Colombia 🇨🇴

A country that was right at the top of my travel list! Our adventure was supposed to start with a sunny landing by the sea in Cartagena. 🛩️☀️🌊

On the first day, we headed to the city's landmark, the Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas, followed by a stroll through the colorful and beautiful old town, where we went to a small rooftop terrace to watch the sunset. Unfortunately, the whole day was overshadowed by vendors who pestered and bothered us at every corner.

The next day was supposed to be a day trip to the islands, which ultimately were neither beautiful nor worth the money that the scammers had taken from us for the trip. Even on the third day, we didn't feel any better; trash and debris, homeless people, and drug addicts were scattered everywhere, every 2 meters, scammers approached us, and the people were neither open-minded nor helpful, with completely inflated prices due to mass tourism. So, we decided to move on to Santa Marta a day earlier, which turned out to be the best decision.🏰💐🦜

In Santa Marta, we decided to spend 2 days in Tayrona Park and also to stay overnight - a true paradise! 🏝️🐒⛰️

Another highlight was a day trip to the small mountain village of Minca. From a cocoa and coffee farm to waterfalls and beautiful jungle hikes, it was one of my favorite places. ☕️🌳⛰️

Another city we visited was Medellin - a city that couldn't be more diverse. From the highly modern south to the favelas in the north, there is something new to experience every day. Our highlights were:

• Cable Car Metro to Santo Domingo 🚠
• Day trip to Guatape and Lake Embalse del Peñol 🚤⛰️
• Historical city tour
• Pablo Escobar history
• Comuna 13 🎨
• Barrio Polado

Overall, Colombia was a rather difficult travel experience with its ups and downs… All the scams, homelessness, drug problems, open prostitution, and the indescribably harsh poverty in this country gave me constant stomachaches and a feeling of insecurity - many people here literally live off the trash.

Even though we did meet some really nice Colombians, you can feel how poverty overshadows the country and especially hospitality (a saying that was passed to us upon arrival: “No one is nice without a reason, mostly just for money; don't trust anyone who appears friendly!”). All trust in the people here seems to have been lost, which I find very sad and hopefully does not hinder my further travels.