Colombia prologue 2

Limited time in a massive country means that some decisions have to be made:

Decision 1- Am I ever likely to visit again?

This is important to establish at the beginning of the plan as you don't then have to cram everything in. There are so many places to potentially visit, one trip is never enough. This is the same wherever you go.

The problem is, you have no way of knowing you'll ever get the chance to go again. As a result of this, you have to decide what you see now, and what you leave for another time. And, should you never visit again, would you be upset that you forget to see certain things.

I hope to visit again (assuming I enjoy this trip). So pressure is off for trying to see it all.

Decision 2- What are you hoping to achieve from your visit?

Are you going for relaxation, sight-seeing or something else?

Of course, subsequent visits might have a different agenda. So priorities might change.

This is a complex question. I want to get a sense of the country, a feeling for it's history, I want to have time by myself to really reflect on everything. I am not going to say that I want to 'find myself' like you hear gap-year trusterfarians say all the time. I know who I am, I like who I am, and I just want to spend time with me being who I am.

This rules out time spent in cities; I prefer the opportunity to be away from the madness and spend time in places were life is slower. Those are the places were I am most at peace.

Decision 3- what proportion of my time do I want to spend travelling about?

Well, I guess this depends on the mode of transport. In an airplane, you spend less time travelling but don't see much of the country close up. Alternatively, going by bus means you get to see more of the country but spend more time travelling.

Given that some journeys by bus can be over 15 hours, it is likely that I might have to take at least 1 internal flight. Possibly between Bogotá and Santa Marta. Not sure what my route is yet, so this is going to need some thought.

Planning this trip has plenty of decisions yet to be made.

Colombia prologue 1

Colombia 2025- Prologue 1

Flights booked and the first 4 day's accomodation sorted.

LIke most people during lock down, I had plenty of time on my hands. Even though I was still working from home, the rest of the time was spent entirely alone.
It's in those times that your mind starts to consider all of those things that you would be doing if you weren't confined to your own home. So, thinking about being anywhere in the world other than where you currently are, starts to dominate your thoughts.

Just prior to lockdown, I had spent 4 days in Madrid. It was a completely spontaneous trip. I woke up one morning and was thinking about places that I had always wanted to visit but, for whatever reason, had not been able to. I had the money, I had the time, so why not?
I got up, sat at the desk in my dressing gown, and before I'd even finished my first coffee of the day, I had booked flights, parking and accomodation for the following weekend.

I had no idea how I'd get from the airport to the hotel but figured that I would just work something out when I got there. A solid plan.

There was something joyous about the spontenaity of this trip that triggered a feeling of independence and excitement. It was a fantastic trip, I visited El Museo del Prado, Puerto del Sol, Plaza Mayor and numerous cafe's, restaurants and bars. I walked for miles.

On my return I was eager to repeat this process so I began to plan a month-long trip to South America. I had seen a documentary about Colombia on the TV and was fascinated about the country, it's biodiversity, its people and its history. With a bit of research and watching a few videos from travel bloggers I decided that this would be the place to go.

Then lockdown hit.

The general feeling at the time was that this was all going to temporary and that we would all return to our normal lives in a matter of weeks. So, I booked flights for the end of the academic year May/June and started to plan.

Covid-19 hit South America some time after Europe, but when it did, it hit hard. The poverty in many parts of the country meant that people were literally starving. The Government of the time did little to help those most in need. Crime rocketed, riots broke out and the military were walking the streets with guns and were prepared to shoot anyone who broke the curfew. And in one famous case, they did. This led to riots, police stations being set on fire, looting; things got ugly pretty quick. Someone on a Colombian forum described this as a fairly common reaction in a country that's had more than it's fair share of conflict. I started to have some thoughts about the wisdom of visiting this country, but I wasn't deterred.

Unsurprisingly, my flights were cancelled and I was offered the chance to defer them for 6 months. I opted for September. Surely, all would be back to normal by then?
No. The flights were subsequently cancelled as all international flights were stopped indefinitely.

I had spent much of the summer planning a perfect itinery that would take in Bogota, Villa de Leyva, Guadalupe, Bucaramanga, Cartagena, Santa Marta, Tayrona National Park, a 6 day trek to Ciudad Perdida, Medellin, Cali. 

It would be a year later before international travel was opened up again, and some time after that before the major airlines re-opened flights from London to Bogota. The plan went onto the shelf and has stayed there ever since.

It is now February 2025. I have booked flights for an abridged version of the original plan (2.5 weeks instead of 4.5). My itinery has been reduced to accomodate the shorter duration at the expense of the 6 day trek, Guadalupe and Cali. I have, however, included a new destination, Salento. There is a lot to cram in, and I don't want this to become a trip where I am constantly travelling and only spending a short amount of time in each place. I want to immerse myself as much as possible in the country and not just be a tourist.

I will only spend enough time in Bogota to recover from the journey and take in a short tour of La Candelaria area (where I will be staying). I will then get on a bus for a 3 to 4 hour journey North to Villa de Leyva. Here I will be staying for 2 nights in a hostel on the outskirts of the town, with views of the mountains and countryside. 

That is as far as I have got so far.