Colombia: Travel, Time, and Tired Knees
I remember our visit to New Zealand and Bora Bora 12 years ago. Our days were packed. We would get up at 6 in the morning and retreat at 8 in the evening. A good breakfast, something quick for lunch, and a proper dinner. Day after day, for two weeks. Lots of travel, hikes, and sightseeing — and somehow, we never felt tired.
Today, our travel method has changed. We still pack our days, but at a much more relaxed pace. Ironically, we are far more tired. Age definitely catches up. In the middle of a tour, I now look for opportunities to sneak in a secret nap, or I scan the area for strategic locations where a lonely chair might be waiting just for me. I’ve also reached a point where, if given the option between extra excitement and standing around waiting, I’m strongly leaning toward the latter. Add kids to the mix, and the picture changes entirely.
Over the last year and a half, we’ve visited quite a few countries. Our in-house travel planner is Karthik, Hema’s brother, who takes care of logistics and planning. Somewhere along the way, we found a method to the madness that works for both families. Our most recent trip was to Colombia — the first time in South America for both Hema and me. We were traveling as a group of nine, including Hema’s parents.
California, of course, had been sunny for almost the entire year. Naturally, the rains decided to make a dramatic appearance on our day of departure, leading to flight delays, missed connections, and some last-minute plan changes.
Growing up, my imagination of South America was shaped by school textbooks — the Amazon, endless greenery, and dense forests. For many in the US, Machu Picchu feels like a rite of passage, a “been there, done that” destination. Maybe someday we’ll do Peru. For now, we picked Colombia.
When we told people we were going to Colombia, the most common response was,
“Why Colombia? Are you sure the country is safe?”
What no one warned us about was the real danger: stairs, steep hikes, and decisions made while tired.
Thanks to a mix of translation apps, flaky internet, and enthusiastic nodding in random directions, we somehow managed to understand our Spanish counterparts. Akhil quickly mastered sin carne — no meat — which instantly made him the most linguistically capable among us. While I believed Hema’s brother and his wife had a better command of the language, their confident head nods suggested they were only one step ahead of us, not several.
At one point, while verifying an Uber ride, the driver asked for the PIN. Before any of us could react, Sahana confidently leaned forward and called it out in Spanish. The taxi driver looked pleasantly surprised by her diction.
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| Avocado toast — silky enough to feel morally wrong. |
Food turned out to be a pleasant surprise. Vegetarian and vegan options were available everywhere. I didn’t particularly enjoy the chili vegan soup we tried — the distinct South American flavor didn’t quite work for me — but the fruits and avocados more than made up for it. The avocado toast was some of the best we’ve had. The avocados were silky, almost too perfect to eat. You felt a little guilty putting them in your mouth.
After Bogotá, we headed to Salento — a small, beautiful town that serves as the gateway to Cocora Valley, part of Los Nevados National Natural Park. The hikes were stunning, the views breathtaking, and the air perpetually misty. Fog rolled in and disappeared within minutes, as though the hills were quietly playing with the clouds.
Salento felt calm, almost meditative — the kind of place that gently eases you into a trip before reminding you that you’ll soon be climbing something steep.
From there, we moved on to Medellín (pronounced Medejin), which felt like a sharp contrast. The weather, the traffic, the infrastructure — it reminded me a lot of Bangalore. I was transported back to the days when directions sounded like:
“Sir, go straight and turn left. You’ll hit a traffic jam. Wait there for ten minutes. Then turn right. You’ll find the building.”
One of our plans in Medellín was to visit the Cerro de las Tres Cruces viewpoint. The idea was simple: drive up, enjoy the view, return to the parking lot, and head to Comuna 13. Naturally, things unfolded very differently.
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| Guatapé |
The hike from the parking lot to the top took nearly an hour. Somewhere along the way, Karthik had a brainwave.
“Let’s take the shorter route down,” he said. “We can easily get taxis there.”
In that state of exhaustion, everything sounded logical. Middle-aged and senior members of the group then began an excruciating descent, where every limb behaved as though it had formally resigned from duty. We encountered abrupt drops and angles that stretched the descent to nearly an hour once again.
At one point, Karthik cheerfully asked,
“How is the view?”
My internal monologue screamed back, “I can only think about my life view right now, and it’s not great.”
Cartagena was easily the most touristy stop. Beaches, a charming old city, and streets that instantly lifted your mood with their color and energy.
By coincidence, our day in Cartagena fell on Vaikunta Ekadashi. On a whim, I decided to survive the day on fruits and milk alone. Before heading to Pezetarian, we stopped by King Curry — an Indian restaurant, apparently.
We seated ourselves comfortably before realizing they didn’t have anything we asked for.
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| Cartagena — color, music, and an old city that refuses to rush. |
“Do you have a paneer dish?”
“We have the dish, but no paneer.”
“What about a veg curry?”
“We have the curry, but no veg.”
“You can try channa masala.”
“Okay, bring that.”
“Actually, we have the masala, but no channa.”
At this point, we collectively muttered, “Dei!”
It appeared they had a restaurant, but no food.
Cartagena was also where Maya — Akhil and Sahana’s cousin — suddenly broke into the Monica dance steps from the otherwise forgettable movie Coolie, much to everyone’s amusement.
As we travel more, I’ve come to a simple realization: remove one set of clothes from your suitcase and replace it with painkillers and pain sprays. Add a foldable travel chair and a pillow, and you don’t just get a perfect vacation — you get proper rest.
If anybody cares about the itinerary,
click on the link here
General Itinerary
Day 0: Reach Bogotá. Gold Museum, Plaza Bolívar, evening at Monserrate.
Day 1: Fly to Pereira, bus to Salento. Coffee plantation tour.
Day 2: Cocora Valley.
Day 3: Travel to Medellín.
Day 4: Cerro de las Tres Cruces hike, Comuna 13.
Day 5: Guatapé tour.
Day 6: Plaza Botero, Botanical Garden, Pueblito Paisa. Fly to Cartagena.
Day 7: Cartagena — San Felipe de Barajas, old city walk.
Day 8: Back to the US.
Very nice Praveen. The hotel conversation made me laugh like anything.
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