Hi everyone, Our travelers return tomorrow! In the meantime, here is the final blog by Simone. I want to give a big- behind the scenes shout out- to Laith who has been posting the blogs on our website. Thank you, Laith! We arrived in Barichara at night, greeted by lightning and thunder. The power went out moments after our arrival, throwing the whole town into darkness. We made our way to our accommodations, guided by the light of passing vehicle headlights and the occasional flash of … [Read more...]

Today we all woke up at different times with the knowledge that we should be ready to leave our house at 9:00. For breakfast we had amazing local coffee, some of us also elected to dig into one of the countless perfectly ripe avocados or tropical fruits that we had picked up the previous day. Soon thereafter, we headed down to the main square where we waited for one of the town’s restored Jeep Willys to take us into the Cocora Valley. The jeep ride was roughly 20 minutes long, and several … [Read more...]

Today was our last day with Alex's family in Cartagena. They have been wonderful with us, and I could not have asked for a better start of the trip. Most of the day was devoted to a tour of the walled city. Stepping into it was like entering a different world. We left the bustling streets and entered pastel colored alley ways. As we walked towards the first plaza we saw several falcons along with hundreds of pigeons. Shortly thereafter we came across several large iguanas basking in the park. It … [Read more...]

Coco Lavelle So far our arrival in Colombia has been very exciting. We are currently staying in the tiny village of Rocha. While it is not far from Cartagena as the crow flies, it is at the end of a long dirt road that makes it feel like hundreds of miles separate us from the hustle and bustle of the big city. We have spent much of our time assisting in English classes and interacting with the many kind people of the town. Each day, over a hundred students come to attend these classes. … [Read more...]