Last updated on May 31st, 2014 at 09:18 pm
Our first days on the road have been busy! We have been traveling for 2 weeks and it feels like so much longer. Rob asked about a place we visited in Miami and shook his head as he realized it was only last week. He went on to say it felt like a year ago. Overall everything is great, totally what we expected. This means we have had many unexpected setbacks and challenges already. So far the expected, unexpected challenges haven’t caused too much stress. We are currently in Barranquilla in Colombia. It has taken us a few flights, a train and a bus or 2 to get here but we are here. Makai has been a trooper. I am so impressed with his patience, which being 5, I understand can be a huge feat given the kind of situations we have encountered so far. We started in Cartagena with initial intentions to find a long term rental there but…. Cartagena was different than what we had thought it would be like. Not bad, but different. It’s not quite what we expected from our reading. One thing we had expected,though was the colonial beauty that exists in old town.




What we may have been naive in not expecting is how tourism is beginning to affect the area we stayed in Cartagena, lots of vendors trying to sell stuff. We are approached everywhere, all the time, to pay for a trinket or service. Given we were in the tourist area (duh) it makes sense that there would be vendors working to sell to tourists. The problem was it is every where we went. This is not what we want where we decide to stay for a while. With the budget being tight there is a rather strict timeline we must stick to for using short term accommodation. We are searching for a place to settle into for a month or 2 to work on an income stream to sustain this adventure beyond our savings. We’re going to explore Colombia for a bit, first moving up the coast to Barranquilla then maybe into coffee country. We have been in contact with a fellow travel blogger from Toronto, Canada, Will from I Will Travel, he is here in Barranquilla right now to. We have been following Wills other blog, Barranquilla Living for a while now and have learned long term rentals and food costs are cheaper here. Barranquilla is proving to be more what we are looking for to settle down for a bit. There has been a lot of moving around so far and it’s been an exciting challenge. Another unexpected twist in our travel plan, I didn’t know I would enjoy the moving around as much as we have. I should have known as I have always enjoyed the journey as much as any destination. To see more great photos of Cartagena please visit “A Day in Cartagena” on Rob’s website Daemontown.
What do think about the notion of driving all the way down to Ecuador? Then when we get there we will have a vehicle to keep there! Aware of the Durian Gap! Just wondering what you all’s thoughts are ? Insane crazy or ………….? Let me know thanks!
Hi there.
Was the reason for not wanting to stay in Cartagena that there were alot of street vendors? I read your post a couple of times and that’s all that really stands out to me. Was there anything else that you didn’t like?
Hi Cesar! Our decision to leave Cartegena was based on a few things; Our lack of Spanish language skills, the information we learned from our Airbnb hosts during our stay, and an opportunity to connect with a fellow Canadian in Colombia.
First, Latin American Spanish was a lot faster than we had anticipated. Language barriers didn’t really intimidate us but with a small child in tow, we wanted to get settled as soon as possible and just didn’t feel we had the language skills needed to do that effectively.
Second, we had originally planned to rent a short term rental somewhere in a local neighborhood. Consulting our Airbnb hosts we learned that there was virtually no middle class in Cartegena (a huge city) and the divide between rich and poor was quite wide. This was not appealing to us with our lack of skills and knowledge.
Third, we found out a fellow Canadian travel blogger was staying in Barranquilla. He wife was from there and he offerd to help us find a rental so we decided to take that opportunity. It proved to be the best experience for us as newcomers to Colombia. We learned a lot about Colombian culture and made a lot of friends in Barranquilla. This helped us have a better understanding of language and life in Colombia. We went on to visit another big city, Cali and were much better prepared to find a suitable rental. Hope that makes things a little clearer for you:)
You should check out Banos, Ecuador as a potential place to stay for a few months! It is inexpensive, great little community… just a lovely place.
Thanks Kim! We are very interested in Ecuador, early on we had planned to start our travels in Ecuador. Right now we are checking out possibilities for a house sit there or maybe a rental in Sucre, Bolivia. I’ve read Sucre is beautiful, inexpensive and a really great place to learn Spanish.
Glad you are enjoying Colombia. We have a saying that the only thing that will kill you in Cartagena are the prices. Barranquilla is nice, but I recommend you check out San Andres and Providencia Islands. You can read a little more about them on our website.
Hi Michael and Graciela! Thanks so much for your recommendations, we will check them out for sure. We are really enjoying Barranquilla so far. We have secured a rental here for about a month but after that we don’t know where we will go. I will definitely check out your website for some inspiration.
Very cool new look to the blog! The photos of the old buildings are lovely, I’m a history nut, so anything from the past speaks to me. I’m curious, is the drug cartel still a major concern throughout Colombia or is it region specific? I really don’t know anything about the country other than the drug cartel label, which I’m sure is unfair, but I’m curious just the same. I’m sure it is a beautiful country and I look forward to reading more!
The blog needed an update. I’m glad you like it, I really like it to:)Rob is really getting good at customizing the site. There was so much history in old town Patti! We were approached by a vendor as soon as we stepped foot on the wall to sell us a tour and he shared so much great history with us. You would never know there were ever drug cartels where we have been. The government has done an amazing job cleaning up violent cartels. We have felt safe and only encountered kindness so far. It has been awesome:)
So good to hear Tracey! May you only find peace, health and happiness as you explore Colombia.
Thanks so much Patti. We are really loving Barranquilla so far. Settling down for a bit has definitely brought us some peace:)