mind until I was already out of his house walking to the subway. Oh well, it was good practice for what’s ahead with my travel, traversing major cities with a nearly 40 pound pack. It didn’t help that it was 88 degrees and sunny out. Certainly going to take some getting used to but I got this. Made it to Jared and Annie’s and that was yet another warm reunion as it’d been about 9 months since they left Denver. After a bit of catching up we headed to Jared’s cousin’s new speak easy Pine and Polk in Hudson Village. The matcha gin milkshake drink I had was perfect for a hot day and the veggie board was fuego. Here I go advertising again but all my New York friends should check it out if your in the area, it’s a really cool vibe.

Afterwards we walked around the West Village, which all the shops were pretty much shutdown after 5 on a Sunday, but I got the gist of what that neighborhood has to offer. Then we grabbed dinner at Suprema Provisions which is a nice Italian restaurant that also happens to have one of the best burgers in town. While it felt weird to order a burger at an Italian restaurant, I needed one last good burger before the trip and it did not disappoint…perfectly cooked and the juiciness was on point. Who would’ve thunk Italian burgers would be son damn good?! After dinner we chilled for a bit at their place but called it an early night since they both had to work. I needed it too after 2 straight party nights. 30 year old me doesn’t have the stamina like I used to.

Day 4: Power Walking Manhattan and a Good Laugh

I woke up at 9:30 ready for a day of exploring Manhattan but first, you guessed it, another bagel and lox breakfast. Per Jared’s recommendation I went to Zucker’s Bagel and Smoked Fish and it got my day started off right. My first stop was Strawberry Fields in City Park which has a giant Imagine plaque in the sidewalk and the guy sitting there strumming his acoustic guitar was playing Imagine. Wonder how many times he does that a day…

Then I headed north through the park along the Lake through Shakespeares Garden and the Ramble woodlands. There are so many different paths to take; it’s a choose your own adventure based on whichever one looks most appealing. I continued past the Great Lawn and went around the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir which had some phenomenal views of the Manhattan skyline.

Made my way back to the middle of the park and lied in the grass in front of Turtle Pond facing Belvedere Castle. There was a lot of art students painting and a yoga class going on so I decided to be productive as well and practice Spanish on my Babbel app. I am still a total beginner level but I have come a long way from using this app and supplementing it with some online resources. I used to only know the complete basics like hola and adios but now I’ve got a wider range of vocab and grammar under my belt. The hardest part is getting the adult brain to remember it all. But I just have to remember it’s a long, slow process that isn’t going to happen over night. A little bit of practice every day helps, which has been tough at times these past few weeks with all the stuff I’ve been doing. Once I’m living in South America and surrounded by Spanish all the time I think I will see some good improvement.

I continued my way through the rest of the park and then walked down Fifth avenue between the gigantic buildings surrounded by hundreds of people and high end fashion brand stores which really makes you feel small. It’s pretty amazing how many people were out and about on a Monday afternoon shopping, eating on the restaurant patios, and just walking around. I was power walking to Sound Tribe Red Rocks 2019 looking like a real New Yorker making my way through the crowds. The nice thing about traveling alone is I can walk fast as shit and not have to wait for anyone. I walked all the way down 5th Ave to the giant Macy’s on 35th to get a belt then continued walking down Broadway to Soho/Little Italy area. My end destination was Prince Street Pizza which was recommended by Jared and Annie as their favorite spot in town. There was a line out the door at 2pm so that was a good sign. Not typical New York pizza but I get the hype – the sauce and the flavor was incredible. Of course gotta top off my meal with a gelato while in the little Italy area and went to Figo Il Gelato Italiano down the street.

From there I headed to Washington Square Park which was the best people watching of all the parks I’d been to. Much smaller than Central Park and Prospect Park so all the action was happening in one place. Also it’s in the heart of the city and right next to NYU so it was extremely lively on a Monday afternoon – street performers, skateboarders and bikers doing tricks, people hanging on blankets with friends or reading a book solo, and the smell of joint smoke wafting in the air. I was having a great relaxing time until the this crazy guy came to my area and started talking shit to everyone and yelling ridiculous things when people stood up to leave which scared the crowd away. There was no sign of him leaving so that was my cue to move on with my day and I found an outdoor patio bar in Greenwich Village, Off the Wagon, for a couple beers.

After a long day of walking (probably over 12 miles) I was ready to take the subway back to Jared and Annie’s. We chilled for a bit then headed to dinner at Mermaid Inn which had incredible seafood, quite possibly my best meal in New York. Got ceviche and a kale Caesar as the appetizer and seared yellowtail tuna with cauliflower fried rice as my entree. Straight fire. Seemed like the type place where you can’t go wrong with anything you ordered. After dinner we went back to their place and I spread the good word of 82 Moons, my band in Denver before I left. Link here to our YouTube channel if you wanna check out some ripping Saturn Rock Moon Funk.

Jared and Annie went to bed early for work but everyday is Saturday when your retired like me so I had bought tickets for the 11:30 late show at Comedy Cellar. It’s one of the most famous comedy venues in the country and is known to have famous comedians randomly pop in to do standup. Plus the other acts are usually amazing too because they are trying to make a name for themselves in the scene. Dave Attell was billed as the final act so that’s already a big name to look forward to. The line wrapped around the corner and ended up filling the entire venue once we were let in. The word on the street was that Monday and Tuesday are actually the best nights since touring comedians aren’t on the road and are back in NYC after the weekend. I was seated in the back corner since I was riding solo which at first I was like ah man but then I thought about how the front row probably gets ripped on at these types of shows and boy did they. The MC, James Mattern, came out just before midnight and his whole bit was just talking shit to the people in the front. I’m sure he has some back pocket ammo for things to say but it was pretty much all ad libbed. Then he was followed by 6 different comedians that all performed for 15-20 minutes. It was absolutely hilarious. My favorite was actually the first guy, Gianmarco Soresi, who had this great self deprecating sense of humor and some top notch punchlines. The next couple acts (Caitlin Peluffo, Shaun Murphy, Franqi French, and Sean Payton) all had the place roaring with laughter too and each one had pretty distinctive senses of humor. Dave Attell closed it off with a bang (so unfortunately no unexpected pop ups). You could tell he was gauging audience response for new material for the road as most his jokes were short and quick whereas the other comedians felt like they were doing more of their established bit. The show ended up going until 2 in the morning and I was so glad that I went. Would highly recommend the Comedy Cellar for any stand up fans living in/visiting New York.

Day 5: Softball Scorekeeper

Got up around 9:30 again the next morning and walked over to Tap and finally strayed away from bagel and lox for an açaí bowl because I’m a full on New Yorker at this point. Then I did another stroll through Central Park trying to take different paths than the day before and checking out some new areas. Also had another Spanish practice session under a shady tree. From there I met Joe in Rockefeller Plaza where we grabbed some dank Italian sandwiches from Alidoro and ate them outside in the plaza. I said a final goodbye to my dude and went to the MoMA. I respect the work of an artist but am very uncultured in the art world. The top floor had a lot of classic artists like Picasso (of course I saw Starry Night), Monet, Matisse, etc. There was some other really cool paintings that drew me in as well. The 3rd and 2nd floor got more contemporary as you went down. Some of the stuff was really cool, I do thoroughly enjoy what Pollack does, but some “art” is just like what the fuck is this? Overall glad I went because I had to hit at least one museum while in New York, but I still prefer walking around the city and chilling in parks – soaking in the museum of life; also known as the real world.

I went back to Jared and Annie’s to say goodbye then took the subway to Garber’s place in Queens. He had a softball game that night and I had nothing else to do so I went with him to go watch. They asked if I wanted to do the scorebook which I was actually thrilled about. I used to love doing the book as a kid at baseball games, or even as an adult…it was only a few years ago that I stopped doing it. I love that it makes you actually stay engaged in the game because it’s easy to get bored and stop paying attention at a baseball game, especially adult softball. Did not expect this to be how I spent my last night in the country of 2022 but there is nothing more American than scoring a lawyer softball league. Afterwards we ordered delivery Korean fried chicken wings from Pelicana Chicken and watched Jumanji. A nice, relaxing night to close out an incredible stay in New York. It was also good to get one last solid night of chilling with the G Train.

I am so glad that I had all this time between quitting my job and doing my big trip. The last six weeks were exactly what I needed to put me in my best headspace in a long time and I couldn’t be more ready for my adventure. Don’t get me wrong, my Denver life was amazing and I wouldn’t trade the last 5 years for anything, but it’s easy to get so caught up in work and socialization that I didn’t even realize how mentally drained I was. It’s good to take a break from it all and reinvigorate my mind in other ways.

Bye America and see you in 2023! Israel your up next.

This is a pretty detailed post since I’m just chilling in Sarasota and have the time to fully tell the tales of our fantasy life in San Miguel de Allende. Most of the photos/videos in this post were not taken by me so thank you to the crew for capturing such incredible content. The particularly good looking photos that are nicely edited were done by the man, the myth, the legend; Memorandum Media aka Jason Myers.

Travel experiences can be hard to put into words sometimes especially since some of the best moments are shared with the people you are with at that time. The connections made through conversation and laughter can be hard to convey if you weren’t there. But nonetheless I’ll do my best to include some of those aspects of the trip into my stories throughout this blog. 

So much thanks to Jason and Hayley for inviting me on another incredible Inspirato trip and once again curating such an amazing group of people for it. We were all on the same page from start to finish with our travel style, senses of humor, party energy, food tastes, willingness to help, and really just everything. It truly was a family affair. When living the castle life everything just seems to go your way…we even turned are run in with the neighborhood Karen into one of our best running inside jokes of the week. 

San Miguel Overview

I’m going to give a little overview on San Miguel de Allende first before diving into the details. My coastal Mexico trips in the past have been an absolute blast celebrating Paul’s bachelor party in Cancun and Lindsey and Jack’s wedding in Tulum but those places are very touristy and kinda feel like America 2.0. San Miguel stole my heart as a truly authentic Mexican experience that I would highly recommend to everyone. The city is located in central Mexico up in the mountains with an elevation just over 6200 feet. It’s about 3.5 hours from Mexico City and 1.5 hours from Lyon.

• Charming city with winding cobblestone streets surrounded by colorful colonial-style buildings that are beautifully decorated with plants lining the windows and rooftop. And most of the buildings have a crazy ornate front door and/or a flower arch around the door

• Most buildings have their door open so when wandering around the city you just peak inside while you walk by and discover a little boutique shop, a restaurant, an artisanal market or a courtyard with some combination of those three

• There are multiple plazas that are always bustling with activity – people chatting on benches under these cool square shaped trees, street vendors, mariachi bands, and so much more. Most of these plazas face a beautiful church

• Very religious. Lots of churches and crosses around town. The main plaza directly faces the main church in town – Parroquia San Miguel Arcángel which is light pink with pointy spires. It looks like a church you would see in Europe with its gothic style architecture. Unfortunately we never made it inside but I’m sure it had a gorgeous interior

• Heavily influenced by the arts. There are many amazing street murals around town particularly heading toward La Aurora art gallery which itself is a maze of rooms filled with sculptures, paintings, and countless different artistic styles

• There are no traffic lights in town – you just gotta go for it and walk across. The drivers are pretty good at stopping for pedestrians…besides the one car that tried to pass on the wrong side of the road and bumped into Hayley

• People are all very friendly. The locals seemed pretty indifferent toward tourists but everyone we interacted with first hand had such a welcoming energy

• Happy dogs with paws hanging out the window greet you as you walk by

• Very clean city – constantly saw people pouring buckets of water in front of their house/shop to keep the streets clean. Garbage ambulance going around town ringing its siren to collect trash

Day 1: We Made It!!!!

Evan and I landed in the Leon airport and grabbed a marg while waiting for the rest of the crew: Jason, Hayley, Kendall, and Sarah. Then we were greeted by our Inspirato driver who was going to transport us the 1.5 hours to San Miguel de Allende. It was nice not having to worry about haggling with taxis or dealing with getting a rental car since we didn’t really need one in the city. Plus our driver even stopped at a random town so we could get some beers for the road. Ah it’s nice to be in Mexico. After a car ride filled with nonstop chatter and excitement, we arrived at our Inspirato house – Casa Fuentes – and our jaws were dropping the entire tour. It was a massive 3 story house + 4th floor rooftop that had outdoor terraces on every level, an open courtyard with a pool that had lion head fountains and a massive vine wall, exotic plants everywhere, a dope chandelier over the dining room table, unique house decorations, and so many comfy couches. We were truly living in a castle. There were also these 6 creepy looking statue guys that were all standing in a row on the 2^nd floor by the stairs and throughout the weekend they were mysteriously moved around, which became a running game of whodunnit to figure out who was moving them. Turns out it was Jason 80% of the time, or so we think. Also could have been the digital bees, this electric buzzing sound we all periodically heard through the week (except Sarah…probably because she was controlling it). In reality, electrical line next to house with pool = digital bees.

After celebrating our luxurious new lifestyle with some tequila shots and a swim in the pool we decided to check out the city. We walked to the main plaza in awe over the colorful buildings with their beautiful doors and decorations. It was immediately clear that this was going to be a magical city to wander around aimlessly. There was a lot of activity in the plaza even on a Monday. This was our first up close view of Parroquia San Miguel Arcángel and its stunning architecture. We eventually made our way further up the hill and found a rooftop restaurant called Antonia Bistro to eat dinner and watch the sunset which was absolutely beautiful. I was impressed with all the sunsets we saw especially since we weren’t even on the coast. The dinner wasn’t super traditional Mexican but it was still quite tasty.

Then we headed back to our castle for more drinks and cozied up on the rooftop couch for a tarot reading from the deck Kendall brought. This was a great way to start the week as it really opened us all up in a different way and got some good conversations flowing. I barely knew Kendall and Sarah going into this trip but by the end we really got to connect on so many personal levels and learned so much about each other. Getting to share this unique experience with the crew really created such a strong bond between all of us and was a great reminder why I love things like traveling and going to see music. It creates this special level of connection with people and memories that last forever.

Day Two: Castle Living, Mocahete, and Catan

We all slept in pretty late as we didn’t really have any plans for the day other than to enjoy the castle life and eventually wander around town. That was really our only plans for most of the days other than a mezcaleria booked for Thursday. I’m usually a power traveler but for this trip I was in no rush to do anything and it was super nice that everyone else in the group felt the same way. We spent the afternoon swimming in the pool, sunbathing, blasting music, drinking homemade cocktails, and just enjoying each other’s company. At one point we went out to get more supplies from the market and these dudes had setup a bakery in the trunk of their car filling it with pastries. Gotta love the random shit you see when traveling abroad.

Later that evening we headed out for dinner to Los Milagros and got an incredible molcajetes volcano bowl with beef, chicken, peppers, onions, a green sauce, refried beans, guacamole, and more. Although I ended up getting rocked by one of the peppers. I was already pretty drunk and the spice just absolutely kicked my ass causing me to puke. I ate so much spicy food living with Vicky and Yen and held my own but sorry former roomies I failed this round. After dinner we got drinks at a mezcal bar called the Room and ended up chatting with the owner for yet another friendly local encounter.

Then we went back home and partied til the wee small hours playing multiple games of Catan and just chatting it up. I ended up sleeping on the rooftop couch because it was such a nice night.

Day Three: Lost in the San Miguel Sauce

Once again we slept in and started our day by hanging out by the pool. But this time we wanted to leave the house earlier in the afternoon to truly explore more of San Miguel. There was an area of town with lots of murals and an art studio so our goal was to head that way. Kendall paints murals for a living so we had a resident expert in the group. Check out her IG because she is amazing and if you know a good wall that needs painting you know who to call!! But we were also going to allow ourselves to just get lost wandering on any cool streets we saw. We passed by so many more colorful buildings with beautiful doors and plants everywhere. You can really walk anywhere in this town and it will be aesthetically pleasing to look around. There’s also just endless shops, restaurants, and artisanal markets to discover. San Miguel is the perfect city to just walk around and get lost. We eventually made our way to the area with lots of murals and there were so many cool ones!

From there we continued walking to La Aurora art studio. One hilarious thing we saw was this truck that drove by with its sirens on and yelling in a megaphone out the window. At first, we thought it was an ambulance but it had a dumpster on the back and a construction worker ran up to it throw something away so we ended up calling it the garbage ambulance. Along the way we stopped at La Familia which is this tiny little house that sells street tacos for under $1. The mother cooks the tacos and her daughter collects the money. Such an authentic family run place and the tacos were so good. I discovered my love for Nopalitos (cooked cactus).

Then we made it to La Aurora which didn’t look like much from afar but once you get inside it opens up to a courtyard and this giant art gallery maze with countless rooms. Some rooms were actual artists’ works and others just had little trinkets and home decor but everything in there was for sale. One of the big reasons for coming to this area is that the group (minus me) wanted to get tattoos and the top recommended artist had his space next to La Aurora called Heart of Mexico Tattoo & Clothing Brand. We went to Daniel’s studio, who was yet another incredibly kind soul we met, and planted the seed for setting up an appointment for 5 people on Friday. At this point we were all roasting and ready to cool down in the pool. We walked home, but not without getting ice cream and stopping in a few more shops on the way (Evan bought this dope green poncho thanks to me and Kendall’s convincing powers), and sat on the rooftop couch enjoying another amazing sunset while everyone picked out their tattoo designs. It’s not that I have anything against tattoos and I actually really like most people’s tattoos, I’ve just never had a strong interest in getting one myself. This moment was as good as any so if it wasn’t going to push me in that direction, I don’t think anything will.

Afterwards everyone pitched in to prepare a family dinner of chips and guac, charcuterie, steak, and salad. We were all a little drunk and had the giggles so it was a really fun group activity. There was this mysterious meat/cheese/caramel apple like substance in the fridge that looked like a pair of balls tied to a string. So naturally instead of cutting into it to see what it was, we used it as a prop for Evan to tie around his waist and serve us wine in his new poncho. We spent the rest of the night taking turns making party punch margarita pitchers and doing more of the same: swimming, hanging on the rooftop, drinking, talking, laughing, and playing Catan and Heads Up. Evan even used his fine dining waiter skills to make us a homemade Rosé which was actually just a mixture of Red and White wine in a pitcher (my dad, his boss, and any other person who cares an ounce about wine would be cringing but we were having too much fun to care).

Day Four: Mezcal Rancho La Quinta and Casa Fuentes Rager

This was the first day we actually had to be up at a particular time and even though our car was at 11, so not really that early, it was still a difficult start to the morning after the way we partied the night before. Who knew homemade Rosé would lead to such a bad headache?! It was about a 1.5-hour drive to the Mezcaleria and our first time exploring outside San Miguel other than our car ride in but I was too hungover to soak in much. As we got closer, we turned onto a dirt road even driver was like where the fuck we going. He started asking people in town and they had no idea about the ranch. And since the town name and the ranch name were both La Quinta, it was pretty hard to clarify where exactly we were going. As we started going further down the dirt road, the potholes were getting bigger and the situation was getting dicier. Does this place even exist??? Finally, we saw some baby agave plants in front of this shed and a sign for Mezcal Rancho La Quinta. I guess this is it. It was already 12:30 and all we had to eat was 2 smoothies split between the 5 of us. The tour was supposed to include lunch but at this point it looked like we’d be lucky to even get a tour, let alone what are the odds that it will be in English. Evan and I were both starving and gave each other this look like better strap in we might not be eating for a long time. Everything was looking suspect as hell but then Esteban walked up and it all went uphill from there. Esteban was our tour guide and also the fifth-generation owner of the Mezcal ranch. The second he started the tour he quickly turned around the vibe. He began by giving us all our own sunhats and shot glass to borrow for the tour. Then he popped open a bottle of Mezcal, poured us a shot, and explained how we should be using our five senses with each sip of Mezcal. This really resonated with me as I had previously written down a note to use all five senses throughout my adventure to really soak it all in. After going through how to use the five senses we drank our first of many Mezcal sips…and they’re off! It was quite tasty Mezcal too, not too smoky but still enough of that Agave flavor to pack a punch.

He then led us around the ranch (well not him, his dog Alembique was leading the way the whole time) and gave us the history of the land; told us about their processes of gathering the Agave and turning it into Mezcal – harvesting and cutting it, cooking it, mashing it, distilling it, and bottling it; explained the different cactuses and the flowers they produced; split open a plant and discussed its healing properties; and many other interesting things that I can’t remember. It was such an authentic family run business and Esteban was at the top of it all. He was trying to get his business of the ground and give back to the local community of 200 people employing them and teaching them English. This girl Lori that we met later on was a jack of all trades in the Mezcal production line, and she didn’t look a day over 16. Esteban asked each of us what we did for our profession and was trying to craft ways in which we could help get him investments or at least bring more tours to the ranch. When some people do stuff like that it can feel pushy, but not Esteban. He was super genuine and knowledgeable and ran the type of business that you would want to be a part of. I would work with him any day of the week, and all of us in the group felt the same way. And here I am doing my part now by promoting him to all of you on this blog. If you ever in San Miguel, I highly, highly recommend visiting Mezcal Rancho La Quinta. Hopefully some day he is able to tap the American market and it will be in a store near you! Anyways enough of the sales pitch. Throughout the tour we got better at identifying all the different flora that Esteban pointed out in the beginning. Also throughout we were slowly sipping shots of Mezcal and whenever you ran out the shot glass was immediately filled right back up.

After walking around the ranch, we ended up near where we started and saw the firepits used for cooking the Agave pina and the area for the Tahona process, which is this giant stone wheel use to crushed the cooked pina. It is too large to be pushed by human so some ranches use a mule or donkey but Esteban said they now use a truck. Then he we went back to the shed that we started at and he showed us their bottling process and Lori was working away continuing her duties as a jack of all trades.

It was such a nice tour up to this point that we all had totally forgotten about the lunch part. Esteban took us about 5 minutes into town where we walked into this local family’s backyard. There were dogs roaming around everywhere, clothes and shoes hanging from lines, little kids playing in the dirt, and these two nice ladies cooking us an authentic meal – pulled chicken, rice, mole, cactus, and tortillas. And of course, we had to refill our Mezcal shot glasses. You really can’t beat this experience! But we weren’t done yet. Esteban invited us to come check out his parent’s place after lunch.

We figured sure why not, you don’t turn someone down when they invite you to their parents. It was a bit further away so we went in two different groups riding on his golf cart with the girls going first. We were joking that Esteban might never come back. Sure enough he did and when we got to his parents’ place our jaws dropped. It was nicer than Casa Fuentes…in different ways. It had this open-air concept with massive rooms and high ceilings, and the views were absolutely incredible. We all kicked off our shoes making ourselves at home drinking more Mezcal and getting a tour of the house from our gracious host. After hanging for a little we realized that we should get going since we had a dinner reservation later that night, but why would we ever leave this place?? Esteban didn’t totally pick up on the cues and asked if we wanted to go see another part of the ranch. We kindly declined saying we had to get going, but we wanted to buy some bottles before we left. He would have gladly continued showing us around all night. What started as a potential nightmare experience turned into our best day yet. Don’t judge a Mezcaleria by its dirt road. After an afternoon in intense sun and drinking Mezcal, we all passed out on the car ride home.

We had some nice pool and chill time at Casa Fuentes before heading to Atrio Restaurant for our fancy dinner night. The restaurant was on the rooftop and had an incredible view of Parroquia San Miguel Arcángel especially as the sun was setting. We order a bottle of Red and White (this time not blended together as the infamous Rosé de Evan) and shared a bunch of dank appetizers then picked a partner to split an entrée with. The gang was also really sweet and had the waitress bring out the desert with sparklers to celebrate my adventures ahead.

There was only two nights left in the castle and after the amazing day we had at the Mezcaleria and amazing rooftop dinner with view, it was only fitting that we would party like there was no tomorrow 9:30AM tattoo appointment. The Mezcal and Tequila was flowing like water as we played Heads Up on the rooftop and got so into it that we purchased multiple new decks of cards. There was an extra loud and energetic Hayley coming out to play and we were all loving it. After countless rounds everyone was really drunk and in such a goofy and fun mood that we had to capitalize on that energy by doing silly things: coal walks, giant candle dances, wall climbs, human bridge crossings, flower pedal shots, and whirlpools. Just your normal Thursday night activities that most Inspirato members participate in at Casa Fuentes. This is what happens when you start drinking mezcal at 12:30pm on an empty stomach in desert heat and never stop the rest of the day. And like how any good night that includes those types of activities should end, we popped on Euro Trip and fell asleep on the couch.

Day Five: Tats and Hats

Since I wasn’t getting a tat I slept in until about 10:30 before slowly making my way out of the house and over to Heart of Mexico Tattoo. When I got there, Daniel was tattooing Hayley (for her first one!!!) and another artist that he brought in, Luis, was doing Kendall. I thought they would be further along but were still only on the first two people. Going to be a long day at the tattoo shop. I didn’t really care though because La Aurora was right there to walk around and it was fun being with my friends and watching them get tattoos. In order to fit in with the bonding experience, I bought one of the swag hats that Daniel sells at his shop – tats and hats. This turned out to be an all-day affair. Jason went last and Hayley stayed with him while the rest of us went back to reliable ole La Familia to get 12 tacos for the group (well after trying another taco stand that was closing and the guy saying something way too quickly for us to even pretend to understand).

We were finally almost home around 5 when the great Karen Incident occurred. We were about a block away when this American woman walks by us and goes “do you live that brown house over there behind the white one?” We were taking a different route than usual so Evan’s response was “I don’t even know what street we’re on.” Even though our house was more of a beige color Jason and I immediately sensed she was talking about us and he said “No” then we power walked down to it. We get to the door and there’s a notice from the city on it…fuck! The lady pretended to walk up the street then turned around and watched us from the top of the hill as we walked into the house. Welp, looks like the neighborhood Karen called the city on us for being too loud last night and we got a noise complaint. Everyone’s tattoo (and hat) high was immediately gone as the mood of the house turned. I could tell Hayley was especially worried, which was totally understandable given she’s the one that works for Inspirato. The concierge David was coming shortly so it was going to be a make-or-break moment for how the rest of the night would go. He arrived and upon looking at the notice told us that it was from the 80-person party that the homeowners of Casa Fuentes had thrown a few weeks back. Phew what a relief! I’m sure Karen called in that complaint too but thank God it wasn’t us. And there’s no way that the 6 of us partying late could even compare to the noise coming from an 80-person party. The mood of the room immediately elevated and the rest of the night we made countless Karen jokes so our run in with her actually turned out to provide a great deal of comic relief. With that weight off our shoulders, we went back into town to do our last round of shopping. One of the rare fails of the weekend was getting drinks before dinner. First, we tried going into a place that had a sign that said 2 for 1 margaritas only to find out that they don’t even serve alcohol. Then we went to this cool looking underground bar with a neon sign only to have them be out of Tequila and it take nearly 30 minutes for us all to get our drinks even though we were the only people in the bar. Oh well can’t win them all. Per David’s recommendation, we grabbed dinner at Raffaela Terraza which had a beautiful rooftop, cheap tacos, and a tasty Mezcal cocktail. We went back to Casa Fuentes in good spirits and reminisced about all the highlight moments of the trip and enjoyed each other’s company one last night in our castle. Evan did the grand reveal what the balls on a rope were and it was….cheese!

Day Six: Farewell Friends and Chicken Wings

We got up early so that we could take our Covid tests at the Rosewood Hotel right when they opened at 9. Always nerve wracking to take a Covid test and especially when testing positive would mean getting stuck abroad (particularly for Jason and Hayley who have been on the wrong side of that story). We had to go into a van parked next to the hotel to take the test and it didn’t even seem like guy was paying attention to which sample went with which person. I’m sure he has a system…or maybe they just say everyone is negative. It could take up to 2 hours to get the results so we went and got breakfast while we waited. Within 30 minutes we had all gotten our results and luckily everyone was negative. Crisis averted. Shortly after breakfast our ride arrived to take the Denver crew to the airport and me to a hotel nearby the airport is Silao as I wasn’t leaving until the next day. They dropped me off at the Holiday Inn and it was a very sad farewell. This was truly a magical experience and such a great stop on my adventure. I am excited to travel solo but I had so much fun with this group of people at Casa Fuentes and wandering around San Miguel. So many great memories and a true bonding experience with Jason, Hayley, Evan, Kendall, and Sarah. I love all you guys so much and hope that we all get together again when I’m back in Denver and that we can do another trip in the future. Maybe if we promote Mezcal Rancho La Quinta enough it can become an annual trip out to Esteban’s parents’ place. Kendall and I have also discussed moving to Casa Rojo in San Miguel when my trip is done. The options are endless! In the words of the great Zach Velmer: love, love, love, love, love, love!

I tried checking into the hotel only to find out it was the wrong Holiday Inn. Doh! Luckily they were nice and sent a driver over from the other one which was only 10 minutes away. Also, the Holiday Inn I had booked was closer to the center of Silao so I could actually walk into town if I wanted to. Earlier in the day I had seen that there was a chicken wing spot so obviously I had to see what Mexican wings were all about. I chilled at my hotel for a bit and ended up discovering that there were 5 different wing places in town so I picked the one with the best reviews. Who knew that Silao was the chicken wing capital of Mexico?! Before dinner I walked to the main plaza just to see what Silao was all about. Definitely a much different feel than San Miguel. The streets were lined with little shops and restaurants but everything was much more rundown. Also, I’m pretty sure I was the only non-local in the entire town. The main plaza had a nice feel to it and I sat on a bench for 15 minutes staring at the church and people watching. Then I went to DevorAlas to get wings and they did not disappoint! It was only $6 for 12 wings and the best mango habanero sauce I’d ever had, probably because it was made with real mangos. Plus, the wings were the perfect crispiness. It was the perfect meal to end my trip. I went back to my hotel exhausted after 5 nights of Casa Fuentes living and immediately fell asleep.

One key takeaway from this trip is that I have a LONG WAY to go on my Spanish. My reading skills are okay but listening and speaking comprehension is terrible. I know some vocab and grammar but hard to put it all together into sentences in real time, let alone hold down a conversation. The first couple months in South America are going to be a challenge with the language barrier, but it will also be a motivating factor for me to improve. We shall see how it all comes along.

Road Tripping Home

I had an early flight and was back in Houston by 10:30 Sunday morning, just in time for Mother’s Day. My mom and dad were in Houston as they had been watching Jade that weekend while Paul and Nichole spent their wedding anniversary in New Orleans. My dad cooked us a nice brunch then Mom and I hit the road. It was good catching up with her on my past couple weeks and we also had some great conversations that helped me zone in on what I needed to pack for my trip and the things I needed to get done while in Sarasota. We stopped in Slidell that first night then headed a few hours down the road to Pensacola where I spent the rest of the day with Conrad, my buddy I studied abroad with in France and also backpacked around SE Asia for a month. He’s one of those great friends where every time you see them you pick up right where you left off. I wish he could join me on the South America journey as we have always traveled so well together but I’m so happy to see him crushing it at naval aviation school in Pensacola. Truly one of the smartest people I know. Keep kicking ass my friend and we will do a world adventure again someday soon.

The next morning Mom and I hit the road and made it back to Sarasota where I am currently at. This 9-day stint is a time for relaxation before my life on the go. However, I still have a lot to do: buying any last-minute things, packing all my stuff for 6+ months, practicing my Spanish, getting some vaccinations, spending time with family, and just preparing myself for the life ahead.

Hello family and friends, welcome to my travel blog! I cannot express enough how excited I am for this journey ahead and I am beyond grateful to get the opportunity to do this. We’ll see how frequently I end up posting because I am going to be disconnected from the online world but I am going to use this blog as a medium to share photos, tell stories (although some of the crazy tales will best be told in person over a nice glass of scotch. I will also be keeping a personal journal so maybe that will one day hit the shelves), and hopefully provide some travel recommendations for anybody reading. Who knows…maybe one day I will start some sort of travel consulting business? I’ve always loved doing travel research and coming up with potential itineraries.

How it all began

Two words: Costa Freaka. In April 2021 I was fortunate enough to get invited by Jason and Hayley to stay for a week at an Inspirato mansion (featured photo up above) in the hills of Coco in the Guanacaste Province of Costa Rica. Quick shameless plug for Inspirato – it’s a luxury vacation rental travel membership with beautiful homes all over the globe – so needless to say staying in that house was a much more balling accommodation than I am used to. Long story short because this blog isn’t about that trip, and it is a long story, going on this trip reminded me why I love traveling internationally so much. There is nothing better than immersing yourself in another country – interacting with locals and soaking in the culture; trying new food and drinks; exploring cities, national parks, and beaches; learning the history and other interesting facts; even getting screwed over and being out of your comfort zone. When I got home from that trip, I had caught the travel bug.

The Feeling That Wouldn’t Go Away

As the summer went on, I went on two hiking road trips in Yen’s van that increased my yearn for exploration and adventure (which I am so grateful to have gotten to use Ghost – hard to go back to regular camping after living the van life). On the first trip just us two absolutely crushed southern Utah hiking 25 miles in 3 days squeezing through slot canyons, crossing rivers and getting lost countless times to get to the Golden Cathedral, waterfall swimming, and catching endless views from the ridgeline.

For the second trip me, Yen, Vicky, Destiny, and Amelia (yes you read that right…me and four beautiful ladies) took the van to Glacier national park for the 10-day adventure of a life time. If you haven’t been to this park, I highly, highly recommend; it is my favorite to date. Going-to-the-Sun Road is the most jaw dropping stretch of land I’ve ever driven across. You don’t even need to hike to soak in Glacier’s beauty. But of course, we wanted to hit the trails hard and truly explore the backcountry of Glacier. And hike hard we did, accumulating over 40 miles throughout the trip. We kept calling it the Disney Land of National Parks – the hikes were like something out of a fairy tale. The lakes were surreal blue colors and the trees and meadows a vibrant green you’d see in a National Geographic magazine. My three favorite trails we did in case anyone is looking for recs were Grinnell Glacier, Cracker Lake, and Hidden Lake Lookout (unfortunately Highline Trail one of the most popular ones was closed because it was too early in the season). Another amazing trip that was chalk full of great stories and hilarious inside jokes.    

Combine my Costa Rica trip with these two hiking trips and my mind wouldn’t stop thinking about going on a world travel adventure centered around hiking and cultural exploration. My 20s were spent going to hundreds of shows and chasing bands across the country and it was the best time. Music will me always be so near and dear to my heart and has been how I have made pretty much every post-college friend. But in my 30s I’m hoping to focus more on becoming even more of an outdoor adventurer and doing lots of incredible hiking trips.

I knew the trip was real when I didn’t only think of the good but nerves and reality kicked in too. One side of the brain kept thinking about the uncertainty of the unknown and traveling solo, leaving all I’ve built up in Denver the past five years with great friends, an awesome lifestyle, and thriving at my job. What am I crazy?! And the other side of the brain saying yes of course you are but this trip will be so worth it. This will be the experience of a lifetime that will help define the next path in my life and now is the perfect opportunity to follow it. I was at a point in my life where I can do this and who knows if that will ever happen again: my lease was ending the following May, I wasn’t currently in a relationship, and I was coming up on 5 years at my job and starting to think about what was next. In my head I figured I would take off for my adventure in May and just take the rest of 2022 off. Who knows? Could get tired/home sick and come back earlier or could love it so much and stay even longer. It just seemed easy to say I’ll do it until the end of the year.

Taking the Next Steps

As another amazing summer in Denver filled with good times with friends, music, hiking, and camping came to a close; I knew that I was ready to take this leap of faith and it was time to turn this idea into a plan. Step one was to figure out where I wanted to go. I never went on my free Birthright trip to Israel and they had recently extended the age limit to 32 so it seemed like the perfect way to start the trip. Then I started doing some research on Eastern Europe since it would be pretty close to fly to from Israel, its cheap, and I hadn’t been to any of the countries. For some reason I started with Montenegro and just immediately fell in love with it. It had the perfect blend of hiking, beautiful coastlines, and ancient cities. I started digging deeper into some of the other Balkan countries and was blown away by how beautiful they were. Okay this is it; the plan is coming together. I spent the next few months researching the different Balkan countries and mapping out my potential route. I am going into the trip extremely flexible – certain things I researched were a must do – but in general I was going to go with the flow and just see what happens. Maybe I’ll get stuck in a certain city that I didn’t even plan to go to or maybe I end up finding an Albanian wife. Really open to anything. I like doing my own research to know what’s out there but also a big part of the fun is just stumbling upon something great or getting word of mouth recommendations.

I had mentioned to my parents and brothers that I wanted to do this trip but it was more off handed in conversation versus being a set plan. So, when I went home for Thanksgiving, I told my family that this trip is for real and that I plan to go to the Balkans. And I am very grateful that I come from a well-traveled family that goes out of the country frequently. Of course, they still had some questions about the trip especially given Covid concerns but they immediately showed their support which is such a great feeling.

Oh Russia

Fast forward a few months and it was almost time to tell work and really make the next big step for this experience to happen. Up to this point I had known about the trip for awhile but in this Covid world you can’t be sure of anything so I didn’t want to tell work until I absolutely knew. It was looking a little dicey during the winter with Omicron spreading like wildfire but things started calming down a bit in February so I was feeling confident about my trip. Also, I would be starting in the summer when things have seemingly been better on the Covid front. And then fucking Russia has to go and invade Ukraine. Right when that happened, I started getting an uncertain feeling about the Balkans since a lot of the countries are former Yugoslavia and have a history tied to Russia. Most of the area would probably be fine but hell, I was thinking about going to Romania which borders Ukraine. It just felt weird to be flying so close to a conflict zone. And who knows what else Russia might do if they decided to keep working their way across Europe. Or even if I just got into some tense situation while over there, just didn’t seem worth taking the risk. I was feeling bummed because I had spent so much time doing my research and had even booked my first hotel in Montenegro. But luckily the world is my oyster and I started looking a into South America. Didn’t take long for me to fall in love with South America and switch my plans. I mean the Andes just look absolutely insane. Talk about some crazy hiking. I’ve done a few 14ers in the Rockies but the Andes have 17ers, 18ers, even 20ers. So many amazing multiple day treks too. South America is also a very popular backpacking spot so it was very easy to read about other people’s trips and quickly come up with a plan. Within a few days I was already equally, if not more excited, to do South America over the Balkans. Plus, I could use this as an opportunity to pick up some Spanish. I took French growing up so I’m going in very green, but at least I understand the general concepts of verb conjugation and masculine/feminine for nouns and adjectives. I have started doing Babbel to get the basics down and plan to continue to improve throughout the trip. Who knows…I might even take a week or two off from bouncing around and take some Spanish classes? It would be really amazing to come away from this experience being conversational in Spanish.

Trips Before the Trip

And of course, I couldn’t just go into my 6-month South America adventure without a few trips beforehand. Rachel’s wedding in Palo Duro State Park in Texas was the first stop. So much fun kicking off my journey celebrating her and Jacob and getting to see all my Houston and Austin friends. Also glad that I got to do a few hikes while I was there too. The timing worked out perfectly to where her wedding was only 2 weeks before my lease ended so I decided to use this date as the jump off point for when I would be leaving Denver. I drove my car to the wedding and now am slowly making my way back to Florida with whatever I could fit in the car. After the wedding I drove my car to Houston to drop my car off at Paul and Nichole’s and am now headed to San Miguel de Allende in Mexico for 5 days for another incredible Inspirato trip (all coming full circle since that was the root of what gave me the travel bug). And that’s where I’m at currently on the trip.

Then I drive back to Sarasota for about 10 days which will be nice chill time with the parents relaxing before the trip and eating well. The calm before the storm. My next stop is New York for 5 days since my Birthright flight leaves from the City. I will get the chance to see a bunch of Tulane and other friends and just do random things around New York. Then I fly to Israel for the 10-day Birthright trip followed by a night in Tel Aviv with Adam. Then I am flying to Porto in Portugal for a week to meet up with my family – parents, brothers, wives, and children – so the whole shebang. FINALLY, after that I fly from Portugal to Santa Marta, Colombia and start my trip. I have my first week in Colombia booked but the rest will be winged. My plan is to go counter clockwise across the continent so Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, and Brazil if time permitted to do all that. Or maybe I fall in love with country and never leave, who knows? So yeah just a casual 6 trips before I even start South America getting to see friends from all stages of my life and spending time with my family.

Phew that was a long post, others will probably be shorter but maybe not. Depends how chatty I feel and how much I want to type. Anyways that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Hope you all enjoy the blog as it comes along.