II.III.IX – Home

II.III.IX HOME Constantly moving on from adventure to another, I failed to notice my time in Colombia was almost up. On my last day, I opened my eyes and I was wide awake. I wanted to keep them closed, to go back to sleep. I wanted to stay in that moment right before you wake up – when things are […]

II.III.VIII – Wandering

II.III.VIII WANDERING Just before we’d get to enjoy the city of Bogotá, we had one final road trip planned in order to cover as much ground as possible. Luckily, Pedro’s father offered his car for that.  Our first stop was the Catedral de Sal de Zipaquirá which are salt mines extending some 650 feet underground with a church at their epicentre. Apart from being […]

II.III.VII – Adrenaline

II.III.VII ADRENALINE As expected, tomorrow did come and as hungover as we were, we had yet another trip to make. We took a plane to Bucaramanga; a city north of Bogotá where we’d start on a road trip down south; a cascade of adventures along the way.  We visited Barichara; a Spanish colonial town known for its cobbled streets and whitewashed […]

II.III.VI – Recovery

II.III.VI RECOVERY Our adventures in Santa Marta were soon over and the rest of Colombia was awaiting! We headed down south back to Bogotá once again, where we were given the warmest welcome by Pedro’s family before being cordially escorted to their bathroom. After four days without a hot shower, I could finally scrub myself clean from all the dirt and […]

II.III.V – Reconnected

II.III.V RECONNECTED read on the doe The long-awaited third day was finally upon us. The day we’d get to see the Lost City. I couldn’t believe we were almost there. All battered, bruised and blistered I had persevered. It would still be a long way to go and really, we had only covered half the trek so far. But I […]

II.III.IIII – Tairona

II.III.IIII TAIRONA Somehow, against all odds, I woke up feeling better than ever. We got up, shook off our boots in case of spiders and scorpions (because apparently these things happen), and headed out before dawn in order to get a head start on what was to be the most challenging of days. We trekked along the riverside of the […]

II.III.III – Wild

II.III.III WILD read on the doe My journey through Colombia led Pedro and I to Santa Marta, a city renowned for the natural park of Tayrona – a wildlife sanctuary that is practically heaven on earth. Yet, it wasn’t for this that I had travelled there.  It was the Ciudad Perdida – the lost city of Teyuna, an ancient settlement located in […]

II.III.II – Land of Passion

II.III.II LAND OF PASSION And hello Colombia; the promised land! But trust me when I say it really didn’t feel like it when I arrived in Bogotá, the capital. After four hundred million hours of travelling I felt disgusting and exhausted; kinda like a professional athlete at the end of a triathlon, only all I did was sit down on […]

II.III.I – Departure

II.III.I DEPARTURE Colombia… Half the world away it stood. And I was going there. The furthest I had ever been from home was Manchester; three hours away from Malta by plane. And now I was going to friggin Colombia – some 10,000 kilometres away.  “It’s okay, it’s okay – he’ll be there with me!” I told myself as I was […]

II.II.III – Alone

II.II.III ALONE I had never lost anyone before then. This was all terra incognita to me. Luckily, I wasn’t alone. I had friends, and now, I also had someone by my side who made it a little more bearable. Only now, this someone too was about to leave me. It was around the same time that Pedro’s job opportunity fell […]