Monday, November 5th
Galapagos, Island Santa Cruz

Stayed at Crossman Hostel
(Day 3 at the Galapagos)

Dear Obiwan,
Hey lamb chop! Okay before sharing about today I wanted to explain a little about the Galapagos. In the Galapagos there are three islands that have airports, these are the three main islands: Santa Cruz, Isabela, and San Cristobal. Then, there are a bunch of smaller islands that you can only get to by boats, some you can walk on and explore and some you can look at and swim/snorkle/ or dive next to. The farthest away islands, Darwin and… something- are so FAR AWAY you HAVE to take a cruise! We all did some research and found similar information saying the cruises are more expensive but can take you to some places you can’t go to. I had already planned to do the ‘cheap Galapagos’ and go to the three islands and make day trips on boats to the other islands.

Santa Cruz has the most stuff going on, the most islands to visit with so many different adventures to explore! Also, San Cristobal is supposed to be the most beautiful, followed by Isabela, so me and Itay thought to go from Santa Cruz, to Isabela, to San Cristobal!

So with that being said Obi, TODAY we went out to sea for the first time today Obi! We were supposed to leave tomorrow but last minute the agency called us to let us know there were 4 more seats on the boat for today so instead of a day off, today we left for Isla Pinzon.

Before we left, with the awful internet connection on the island for some reason my phone clock never updated to the time being an hour behind. So I woke up at 6 am then went to wake up the guys…and very groggily and annoyed they told me they could sleep another hour! But I was already awake and excited for the day.

I headed out and had breakfast at The Rock, it had good eggs, AMAZING COFFEE, but the bread was half hard. I wrote and relaxed and tried to budget my money 😣.

Then an hour later we were off to snorkle and explore Isla Pinson. And Obi it was INCREDIBLE. Here are some photos…I don’t take too many on the boat or snorkeling since I don’t have a GoPro:

There were PENGUINS Obi! Here is a video of Ben up close, I’m so bummed I didn’t get this close but still, I saw some! And there were SO MANY SEA TURTLES and sea lions! The water was pretty clear and we saw so many beautiful fish too! It was a great first day.

Oh also lamb, the water is COLD, 22-24 celsius which is 71-75 fahrenheight, you have to wear a wet suit! And I oh so intelligently didn’t put sunblok on the back of my legs since this was the first wet suit I have ever worn…and LOOK AT MY SUN BURNT ;). Silly, I learned my lesson Obi don’t worry, will always sunblock on from now on.!

After our exciting day we moved to Tamara’s hostel, Crossman hostel which was SO MUCH NICER than ours and had a little kitchen! Loved it! After moving we all got AMAZING ice cream from this store called…something and pops. It’s gelato style and they have SO many flavors. I had uncomfortable interaction with Ben though, he just is a schmuck sometimes and that doesn’t fly with me. But not worth writing about, we talked and it was all good. Then we all went to bed.

Day 36: Tuesday, November 6th
Galapagos, Santa Cruz- Crossman Hostel
(Day 4 at the Galapagos)

Today was our day off between boat adventures Obi. We had breakfast at the Chinese restaurant and the eggs and bread was good but the plain coffee wasn’t that good. After this the guys went grocery shopping for Itay to now cook us our meals and no more paying for meals!

After grocery shopping, well the guys went, me, Tamara, and Itay went to check out ‘Las Grietas’ one of the places you can explore on Santa Cruz, it is a crack in the earth from lava eons ago that you can swim and snorkle in! We took a $1 dollar boat about 2 minutes up the harbor then had a beautiful walk to Las Grieatas. There was a salt lake and at this point I was STARVING and I wore flip flops not knowing we were actually going on a real walk, and then poof, there was a shop selling POPCORN. Here is my popcorn face Obi!

Once we got to Las Grietas the water looked freezing, people were wearing wet suits and the sun was not on the water….so we chose not to go on, walked back to a small little beach we say and laid down for a little.

Here are some photos from the day:

After this Itay made us pasta later and it was delicious. After this we went back to the ice cream shop and all wanted pistachio, it was definetly the best flavor from last night…but they change the flavors every day so it was GONE. I ate chocolate with nutella, it was prettttty amazing.

Oh and look! Just sea lions everywhere!!! It’s their home really!

Alright Obiwan, I need to sleep,

love you so much, miss your snuggles,

Love tu madre,
Carly

Saturday, November 3rd
Galapagos, Island Santa Cruz
Stayed at Costas del Sol

Dear Obiwan,
Well the day started off with a mini heart attack. Me and the guys- Ben and Itay, left for the airport at 6am. After getting through security the guys went to smoke a ciggerette. I went to the get breakfast and then waited at the gate…and everyone started to board…and I kept waiting and waiting. I thought, “they must be on the plane? I ate breakfast while they boarded?” I finally asked the flight attendant and he checked, nope they are not on. At this point it was just me and waiting, LAST CALL, BOARDING. My panic was at a strong 8.5 when I saw them running and waving their arms with big smiles. They made it! Itay GOT QUESTIONED by security coming back from smoking…jesus. Well it’s all good! And we were off! First was a stop in Guayanquil then the same plane flies to Santa Cruz, Galapagos.

A few hours later we were there! Itay had SO much energy while Ben and I were exhausted. They ran around and found the best deal for a hostel, we found a room wih a priavate bathroom at a hostel called “Costal del Sol” I then napped as Itay ran around searching for snorkleing and diving deals.

In Santa Cruz there is a main street that has restaurants. All the restaurants are outdoor and some are as big as a small living room and some are as large as…a large living room. It was cozy and fun but also awkard because if you chose one restaurant over the other you’re then left just starting at the other restaurant cause they are sitting next to you.

IT was ALL LOBSTERS OBI. I don’t know…how you would feel about lobsters Obi. I mean, you’re a cold killer so you would want to kill them but they are terrifying looking. And these lobsters don’t look like USA lobsters, these literarly look like aliens with long tenticles. And you walk along the street and it is as if you are at an art auction, Ben and Itay would point at the various longostas (lobsters) and finally picked a huge one, IF I DIDN’T EXPLAIN THIS YET OBI, THEY ARE ALIVE, THE LOBSTERS, as you pick which one you will MURDER.

Any who, Ben and Itay with big smiles cracked and crunched these lobsters and loved it…and Obi, I tried it…which is TOTAL CRAZINESS. But yes, Itay is great to get me to try things he truly doesn’t care and just says “try it! you’ll be fine! It’s COVERED IN BUTTER,” and he’s a chef so he could describe the texture to me and I ate it…and I didn’t like the texture but I liked the taste, Itay said, ‘it needed to be about a few minutes or 5 minuts less and it would have been perfect!’ I had pasta Carbanora and it was AMAZING, but I was starving so, I don’t think I can judge food too well when I would eat almost anything.

After this we went to bed!

Day 34: Sunday, November 4th
Galapagos, Santa Cruz
Stayed at Costas Del Sol
(Day 2 at the Galapagos)

They next day Obi we stayed on land and planned to BIKE to “La Tortuga Reserva”- the Tortise Reserve in Santa Cruz. We were told the bike ride would take 30 minuts to an hour and that it is harder on the way there…

Well, Obi your Mama DID NOT LEARN, that the same rule in Colombia stays true in the Galapagos, don’t listen to a local describing something athletic, know that for me just multiply everything by at least 3….in summary I DIED biking, it was ALL UP HILL, just ALL UP HILL. I almost threw up! I’ve never felt that sick from exercising before. Ben is a personal trainer so he so kindly was walking with me tyring to help me bike. But, I just knew it, no way could I do it.

So, I waved down one of the many taxi trucks (they are ALL white?). It was $10 USD. The guy drove me I guess just to the town where the tortises were? So I actually had to bike for like 10 more minutes but it was easy and fun, the last part was this HUGE decline of a hill.

Then I was there! There were SO MANY TORTIESES. and they were GYNORMOUS. Tortites of all sizes. When you arrive it’s $5 USD I think, then you can have tea or cofee and just walk around.

So…I was there and waited for the guys…and an hour goes by…an hour and a half…2 hours…I was asking people who came ‘did you see two guys riding bikes here?’ eveyrone said no, so naturally Obi, I just assumed they died.

Oh also, I met a few people that said it’s IMPOSSIBLE to bike up and also fun but difficult to GO DOWN!

Well about 2 hours and 15 minutes later (and I had met many tortoises and explored the cool lava caves…twice) the guys arrived! They were DEAD though, they both collapsed for 30 minutes, said it was SO DIFFICULT.

As the sun set the guys finally walked aroudn the reserve and I guess at sunset it is sexy time for the tortises? All of a sudden many male tortises were trying to…mount the ladies. And we watched, Ben wanted to see the ending and was filming it. So we watched…and watched…the slowest sex…he kept falling and missing, and the male made a VERY loud sound during half of this. But…40 minutes later, no success and we finally left.

We took a $20 cab back and Itay, the deal maker, had us go to store to store until we got the best and cheapest deal to go diving and snorkelig for the next 4 days here. Both Itay and Ben got their PADI Open Water Certificiate in Taganga, Colombia…so they can just dive, I was allowed to do my first dive ever, which is called “Discovery Dive.”
As we were finalizing our best deal with this guy name Carlos* (JUST REMEMBER THIS NAME) this solo traveler Tamara walked in. We told her what we were doing and she was looking to dive as well and heard our amazing deal and decided joined us! She’s from Switzerland and was nice, funny, and super excited to dive!!!

The four of us then went to eat, and went to the same place we went last night, I had breaded chicken and rice for $10, it was delicous! It was also SO AMAZING to have Tamara there because Itay and Ben had been speaking to each other in Hebrew so much of the time I had began to just talk to myself in my head and feel almost alone at times. I told them a few times that I thought it was rude and to talk to me and they would justify that it’s amazing to have a language no one else could understand…AND I UNDERSTAND GUYS, BUT, JEEZ, it’s not nice for the third person!

So it was incredilbe having Tamara to talk to! Yay I could talk and listen again!

After dinner we went to bed early for our first day our to sea tomorrow!!!

Goodnight Obiwan,

Love,

Carly

Thursday, November 1st
Stayed at- Community Hostel

Dear Obiwan,
The next two days I had some much needed relaxation in Quito and also had a fun random day with a new friend. On Thursday I met James, he’s English and one of those people who you meet and you immediately feel like you’ve been friends for many years. He was so warm and funny and me and him were both so exhausted when we met. We met while lying on the couches in the TV room at Community Hostel. I made a comment about how I felt like I couldn’t get up and he asked, “wanna just stay in and watch Netflix all day?” it was as if he had read my mind but I was nervous to say it out loud because sometimes there is this pressure to DO SOMETHING AMAZING EVERYDAY when you travel. But it also is so important to listen to your body and rest when you can!

So that was my Thursday Obi, Netflix with James and I also met Itay and Ben during Netflix. Itay and Ben are from Israel and they were also just relaxing some of the day watching Netflix with us. They are from Israel and were friendly and funny. While we were watching Netflix they were finalizing their plans to the GALAPAGOS and as they were finishing they asked me and James, “come with us! who wants to join us in the Galapagos, we are trying to make it the least expensive trip ever, hopefully we will cook our meals and find cheap places to stay and make day trips from the islands.” This was what I was hoping to do so I so I said “okay I’ll join!” we wanted James to join but James had just gotten back from the Galapagos! But Obi, just like that I had plans to go to the Galapagos and for as cheap as possible! We leave SATURDAY!

Here are some photos of Quito from the hostel:

Day 32: Friday, November 2nd
Stayed at Community Hostel, Quito

After a relaxing day yesterday Obi I was ready to explore Quito today. We had to say bye to James who was off to Colombia, I really hope to meet him again, he will be in Brazil the same time I might be in Brazil, you never know Obiwan!

But after James left Itay and I went to go the Mirador- The Lookout- which is supposed to be a beautiful tram cable ride up the highest mountain and has beautiful views of the city. We headed there around 10:00 and the line was impressively long. Itay’s impatience compares to your patience when I have your dinner in my hand! We tried to make it fun with word games and phone games…but after 45 minutes of waiting, and also people telling us that it was foggy at the top when they went…and it was foggy at this moment…we asked someone how much longer, and they told us another HOUR AND A HALF of waiting!!! Not including the actual cable car ride. We both looked at each other and just left the line, feeling freeee.

After that I pointed out the small dinky looking AMUSEMENT PARK next the cable car entrance, I asked Itay and he was SO DOWN. So then we went on some rides and it was actually incredibly fun. There was the Pirate Ship one, which I always love, but they didn’t do it justice…there was a Haunted House…that didn’t scare me once, and you know me, I GET SCARED IF YOU JUST, SAY BOO! The was a very small roller coaster that looked like it was going to be boring and it was actually scary and amazing! Lastly, we went on one of those special sling-shot rides! Here are some pics of our day!

After this we headed to the equator. The cab was only…I think $20 for a 30 minute ride there, then he waited 2 hours for us! It was SO COOL. There were a bunch of little museums that you can explore if you want, but the big attraction was this tall building that straddled the equator! Then inside this building was a bunch of science things showing the magic and incredible differnces of being in the North or Southern Hemisphere. I understood at some point that they were actually replicating what happens at the equator, and it wasn’t atually happening…so that was a bummer. BUT still, you stand on the euqator! Also found out weeeks later that the equator isnt ever 0.00 degrees, it only happens twice a year so I probably wasn’t even standing on it…but WHATEVER it was cool, here are pictures!

After this I watched a movie with Ben and Itay, we chatted a bunch and then went to bed EARLY FOR OUR TRIP TO THE GALAPAGOS TOMOROW!!!

Goodnight Obiwan!

Love you and miss you! Hope you are snuggling with your grandparents!

Love,
Carly

Dear Obiwan,

After traveling in Colombia for 4 weeks I wanted to create a list for things I wish I knew before going!

1. ALWAYS haggle! The first price anyone gives you will ALWAYS be more than usual due to you obviously no being a local. If this makes you uncomfortable, bring your Spanish speaking friends to help!
2. When feeling lost with your Spanish speaking skills, always just ask for someone to speak slower- “Por favor, habla despacio”! Everyone wants to help you and is so nice so always let people know you speak a little Spanish and please to speak slower and it’s much easier! Also- Every city has a different accent, so it MAKES SENSE if you change cities and feel like you suddenly understand Spanish better…or worse.
3. Ladies- BE PREPARED for cat-calling(OBI like you! But not in a fun way) of all kinds and a machismo culture where certain treatment and flirting/hitting on of women is accepted that might make your blood boil or might make you want to go on a feministic tirade. I found the best approach to deal with the cat-calling or hitting on is to completely ignore or if approached say you have a boyfriend or husband(IN THE SAME CITY) and that he is meeting you, now :D.
4. Pack clothing for HOT, warm, and cold weather! I oh-so-intelligently only brought clothing for beach and warm weather, so when I arrived in places were it was 55 at night (or about 13 degrees Celsius)…I was freezing!
5. Bring multiple photocopies of your Passport and make sure to always have one copy with you! (Except for the border, you never need your passport on you, just the copy!)
6. Always have clean water with you, either bought from a store or from you hostel where they tell you it is clean.
7. NEVER DRINK TAP WATER. This, is, obvious, but sometimes…we forget 🤦
8. ALWAYS bring a little toilet paper with you! And hand sanitizer! AND a lot of places have someone outside of the bathroom selling toilet paper for about 5 cents, so if you wanted a stall and see no toilet paper, there might be someone holding it all somewhere, just need to find her!
9. GET READY for TONS OF SQUATTING, well more so for the ladies, most toilets don’t have toilet seats, so it’s like when the guy leaves the seat up…but-ALWAYS, so, just be aware and ready.
10. BE PREPARED to hold your bladder for long periods of time when taking any bus! Some buses don’t have toilets and they can be 6 HOURS LONG.
11. BE PREPARED- for everything taking longer than planned, whether that be bus rides, meals, HIKES, everything takes LONGER and sometimes it is actually really nice and other times (like when a hike supposedly takes 2 hours and actually is over 7 hours!) it…isn’t so nice ;).
12. BE PREPARED- for bad internet, some places it is actually great but depending on if you get a chip for your phone or only are using WiFi, if you get good WiFi, do the things you need to do (pay bills, contact people telling them you’re alive, download things, etc.) when you get good WiFi just in case it is a while until the next time you have it.
13. BRING MEDICINE- for stomach problems, meaning to stop you from going to the bathroom so much you might need a hospital or also maybe bring meds to help the opposite issue…😀.
14. BRING EAR PLUGS and a sleeping mask, some places can be pretty loud at night and if you aren’t a part of the partying it can be tough to sleep.
15. BRING a simple first aide kit or supplies, you might injure yourself and having bandaids, neosporn, ibuprofen (or for me I ended to go by sticks and tape for when I broke my pinky knuckle) can be EXTREMELY HELPFUL and important
16. BRING CASH and if you can BRING SMALL CASH, almost everything is cash and when you leave an ATM with all 20’s or 50’s sometimes NO ONE has the change for a while and you can’t buy anything.
17. BRING A RAINCOAT- I was there during rainy season but still, it rains, and man, it is intense! Probably more than you are used to at home!
18. Travel in groups if you can! I was alone sometimes due to traveling on my own(and didn’t really have any issues!) but it is SO much safer when traveling with a group!
19. Night buses are more dangerous than day busses, I was lucky and didn’t have anything dangerous or bad happen but I heard of night robberies(well that story was in Brazil) but generally, try to take day busses.
20. Make sure you are going to the correct bus terminal! Big cities might have more than one (I learned this the hard way…and I asked a tour guide 🤷🏻‍♀️)
21. If you want to meet people, stay in hostels and research the ones that host events…Some hostels organize tours of the cities and nearby places to visit, these places are SO AMAZING to stay at!
22. If you’re going on a hike or outside or anything always wear SUNBLOCK even if it looks cloudy!
23. Don’t trust the advice of fellow travelers as gospel- know that it is their opinion and that YOU need to EXPLORE IT YOURSELF. (For example, someone might say ‘ah you can skip Bogata,’ but someone else might say ‘I loved Bogata,’) Fellow travels’ info can be VITAL and incredible! BUT don’t cancel a trip somewhere over one person’s comment!
24. Saying that what I said above, ask fellow travelers and locals for advice! They can tell you things to check out that you never knew about that could be the best part of your trip!!! I also found this as my favorite way to explore a city Obi, only knowing a little with no real plans- then just ask what to do and it’s always an adventure and wonderful!
25. BE PREPARED- to meet some of the most kindest, funniest, interesting, friendly, fun, and warmest people that you may be friends with for life!

Wednesday, October 31st

Dear Obiwan,
Obi! Look how beautiful this church in Ipiales is!

So today Obi my day was full of traveling and then celebrating! First, I arrived in Ipiales after my night bus at 530 am, took a cab straight to the church, arrived around 6am then took the cab to immigration. Immigration was easy, only took about an hour and a half and I met some really nice Venezuelans in the line.

After getting my passport stamped I bought a new sim card for Ecuador and exchanged my money on the street, supposed to be legit 🤷🏻‍♀️.

Then I walked over the border and I was in Ecuador!!! Hasta luego Colombia!!!

After that I took a $1 bus to Tulcan, Ecuador and before getting on I asked the guy who led me to the bus 3 TIMES “BAÑO EN EL AUTOBUS?!” (Bathroom on the bus?!) And he said ‘sí, sí!’ then I get on the bus, it drives away as I look and see NO BATHROOM, the guy just lied. So, I thought ‘I can handle 4.5 hours without a toilet,’ BUT Obi, the bus kept stopping to pick people up! And drop people off? So instead of 4.5 hours it took a little over 6 hours. And what was most bizarre to me was that there were older adults and young children and everyone in between and NO ONE HAD TO GO TO THE BATHROOM?! FOR 6 HOURS?! They are super human and also just so incredibly patient and calm.

Finally, I arrived in Quito! And I went to go get more minutes on my card ($5 USD) and the woman had her face painted like a skeleton because, oh right, it’s Halloween!!! One of my favorite holidays Obi!!! Someone told me that Ecuador was more religious than other places and therefore Halloween isn’t celebrated- but they were wrong! There were so many people dressed up! I then had pizza for dinner and it was delicious.

Once reaching my hostel, Community Hostel, I napped immediately. Right before falling asleep I met two Israelie guys, Ben and Itai in my dorm room.

After my brief nap I woke up and joined happy hour with about 20 other people from the hostel. Almost everyone had costumes or face paint! Happy hour was free if you had a costume so I asked ‘where can I get face paint?’ and a nice Irish girl immediately turned and offered to paint cat whiskers on my face with her eye liner! (Obi, I was a CAT FOR HALLOWEEN, I wish you were there!) Then boom, I had free drinks for the rest of happy hour (which meant 7 minutes) but the bartender was friendly and helpful.

After happy hour ended, led by one of the hostel workers who was dressed as a banana, we were off to go out in Quito.

The first place we went the hostel bought 2 huge fishbowls, one was red and one was blue. Everyone drank from a bunch of different straws and danced. The place was packed and the music varied from reggaeton to popular dance music.

At MIDNIGHT this club closed, it was OBSCENELY early. We then were supposed to meet back at the hostel to head to the next ‘after hours’ bar. But! Obi, one guy from our hostel got way too drunk and our hostel guide had to take him back to the hostel, so we were left to find our way back. Which seemed simple, just get a taxi back?

Wrong! It was impossible to get a taxi! I still don’t understand why? Every single taxi was full. We kept walking and walking and still, no empty cabs!

During this we met a group of guys from Quito and one of them was just in love with one of the Aussie guys we were with.

FINALLY about an hour later we found a few taxis to take us back. Once we got back we went to the after hours club up the street. I walked up the huge hill to get there, walked inside and knew I couldn’t be out anymore, I was so exhausted. So I went back down the big hill and went to bed!

It was a great Halloween but I found myself missing my friends so much back in Philly, I know James and Joleen were throwing a big party and every Halloween in Philly is always the best!

Till tomorrow lamb,

Love, Carly

Sunday, October 28th

Dear Obiwan,

Obi the next day was a beautiful surprise. But it started off very rushed! I went to bed around 10ish and I did not set an alarm since I had no plans for the next day. My thought was to sleep in and then explore Cali. However, I woke up around 8am and walked downstairs feeling well rested and ready for the day. But to my dismay Esperanza greeted me looking worried and told me I had to hurry! I asked why and she said because we were leaving and someone was coming now and I had to hurry (this is what I got from my beginner Spanish skills).

She then told me to sit and she would make me breakfast. I groggily did not understand anything that was happening. She then made me an arepa on a hot pan and asked- SO I THOUGHT- if I wanted an arepa or bread, so I said bread, then she made me 2 pieces of toast AND the arepa. And then she made me friend eggs, which…I actually have never had before Obi, I’ve only had scrambled eggs and hard boiled. I never had the kind where it’s white on the outside and orange in the middle, picky me just never tried it.

But, it all happened so fast. AND Obi, you know me, I am NOT HUNGRY when I wake up, I need 30 minutes to about an hour to get hungry. But, there I was, 2 pieces of toast, an arepa filled of cheese, and two fried eggs and Esperanza looking at me sweetly but earnestly to HURRY UP for- WHAT I DON’T KNOW?! And, I could truly only eat one piece of toast and the eggs. But, she made it for me! And was looking at me! So I ate it all, and was quite confident I would throw it up very soon.

Then her husband (Neyl) came! He was so nice and warm and friendly. I was told to bring a bathing suite and to get in the car, to go, to Restrepo. No idea if that was a place or a swimming facility or a beach.

But eventually with my AWFUL Spanish I finally understood, we were going to their second home in a town called Restrepo, that is 1 hour and 30 minutes away. It was a gorgeous drive and they would tell me when we were driving past plantain farms or banana farms and sometimes…I forget one other food. But so many plantains! Endless farms! And then at times they would talk together in quick Spanish that I just gave up on trying to understand and they would laugh and laugh and talk and talk and I felt, I felt so at home Obi! It felt like when I would go on family vacations with my parents in the front and me and my brother in the back. I felt safe and loved and it was wonderful.

We finally reached Restrepo and I don’t even have the words…I still feel speechless about how beautiful this home was. You drive up this beautiful drive way to a vibrant green yard that was so well groomed I think someone had to had JUST mowed the lawn?! And the HOUSE was unbelievable. Had this beautiful open set up with a fricken- courtyard in the middle with the sun shining through! And there were two people there helping cook and helping with everything who were so nice. Esperanza immediately started to cook and I asked if she needed help and she told me no and to go enjoy their pool and to relax.

Here are some photos of their beautiful home:

So then I listened and laid by the pool. Since I didn’t know this was happening I didn’t have any books or anything to do but it didn’t matter. I relaxed! Then we ate. And they had SO MUCH FOOD. It was wild. They grilled meat and had vegetables and things I don’t know any of the names of.

But then, well Obi, I burnt my mouth off. I have been falling in love with SPICEY food, since I have began trying food over the last few years (especially the last year!). And Neyl had some of his own hot sauce. So I asked for some and at first I put the tiniest drop on the meat, and I loved it! So then I asked for more and put it ALL OVER the meat. Then I continued eating normally and just DIED. I couldn’t’ stop coughing Obi! My mouth and throat were on fire and Neyl gave me juice to drink and as I was drinking the juice Esperanza wiped off the hot sauce from and shook her head.

Oh I also had a tour of their amazing yard and ANIMALS including dogs, bunnies, roosters, chickens, and talking parrots! Oh side note Obiwan, in case you want to kill these birds I understand, the one who walked on me bit me a bunch! Oh make sure to watch the video, this parrot has the best laugh!!!:

It was such a surprise of a wonderful day! Goodnight my Jedi!

Love,

Tú Madre, Carly

Saturday, October 27th

Friday, October 26th

Salento, Filandia, Pereia, Santa Rosa- Stayed at Coffee Town Hostel in Santa Rosa

Dear Obiwan,

Obi get ready for some videos of the beautiful coffee triangle of Colombia!

Today, in summary, tu mamá went on an amazing unexpected motorbike journey today! My day began by heading to this amazing place for brunch in Salento called ‘Brunch de Salento’ and had some delicious french toast while sipping coffee looking at people walking by.

The people who work there are warm and welcoming and helpful. At this point into my trip I have fallen in love with motorbikes Obi, so much so I researched how to get my license to rent one…but it was going to just be too much, also, what if it monsoon rains (like it has been) and then there I am blissfully riding over a mountain then OOPS, off a cliff I slip and die.

So, instead, I thought maybe I could ask one of the motorbike taxi people to give me a ride to the neighboring coffee town, Filandia, which so many people told me to visit (and many said is better than Salento). It seemed simple to me since it was only 30 minutes away. (Also Obi, if not the normal way is taking a bus BACK to Armenia (30 minutes) then a bus to Filandia (30 minutes)!

I asked the people at the coffee shop and boom! They called their friend, Pedro, who was a tour guide and had a motorbike! Tried to haggle and for only $30 USD I had a day planned! He was going to drive me to Filandia, we would go to this coffee farm I researched, then head to Santa Rosa for NATURAL HOT SPRINGS, then head back to Salento!

Here is the day in videos and photos!

After everything taking longer than expected due to rain and some endless searching for the coffee farm I looked up and just DIDN’T EXIST we were leaving the hot springs at 10pm and would be a 2 hour ride in the dark in the rain…instead we stayed at the Hostel Coffee Town in Santa Rosa where Pedro used to work! It was very back-packer vibe and was perfect because after a 11 hour day of almost 7 hours of being on a motorbike, I was exhausted!

So back to Salento tomorrow!

Goodnight my Jedi,

Carly

Day 24: Thursday, October 25th

Salento, Colombia- Stayed at El Viajero Hostel

Dear Obiwan,

Obi! I am now in Salento! I successfully slept on the night bus to Armenia, you know how tough it is to sleep on buses. So to to get to Salento, the most famous coffee town to visit in the coffee triangle of Colombia, you have to first take a bus from Medellin to Armenia. The 3 main cities of the ‘Coffee Triangle’ are Armenia, Pereira, and Manizales. Salento is the most famous town in the coffee triangle. People say it has become ‘very touristy’ but I loved it Obi! It’s a really small town with huge hills, colorful homes, restaurants and coffee farms everywhere. Also, right nearby is this well known “Cocora Valley” hike that I did.

So…after the night bus to Armenia, and an incredibly kind woman next to me on the bus ride who was working with some people with disabilities- which had me remember some of my past jobs then I reminisced about WORKING… Anywho, she helped me find where the next bus was. Then I got on that bus to headed to Salento! On the bus I met this really nice guy, Ashwin who was from Holland. He was also solo traveling and didn’t have a plan for a hostel so he chose to go to the same one as me! I read about it on Hostelworld, it was called “El Viajero Hostel Salento” and it looked beautiful! Also, they spoke about leading tours and having salsa lessons and group meals, so it looked exactly like what I wanted! We got there at 7am and there were rooms available BUT check-in was at 11 or 1pm or something much later that 7am. The hostel let us keep out bags there, safe, and we changed and decided to hike Cocora Valley!

So we were off! We were told “it isn’t too hard,” and one couple told us “it took us 6 hours, but there is a 2 hour hike you can do instead!” If you could guess Obi, we went to do the 2 hour hike, however, there are no signs or anything distinguishing between paths. There were people trying to sell you horses or sell themselves as guides and we just wanted to hike for free so we said ‘no thanks’(no gracias), and we chose the path to the right, which seemed flatter than the path to the left. We were told that one way is “all the way up, then flat by the river the way back,” or “flat by the river on the way there and the way back is a big incline then all down.” AND- there was a hummingbird area(Obi you know how much I love hummingbirds! Well, you would wanna catch and eat them all)! We were told its an ‘extra 30 minutes there and back’ but hell yeah, we are gonna go (so we thought)! Obviously we chose the way with flat on the way there and ‘down’ on the way back- BUT we actually chose the WRONG way because we had no idea which way we were going…and it was way too late to change ways when we realized. Also, there was no 2 hour hike…

Obiwan, this hike ended up being 7 fricken hours…and first let me say that it was beautiful! After about…30 minutes or so you see the beautiful views of Cocora Valley and the famous incredibly tall palm trees that are just, astoundingly tall. I want understand why and how?! Then all around you are rolling green hills and the valley stretches out far in front of you with trees and cows and farms sprinkled across. LOOK HERE!:

So, the other part of this hike Obi was…well…it monsooned rained! Because, ha, I am in Colombia in the ‘rainy season’ which I chose not to believe. And at first the rain was light and felt amazing as we were just hiking UP endlessly…but then, we were hiking down…and got by the RIVER and man Obi, it was dangerous! Every now and then we passed people either going our direction or coming the other way and everyone was soaked and would warn how dangerous it was. Also, a group of people recommend us NOT to go see the hummingbirds because they told us they saw 3 hummingbirds and that it ends up taking an hour and a half to go there and back, so, begrudgingly, we didn’t go.

In the end Obi, we made it back. We had to cross the river one time walking directly IN IT with a strong current pulling at our feet and besides that there were beautiful wooden bridges crossing over the river multiple times with suspension wires you can hold onto over the river. However, their beauty was slightly blurred through pouring rain and the bridges being insanely slippery. Luckily, I had good company and it was still beautiful and fun.

Here are some videos and pictures of the storm and of us reaching the end!

Also, we met this nice French couple who told us they did go see the hummingbirds and said they saw 30 AND THAT IT WAS SO AMAZING. But, we can’t change the past so it’s FINE I’M NOT UPSET.

The end was also tough because the road just…never ended, and we got back at 530, and we left around 1030 am, so it ended up being 7 HOURS. And at 530 the sun was ALMOST SET, so Obi, if you did the math, if I went to see these hummingbirds we would have been hiking the last hour in the DARK- and WE were told the last car back is at 6 (so we would have been back around 7 and I guess just had to sleep under a tree?)!

After this we returned to our hostel, and Ashwin was told about the nicest restaurant in Salento so we went there! We almost gave up after having to hike a hill that was so steep you almost fall backwards (found out on the way back you take another way that beautifully cuts through the center of the town and is BARELY a hill)…but…it’s okay 😂.

Dinner was so delicious! We saw some fellow hikers and hostel folks at the restaurant and had a lovely end to our unexpectedly adventurous day!

Alright my dear Jedi. Love you so much, till tomorrow!

Love,

Carly