No trip to Medellín would be complete without spending some time in Guatapé, Colombia’s most colourful town. Guatapé is only a two-hour ride from Medellín and it’s the perfect getaway from that big city. You can go there for the day or spend a night or two there as we did. Whatever you do, you are going to love Guatapé, it’s impossible not to! El Peñon What to...
Not so long ago, Medellín was a no-go city for tourists. In fact, in the ’80s, Medellín had the highest homicide rate in the world. Pablo Escobar and other cartel members were turning the city into a war zone and their violence was at its peak. Thankfully, after Pablo Escobar died in 1993, things started to turn around for Medellín. Since then, Medellín has become...
The small town of Salento is nestled in the middle of the Colombian Zona Cafetera. Only a few years ago, Salento was not a safe place to travel to. It was totally off the tourist grid, thanks to the guerrillas who had control over the whole region. However, things have changed for the better in recent years. Like many other destinations in Colombia, Salento is now...
The Wax Palm Tree is Colombia’s national tree and in the Cocora Valley, the Wax Palm trees stand up to sixty meters tall. They are the tallest palm trees in the world and they are certainly an impressive sight. The Cocora Valley is part of the Los Nevados National Park and is situated in the coffee region of Colombia. It’s an easy day trip from the pretty little...
Cali, the capital of Valle del Cauca, is a Colombian city that’s seen a lot of change and turmoil throughout the years. From its slave history during the colonial period to its most recent drug-related violence, it hasn’t been the safest city on the planet for years. For this reason, Cali is often underrated and avoided by tourists. However, in recent years, Cali has...
I’m not going to lie, our time in Colombia did not start quite how we’d imagined it would. After our uneventful border crossing from Ecuador to Colombia, (read more on this here), we decided to stop for the night in Pasto, and catch an early bus the next day to Popayan. Early morning the next day we headed out on the five-minute walk to the bus station. Temporarily...
After a lot of researching online to find a cheap flight from Quito to Colombia, it seemed rather difficult. We tried every city, every airline, every time of day but with nothing under US$400 per person, we eventually gave up. When you travel on a budget, sometimes you can’t always do things the easy way. We’d have to take a long bus ride and do the border crossing...
There is one country in South America that contains a little bit of everything that the continent has to offer. That country is Ecuador. So, if you want to discover South America but only have time to visit a single country, we’d suggest you pick Ecuador. In Ecuador, you get to experience the Andes mountain range, the South American culture, the Amazon rainforest...
The city of Cuenca, Ecuador is a true colonial gem and some would go so far as to call it Ecuador’s most beautiful city. It’s elegant historic Spanish colonial buildings, mixed with its colourful indigenous culture and dramatic street art, make walking around Cuenca a real delight. There are bright colours everywhere in Cuenca! Not only is Cuenca a stunning city but...
After a month of travelling through Ecuador with the bare minimum of Spanish under our belt, we realised that we needed to do better. If we were going to travel through South America for at least 6 months, we really had to try and learn some more Spanish. We’d read that the small beachside town of Montañita was the best place to learn Spanish in Ecuador. In...