The New & Improved Colombia
Sitting in northern Chile with just under 2 months of travel time left in South America we had to decide where to go. Our plans for Ecuador took an unpected turn with anti-Cartel activity shutting down major cities. What about Colombia? Yes, once the murder capital of the world with memories of Manuel Noreiga’s reign of terror. For many years, Colombia was not on any traveler’s top 100 list. But that was then…
Colombia has been revitalized and the people (at least some) and the culture are thriving. Now Colombia – the 3rd largest country in SA – is the Capital of Salsa Dancing, with soaring Andes Mountains, the Amazon jungle, and beach-filled coast lines along both the Carribean and Pacific. Our decision became quite easy….Colombia, here we come!
MEDELLIN:
Language Lessons, Mountain Views, and Marijuana Gelato
Our three-and-a-half weeks in Medellín were less “Eat, Pray, Love” and more “Study, Hike, Replace Your Stolen Phone.” We based ourselves in the leafy, walkable neighborhood of Laureles, trading the nightlife of El Poblado Barrio for Spanish classes at Elefun Academy, workouts, and a steady rotation of excellent local food. Medellín’s nickname — the “City of Eternal Spring” — quickly made sense, with near-perfect temperatures year-round. We sampled bandeja paisa (a meal apparently designed to challenge human capacity), mondongo soup, and fresh guarapo, while one innocent gelato stop introduced me to the possibility of marijuana-infused maracuyá flavor. I passed and stuck with pistachio — traditional, dependable, non-altering pistachio. Steve took option #420. Later in the first week, Steve surprised me with a candlelight Vivaldi concert at Teatro Metropolitano José Gutiérrez Gómez.
Not every Medellín adventure went according to plan. We hiked Cerro El Volador, the city’s largest natural hill and an important pre-Hispanic archaeological site once inhabited by indigenous Nutibara peoples. The panoramic views were spectacular; the armed robbery less so. Two men relieved us of our phones, my backpack, and — adding insult to injury — my glasses. Fortunately, our passports and credit cards were safely locked away at our accommodation, though the experience did provide an unexpected crash course in Colombian electronics stores, police reports, and emergency optometry.
Thankfully, the city quickly redeemed itself. Cerro Nutibara and its colorful Pueblito Paisa offered a glimpse into traditional Antioquian life, while Jardín Botánico de Medellín provided peaceful walking paths and expertly camouflaged iguanas masquerading as tree bark. The standout experience, however, was Museo de Antioquia, home to one of the world’s largest collections of works by Medellín-born artist Fernando Botero, whose famously oversized figures somehow make even musical instruments look pleasantly overfed. The museum also offered valuable insight into Colombia’s layered political and cultural history.
One of our favorite memories came unexpectedly when our language school (Elefun) invited us to celebrate Colombia’s Día del Maestro with a neighborhood barbecue in Bello — complete with tents, plastic chairs in the street, music, beer, and endless grilled meat.
Our final outing took us across Medellín’s remarkably innovative transit system: metro to tram to cable car and finally to Parque Arví. Originally designed to connect hillside communities rather than attract tourists, the cable cars delivered some of the city’s best views, first across the sprawling Aburrá Valley and later over dense cloud forest so thick the ground vanished beneath the canopy. Medellín surprised us repeatedly: warm people, ambitious urban transformation, striking mountain scenery — and, occasionally, cannabis gelato and armed robbery. Unforgettable, for all the right and wrong reasons.
On the Road to Guatape
A day trip to Guatapé quickly became the place we wished we’d booked for two weeks instead of one day. We climbed all 749 steps of El Peñól de Guatapé — a massive granite monolith formed millions of years ago and towering nearly 700 feet above the surrounding landscape. Only about a third of the rock is visible above ground, which somehow makes the climb feel both more impressive and slightly unfair. From the top, the maze of lakes and emerald islands looked almost unreal. We took a boat ride through the reservoir, casually pointed out potential vacation homes we absolutely cannot afford, and wandered Guatapé’s colorful streets lined with its famous zócalos — decorative relief panels that have adorned homes and businesses for over a century, often depicting the owners’ trades, histories, or personalities. The drive to Guatape and back also confirmed what the flight into Medellin had hinted – central Colombia with its lush green rolling hills is incredibly beautiful!
SANTA MARTA:
Sweating Our Way through Paradise
When planning our Colombian itinerary, we originally intended to spend most of our Caribbean time in Cartagena with just a brief stop in Santa Marta. After hearing countless travelers sing Santa Marta’s praises—and warn of Cartagena’s crowds—we flipped the plan. It turned out to be one of our better decisions.
Santa Marta, founded in 1525, is Colombia’s oldest surviving Spanish city and serves as the gateway to Tayrona National Natural Park, where jungle-covered mountains plunge directly into the Caribbean Sea. We arrived to the park by catamaran on a day when the sea apparently felt like auditioning for a roller coaster. After surviving the ride, we rewarded ourselves with a blissfully lazy afternoon at Bahia Concha & Playa. Steve, later opted for the more adventurous route, hiking through Tayrona’s dense tropical forest beneath towering trees and dangling vines before discovering a secluded beach perfect for a cooling swim—and a brief respite before hiking back through the sauna-like jungle.
Back in Santa Marta, temperatures hovered in the high 80s and 90s with humidity levels that transformed us into a pair of steamed dumplings. Fortunately, our Airbnb came equipped with a pool, which quickly became less of an amenity and more of a survival strategy. Between the heat, the beaches, and the easygoing atmosphere, Santa Marta proved to be exactly what everyone promised: a place worth lingering longer than planned.
CARTAGENA:
Walls, Sunsets, and Extreme Heat
The drive from Santa Marta to Cartagena provided one of my favorite forms of travel entertainment: unusual road signs (at least to me). In a single journey, we spotted warnings for iguanas, crocodiles, caimans, snakes, cattle, various canine-looking creatures, and—unless my eyes were distorted by heat exhaustion—an aardvark. Colombia apparently takes wildlife crossings very seriously. Also during the four plus hour drive, we stopped in Barranquilla to see another form of wildlife… giant statues of Shakira and Sofia Vergara! Both hail from the area and the community is clearly proud of these ladies’ accomplishments.
Cartagena, founded in 1533, was one of Spain’s most important colonial ports and one of the wealthiest cities in the Caribbean. Its extensive fortifications and historic center are now recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We spent our days wandering the colorful streets of Getsemaní, exploring the beautifully preserved Walled City, and climbing the imposing Castillo San Felipe de Barajas, the largest fortress Spain ever built in the Americas.
What we had not fully appreciated was that Cartagena would somehow make Santa Marta feel cool by comparison. Whenever possible, we retreated to our hotel pool, grateful for both reward points and air conditioning. The city’s saving grace was its sunsets: warm Caribbean evenings viewed from atop the centuries-old city walls, watching the sun sink into the sea while the colonial skyline glowed gold. Cartagena may have won the heat competition, but it also delivered some of Colombia’s most memorable views.
Bogota
Our final Colombian stop was Bogotá, which surprised us almost immediately. We expected a sprawling, busy capital; instead, we found a city that felt greener, more modern, and more visually appealing than anticipated. At over 8,600 feet (2,600 meters) above sea level, Bogotá also offered a welcome break from the Caribbean heat.
With only one full day before flying onward to Oaxaca, we headed straight to Monserrate via cable car. Rising more than 10,000 feet above sea level, Monserrate has been a pilgrimage site for centuries and offers spectacular views across the vast city, framed by the green slopes of the Andes. From above, Bogotá seemed to stretch endlessly across the plateau below.
After descending, we wandered through the historic district of Candelaria and around Plaza de Bolívar, the political and historical heart of Colombia. It happened to be the day of the presidential election, and many businesses were closed while citizens headed to the polls. Locals remarked that the city felt unusually quiet, lending a calm atmosphere to our brief visit. We left with the distinct feeling that Bogotá had been shortchanged by our itinerary—and that a return trip would be well worth it.
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