We met Justin, an expat from Utah, at our Medellin Airbnb and he suggested Guatapé as a ‘must see’ destination for our travels. Located just a few hours east of town (a $9 bus fare), we arrived in the cutest town we’d seen so far — fairytale city of colorful houses and shops.
Medellín - The Terracotta City
Medellin, the city of transformation. We heard from many travelers about how they loved it, so we decided to hang out here for a few weeks. Travel is exhausting, so our plan was to extend our stay in select locations from time to time to give ourselves a moment of ‘normal life,’ to get off the tourist circuit. This was our place to chill.
The Streets of Bogota
“How many of your parents are concerned that you’ll be murdered by the Colombian drug cartel while you’re here?” asked our guide, Jeff. Pretty much everyone in our tour group raised their hands. That’s how our first tour of Bogota began.
Mountain Biking Guatemala
Rio Dulce "Sweet River"
From the jungles of Tikal we took a 4-hour shuttle ride and short boat trip to reach our next destination - The Kangaroo Hotel on the Rio Dulce. Rio Dulce is an interesting place; downstream from Lake Izabal in eastern Guatemala, ultimately connecting to the Caribbean Ocean. This makes it a tropical storm safe haven for yacht owners who seek protection for their boats in the off-season.
Sunrise in Tikal
“Tikal is the center of the universe,” my friend Steve Whitesell told me. Steve has travelled this part of the world before and I have learned to trust him with his advice. Already his insights have lead us to Lake Atitlan and Rio Dulce, which we loved. I was going to give him the benefit of the doubt on Tikal, so off we went.
Heather and the Volcano
Hi I’m Heather and I am doing a guest post on my Dad and Kelly’s blog.
As soon as my flight was booked to visit my dad and Kelly in Guatemala, I began researching the highlights and attractions of what to do there. The volcano hikes captured my attention immediately. Since I’m currently in the middle of a huge life transition – moving from Chicago to Denver – and I don’t have a so-called ‘home’, meeting up with them for 10 days was perfect timing. The opportunity to experience a monumental physical challenge was also a challenge I was ready for.
Guatemala: Antigua and Lake Atitlan
After spending a month in Mexico, for some reason, arriving in Guatemala felt like we had finally started our journey around the world; Mexico had seemed like more of a vacation. We were lucky to have Scott’s daughter Heather join us for 10 days on this leg of our trip. What a joy to have her there to share that part of the world with us.