Colombia Trip 2024

This past week I finally set foot in my mother's home country of Colombia for the first time. As part of my heritage, this country has been on my bucket list for some time now.. While my mother grew up in Venezuela, she was actually born in Segovia, Colombia. I've visited Venezuela three times throughout my life (the last time being in 1998) but have never been to Colombia. We planned the trip about a year ago, my mom, dad Ofelia, Andres, and Gabriel. It certainly was an adventure with many ups-and-downs, but ultimately it was a success with many great memories. 

Colombia is a country that often gets a bad reputation due to it's history with cocaine trafficking. However it's arguably one of the most beautiful countries I have ever seen due to it's endless green mountains. I remember Costa Rica had a similar terrain of rolling green plantations, but not to the scale of the Andes mountains. Almost every place we went to, every village to every turn on the road had a heavenly backdrop. Not to mention the people were very friendly and the food was as delicious as I expected. 

Day 1- Traveling to Colombia

We set out on from my house on Wednesday October 3 to catch our flight at 6am. We took Andres' car to the economy airport parking and had to check into the front desk to get our boarding passes printed. I remember one of the older ladies working for American Airlines was not very friendly. We however boarded the plane fine and made it to Miami by about 9am. There we met up with Gabriel and had some breakfast at a hot-dog stand called Nathan's. 

Our flight to Medellin left at about 10:30 am and took a good 3 and a half hours. I was stuck in the middle seat and surrounded by a group of drunk Colombians. I however put my headphones on and watched the movie Frida to make things go by quicker. When we arrived to Medellin, and left the plane outside to walk towards the airport I instantly got a feeling of Deja Vu, reminiscent of arriving to Maracaibo in 1998. However this feeling of excitement quickly simmered when we had to wait for over 2 hours in the migration line. I don't think I'd ever been in a slower line at the airport and made for a rather exhausting experience.

However things only got worse, once we finally cleared all the customs inspections. Our car rental reservation thru Alamo was no longer available. It appeared they just gave it away which I found to be quite shocking and devastating. We were in a state of panic for a little bit, trying to come up with a plan B. My mom wanted to take the bus to Medellin, but it would have been difficult with all our luggage, and then to find a connection to Sopetran. My dad was then able to find a different car rental place, that had a more expensive Chevy Tahoe available. We decided it was our best and only option, however we then ran into bank errors. Luckily the car rental people there were very friendly and allowed us to put down a $500 deposit and return the next day so we could figure out our bank issues.

So finally by around 5pm we had a car to leave the airport and make our 2 hour trip to Sopetran. Gabriel bravely volunteered to drive us thru the hilly roads, and rush-hour traffic of Medellin. This was some of the wildest driving and traffic I had ever seen, with motorcycles everywhere! The motorbikes would weave all around cars, often cutting right thru the middle lanes. Once we cleared the city traffic, driving up-and-down mountains, around tight corners, and steep hills made for more challenging driving. We ate dinner at a highway stop by around 7pm, I ordered some steak, potatoes, an arepa, and my first Colombian beer Aquila. The final approach to our BnB  on country dirt roads was also challenging, but we finally found it by around 8:30pm. We took a quick swim before crashing to sleep.

Day 2- Guatape 

That morning we all woke up quite early to catch the sunrise, and get the first daylight view of our BnB. Gabriel picked an amazing hotel, with a pool and a heavenly view of a valley surrounded by endless green mountains. The neighborhood was surrounded by many animals such as cows, chickens, and all kinds of dogs. Our first step that day was to return to the airport to pay off the car rental. I was still a bit frustrated that morning due to Alamo's car failure, the bank card errors, and also that I couldn't get my mom's international phone service to work (mine did however work). I came up with the idea to visit Guatepe, since we would be driving eastward towards the airport. 

On our way there we first stopped at another highway restaurant for breakfast. I had my first cup of delicious Colombian coffee there as well as an arepa with cheese and shredded beef. I was amazed with the delicious cheese flavor there, which my mom told me was not available in the United States. After breakfast we arrived to the airport and met up with the car rental people. The payment went thru this time, and it was a done deal which was a great relief. We then pressed on to the iconic Penol rock of Guatape, while it began to rain. The rock soars an impressive 656 feet above ground, surrounded by a vast reservoir. This was actually my preferred destination to stay, but I was still quite satisfied with staying at Sopetran.

My dad, Gabriel, Andres, and myself climbed up the 708 steps of the Penol rock and got some high views of the area. I bought some souvenirs before we returned to the car, and it was now my turn to drive since Gabriel was tired. I first drove us to the nearby city of Guatape, which was loaded with tourists. We could not find parking and I had to drive thru the busy streets of Guatape, which was very challenging in the massive Tahoe SUV. We finally did find some parking and walked around the beautiful colorful city. For lunch we had some empanadas, pastelitos, and pastries (which were quite average but still satisfactory). On the way home we stopped at a highway station to buy some beer and wine for dad. We arrived that evening at the BnB and took a nice swim in the pool.

That evening for dinner we went to Sopetran and ate at a nice Mexican/Italian restaurant. I ordered some very tasty tacos and a beer. Everyone enjoyed their meal. We then walked around the main plaza for a little bit at night, and found some desserts as well as a grocery store. The plaza was a typical busy Latin American scene, with the church at it's focal point, a park in the middle, and a square of shops and restaurants. We once again went to bed quite early that night by around 9ish all very exhausted from our busy day of exploring.

Day 3- Sopetran

Probably one of our wildest days occurred on Saturday in Sopetran. My mom had wanted to visit the town market that day and also had planned to visit a local doctor. Andres also made personal plans to get a haircut. The town market was actually quite disappointing and small with maybe no more than 20 small stands. I ordered some empanadas while the others ordered some hallacas. I found a store that sold some coffee and talked with some local women there for a little bit. We then found Andres' barbershop which took over an hour. While this happened, Gabriel, mom, and myself explored the local streets and found the house of the doctor mom had planned to visit later that day. Her appointment was not until 12:30 that afternoon, so after Andres' haircut we decided to visit Santa Fe de Antioquia.

We drove straight to the iconic bridge of Santa Fe known as the Puente Colgnate de Ocidente. It was a long walk from the parking lot to the bridge, which Gabriel, Andres, and myself made while mom, dad, and Ofelia took a small taxi. The bridge was pretty cool, over the Cauca River, which only allowed pedestrian traffic and not automobiles to cross. After we crossed it we ordered some tasty drinks, I got a mango juice. Before returning to Sopetran, we realized Ofelia had lost her purse which led to another distressing moment. Ofelia and Mom were able to take a taxi back to the cafe where we ordered our juices and luckily they found her purse there with the store owner.

By around 1pm we dropped mom off at her doctor's appointment and decided to get some beers and lunch at the Sopetran plaza. We sat outside a bar, surrounded by loud music, amongst the rest of the Sopetran locals conducting their daily business. This quickly became a drunken fest mostly of me and Gabriel testing all the different Colombian beers. We tried about 8 different beers a piece, and decided the Pilsen and Aguila were our favorites. Although the bar did not offer any wine for dad, the bartender was able to provide some spiked juice from a nearby store. Dad also bought us a round of empanadas, pastelitos, and pan con queso and then I did as well. Andres also dropped in on us from time-to-time and bought us some pastries. I remember at that moment realizing how cheap everything was but also how honorable all the people there were. 

We were quite drunk by around 3pm and having a spontaneously good time, but unfortunately mom was not. Her appointment took far too long then she expected and she had to withdraw more money to pay the doctor and also buy some expensive medicine. Dad, Ofelia, and myself went to church at around 5pm while Gabriel went home to rest, and mom and Andres shopped around the plaza. For dinner we went to a restaurant nearby overlooking a hillside. I ordered a typical Colombian dish of chinchurron, eggs, rice, arepa, chorizo, and bean soup. Gabriel said his burger was the best he ever tasted. Unfortunately mom had a light soup and left early since she was not feeling well. That evening at our hotel we swam at the pool for a little before crashing.

Day 4: Medellin

On Sunday morning we drove out to spend the day in the busy and chaotic city of Medellin. My plan was to navigate us thru the town using the metro system. On our way in we stopped at another highway restaurant with an amazing mountain overlook. I ordered a very tasty arepa with cheese and chorizo. It was a rainy morning, but we all enjoyed the setting, the food, our energetic young waitress, and the incredible balcony views. We then continued our drive, and found parking as planned in the Poblado district, a safer more wealthy neighborhood. From there we made a 10-min walk to the metro and bought a balance of 12 fares. 

We took the metro north from Poblado to the Parque Barrio stop at the heart of the city, where the famous Plaza Botero was. It was here we saw the iconic Rafael Uribe Palace of Culture, with it's chess-like architecture. In this plaza are 23 sculptures donated by the famous Colombian artist Fernando Botero. All of the sculptures are made of bronze and have a unique style of obesity. The plaza was loaded with tourists, street performers, but also many beggars. So we moved rather quickly around the main Cultural museum, taking pictures of the sculptures, getting some street food, and then back onto the metro.

We took the metro further north to the Universidad stop to visit the Botanical Garden, one of Ofelia's requests. From the metro stop was a good 15-min walk to the garden, which was free but a rather dull visit. We then searched the area for some street food and made our way into a food court near the metro station. The place was packed and we all went separate ways within the court to buy food. Gabriel and Andres ordered Chinese food, and I settled for some chicken wings and French fries which were not all that good. We found a table upstairs, and dad was raving about this hot dog he ordered, so we ordered some more from a different place. But the hot dog was cold and one of the worse I had ever had. 

After a disappointing time at the garden and lunch, we bought 12 more fares to continue our exploration of the city. I led us south on the Metro line to connect at San Antonio which was packed with soccer fans going to watch the Independiente Medellin match. I had really wanted to see the game, but nobody else did, so I knew that idea was out of the question. We took the metro west to it's last stop at San Javier, then transferred to the cable cars which offered incredible views. These cables cars were used by the lower class residents to reach their homes in the mountains. We took the cable ride all the way around, back to the San Javier metro, back to the San Antonio connection, and back south to Poblado without even having to buy an additional fare.

We then walked back to our parking lot in Poblado, and I had hoped we could have dinner and drinks at this lively social scene but mom and Ofelia were too exhausted from the day. We then returned to Sopetran that evening, and rested and swam in the pool for a little bit. That night mom and Ofelia stayed in while the boys went out for dinner and drinks in Sopetran. I remember we all felt a little out of place without having mom as our key translator. Some of the drunken locals were even making some jokes at us, but we all brushed it off without any problems. We got a beer outside the plaza for a bit, then found a restaurant on the 2nd floor overlooking the plaza. I ordered some steak, rice, and salad and a beer. We also ordered some to-go food for mom. We then bought some desserts and some more beer at the grocery store before returning home for the night.

Day 5- Jardin

That morning I was quite disappointed when I heard mom randomly wanted to visit Jardin for the day. I knew this would be a 3-hour trip in the car we would have to take both ways. She also made plans to paraglide in Jardin, which was something I would have rather done in Medellin. The drive was once again quite difficult, on a one-lane road with continuous sharp turns. We found an empanada store for breakfast along the road and they were actually quite tasty. We finally made it to Jardin by around 11am and it was actually a pretty town. It had colorful buildings similar to Guatape and a beautiful church. The town had a much more peaceful vibe to it, compared to Sopetran, perhaps due to it's abundance of plants in the plaza.

After we found our parking, mom was able to speak with the clerk there and get information on the local paragliding business. The clerk then called in two taxis for us, and we rode them thru town to the paragliding store. There we made reservations at 1:30pm and then Dad, Andres, and I walked back to the town plaza. For lunch we found a store outside the plaza and ordered the usual fried food of empanadas, pastelitos, pan de queso, juices, and coffee. As usual we were joined by begging dogs, I remember this one in particular had such a jovial demeanor about him. After lunch we walked around a bit, and I bought a bag of coffee beans to take home with me. 

We then went back to the paragliding store as our appointment was approaching, but we waited for quite some time. The tour guides finally arrived at around 2pm, and brought us terrible news that the clouds were too unsafe to jump. This was upsetting to all of us, but especially mom who had been looking forward to this for some time. I then took to the wheel to make the long drive back to Sopetran. I remember getting out of Jardin was once again challenging to get thru the narrow streets of pedestrians, while it began to rain. Driving on the main ride was also quite difficult for it's sharp turns, but more so having to pass slower trucks in oncoming traffic. 

For dinner we dropped in on the town of San Geronimo (where our house cleaner was from). I felt like it had quite an Asian (Saigon) feel to it. We went into a supermarket to buy some items, I bought some snacks and such. For dinner we ate at a large steakhouse, called El Mamut which happened to be the best meal we had yet. I ordered churassco "steak" with salad, potatoes, and a bear which was some of the best steak I'd ever had. Our waiter was a chatty young guy, who happened to be from Segovia. For dessert I ordered some incredible ice cream at a store near the restaurant. After this we went back to the BnB to swim a little before bed.

Day 6- Medellin

That Tuesday was to be our last day and I was eager we make it back to Medellin one more time to see Comuna 13. Mom convinced us to drop in once again on the town of San Geronimo for breakfast. Gabriel dropped mom, Ofelia, and myself off at a store while he found parking. From the store we walked around the plaza and found a breakfast restaurant where the other guys joined us. The restaurant was within a hotel and was a nice experience. I once again ordered the arepa, cheese, and chorizo combo with some coffee, and mango juice. After breakfast Gabriel drove us all into Medellin. My plan was to park in Poblado once again for safety reasons, but Gabriel boldly sought parking in Comuna 13 district.     

This region was renown for it's poverty and crime, and I had read it would be best to stay on the main tourist path. We spent some time trying to find parking in this neighborhood, and at one point we almost hit a dead end. We finally got lucky however when a local flagged us down to park in front of his house and he insisted he would guard the car. From there we walked to the main strip of Comuna 13 which was a hill of stairs and escalators surrounded by all sorts of shops and colorful graffiti. It felt like walking thru Venice Beach or something in California that really catered to the hippy crowd. While we continued to climb upward, the views got all the more incredible once again of the Medellin valley. 

I eventually ordered a Michelada drink, which had beer and liquor in it, but I felt was rather overpriced and not that tasty. Dad, Gabriel, and myself continued upward to a bar overlooking the valley and ordered some beer and shots. The trip down was even more enjoyable as we saw some breakdance performers and freestyle rappers. By this point I had a good buzz going. I bought some souvenirs, as well as managed to haggle with a street vendor on a Colombian soccer jersey. We then made our way back to the car and were glad to see it was still in good shape and paid the local a good tip for watching it. 

We left Comuna 13 by around 2pm and then drove to Poblado to visit the wealthy social district of Provenza. We managed to find parking and walked around for a bit, while it began to rain. However the area was more known for it's nightlife scene and just wasn't quite happening. We eventually found a restaurant indoor and all of us ordered the special of the day. This included some soup, rice, salad, and beef. We then walked around a little more and bought some more items, including souvenirs and pastries but did not stay too long in the area due to the rain. 

That evening we returned to the BnB for a little while, swam, and finished off the last of our beers. We then drove back into Sopetran to once again eat at the mountainside restaurant, renown for it's hamburgers. Our waitress was young but very sweet and had such a cute accent. I once again ordered a plate of churrassco "steak" which was also very tasty. Mom ordered the hamburger after hearing Gabriel's reviews but was not as impressed. We all ordered some mango juice and ice cream for dessert. We originally planned to visit Sopetran after this one last time for drinks, but instead went back to the BnB to just relax on our last night. 

Day 7: Guarne

That morning as we set off for the airport, we were quite concerned about our car drop-off (which had a knick on the mirror), our boarding passes, but more so due to Hurricane Milton. This was a reported category 5 hurricane in the Tampa Bay region, and we were unable to reroute our flight. We arrived early and the car drop off went quite smoothly and I managed to get a receipt. However on the drive we received notice that our flight from Miami to Indianapolis was to be delayed until the following day. At this point we figured we would just have to spend the night in the Miami Airport. As we then waited in line to get our boarding passes for Medellin to Miami, we got the update that this flight was also postponed to the following day. So we were now stuck in Medellin for another day. 

However I honestly saw this as okay news, and an opportunity to get a bonus day in this foreign beautiful country. Luckily I did not have any pressing engagements back at home, aside from having to schedule an extra day of dog-sitting for Max. Unfortunately that was not the case for Andres who had planned to go into work on Thursday, and could not find his car keys. Nonetheless we made the best out of a bad situation and booked a hotel near the airport in the town of Guarne. It was one of the cheaper deals I could find but really had no idea what to expect. We were in for quite a surprise. 

We got a taxi to take us to the hotel, and picked up a case of Aquila beer along the way. This hotel happened to be a hostel with a colorful façade and a botanical garden of fountains, plants, and flowers. Furthermore we had the whole campus to ourselves and the host was very accommodating. Since we were his only guests, he ensured we had a car ride back to the airport as well as helped us arrange lunch and dinner without even having to leave the site. It was a very relaxing day on what was a rather magical area. There were hiking trails, green grass, and tropical flowers of all sorts. There were hammocks all over, and various lounge spots with such unique décor of antiques and foreign flare. 

For lunch everyone ordered guisado with soup, beef, plantanos, and rice. Madre then ordered a round of pastries for desert and the host, John, treated us to coffee. We spent most the afternoon just resting and exploring the garden grounds while John played classical Colombian folk music on the speakers. I drank beer and took lots of pictures quite inspired by the plants, which included several coffee plants. John actually gave me some coffee beans pulled from one of the plants and explained to me the process of growing the beans. Although I only understood a little of it, I'm going to attempt to grow these inside my house, but know it's going to be a longshot. 

At nighttime the hostel took on a different magical element, illuminated by lights. We had arroz con pollo for dinner and John offered us a unique drink of pop mixed with beer. Gabriel, Andres, and I then went into the hot tub for a little bit which was the perfect temperature. We tried to go to sleep early that night knowing that we would have to wake up at 3am to get to the airport. It took me a couple hours to finally fall asleep on the top floor of our family cabin. Dad woke us up around 1am, clearly concerned about the flight situation, and it was hard to fall back asleep after that. 

Day 8: Return Trip to Indiana

We all got up and out to the exit of the hostel by around 3am as planned, where the taxi driver would pick us up. It was a long walk however up a very steep hill with our luggage. Furthermore it was raining and the taxi driver showed up a good 20 minutes late. The car was too small to fit us all, so we had to get a 2nd taxi to carry the rest. We got to the airport by around 3:45am and waited at the American Airlines front desk for a little while. It then took an additional long wait for the front desk clerk to get us all checked in with our boarding passes. 

Going thru security was quick and easy, however we once again ran into problems at the Migration checkpoint. Madre was unable to go thru since her Colombian passport was expired. Although her American passport was valid, since she was born in Colombia she also had to present a Colombian passport which was expired. She had to visit the migration manager at the airport to get clearance to leave. Once in the gate we had some pastries and coffee for breakfast. Ofelia was feeling quite sick at this point, and Andres and Gabriel got pulled aside for a random security check which really delayed their boarding. Thankfully however we all made it onboard fine and departed by around 6am happy to be returning home. 

I sat by the window and watched as we departed this beautiful country as it rained. I then watched the movie Fall Guy on the plane, starring Ryan Gosling, which was quite funny. We arrived to Miami by around 10am local time and once again had to go thru various immigration checkpoints. I remember being a little nervous about my coffee beans passing the foreign security check. This was not a problem however and we all got thru fine. For lunch we went to TGI Fridays and most of us ordered good ole fashioned hamburgers, while mom and Ofelia ordered some ribs. After lunch we parted ways with Gabriel, who was on a separate flight to Nashville. 

We had a good 3 hour layover until our flight left for Indianapolis. This included various gate switches, some photo uploads, and some snack and drink purchases. I bought a coffee and everyone a round of tasty guava pastries. Dad also later bought a round of pastries, and drinks for the plane ride. I remember sitting around the Miami airport, seeing more attractive Miami women then Colombian women. (I had expected to be blown away by the beautiful Colombian women as I was in Maracaibo, but that was not quite the case on this trip). Surprisingly the weather in Miami seemed quite fine despite the ongoing hurricane Milton nearby. We finally boarded our plane by around 3:30pm. 

The plane ride was one of the most empty rides I'd ever been on, which was nice and spacious for a change. I watched the movie Monkey Man, which was good but very violent. We arrived at around 6pm, and Andres was on the spot to get his key situation figured out. Unfortunately he was never able to find his car keys so he had to call in a locksmith to create a new key for him. I joined him on the shuttle ride to the parking lot airport, where the contractor was already waiting for us with the key. Although this cost him a lot of money, thankfully it resolved his problem, and got us all home okay. This essentially brought an end to our week long trip to Colombia. It was no doubt an adventure full of many ups-and-downs with challenges galore, but I think that made it to be one of the more memorable trips in a very long while. I was simply blown away by the beautiful landscape of this country and hope to visit it again several more times.