Tag: Couchsurfing

Heading Home: What I will Miss About Colombia

It’s been an experience. For someone who’s never travelled alone until this trip, I’ve done a lot of new things. I’ve also never been happier than when I saw Brian’s taxi arrive at the AirBnB in Cartagena and I knew the alone part was over! Now I am heading home and I don’t know what to even say after this amazing experience in Colombia. Here’s a recap of what I will miss about Colombia. It’s a lot.

Volunteering

The volunteering was really great – and really hard. I have a lot of respect for all teachers, and day care workers and babysitters. And parents. But day care workers? Wow. 26 2 year olds. In 33 degree heat and humidity and no air conditioning. Impressed. Next steps? Knowing I will never be a child care worker but still love to play with kids and having the utmost respect for those who do that every day.

Living in Cartagena

The home stay was also great. Warm and welcoming people and a different world for me. I definitely got to use my limited Spanish. Next steps? Spanish classes or a tutor back in Toronto. I went to a couple of language exchange meet-ups, in Cartagena and Medellin, and will seek those out in Toronto now.

What I Will Miss About Colombia

I will miss:

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A Long Hike Up a High Hill in Bogotá: Quebrada la Vieja or Chapinero Mountain

A Guided Hike in Bogotá

We knew we needed the exercise, and our host Robin was willing to take us up the nearby mountain for some outdoor entertainment and views of Bogotá. We got up early this morning and started at 6:30am for a long hike up a high hill in Bogotá.

Like hiking? Read my post about hikes in Curaçao

Chapinero Mountain

We left so early because the hike is on privately owned land and is only open to the public until 10am. It’s a beautiful spot along a river with eucalyptus and pine trees so it also smelled great too!

Hiking trail Bogota
Views of Bogota
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Busy First Day in Bogotá

We had a whirlwind three day tour of Bogotá, Colombia’s capital and biggest city with a population of 6.7 million! With so much to do and little time, we enjoyed a busy first day in Bogotá, visiting museums, salsa clubs and meeting new people.

Where We Stayed

We had an easy flight from Cartagena, and took a taxi to our lodgings in Bogotá. We’re couchsurfing with a friendly, interesting and generous guy named Robin, who was a big part of making our first day here so much fun. He has a roommate who is on crutches, Anna Maria, and 3 cats. His apartment takes up the 2nd floor of a building in the heart of a great neighborhood called Chapinero. We chose a place in Chapinero, a barrio north of the city centre which has good nightlife and lots of restaurants, because we like the convenience of walking at night.

Despite arriving to Bogotá in the middle of the afternoon, we saw some of the city and started to get acclimated, but I think it will take a bit longer because the elevation of Bogotá is over 2,6000 meters above sea level.

Bogota Map
Bogota Barrio Map

After traveling and settling in, we didn’t get into the city until 2pm but we still managed to see and do a bit to get acclimated. We enjoyed a rewarding first day in Bogotá.

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