Jardín Happiness

We were so relieved to get to the peaceful and beautiful town of Jardín after our sleep-deprived nights in Medellín. We took a bus there on Friday, January 16, and it was only supposed to take about three hours. Well, we’ve learned that in Colombia, you automatically add on some time to that estimate for one reason or another! Sure enough, it was over four hours before we got there, as a previous landslide caused us to be at a standstill for over an hour because of construction. Thankfully, the bus was air-conditioned, comfortable, and even had Wi-Fi for awhile! Plus, the views on the drive were lovely…so much green, mountains, a river, cows grazing, etc.

Our rental was just outside of town, and the owner was nice enough to come pick us up once we realized that there were no Ubers (just tuk-tuks!). Between his car and one tuk-tuk, we got there and enjoyed a peaceful sleep. 

The next day, the kids and I explored some waterfalls down the street, including Cascada del Amor and Cascada del Deseo. Jonas liked climbing them, while Johanna liked taking pictures of the stray cats that wandered around. We walked down by the river, where some locals were swimming, but the water was pretty cold. 

We also went inside a bat cave, which required paying a few dollars to a little old guy, who then led us through the cave, explaining things in Spanish and pointing out things with his flashlight. There were tons of bats and even another waterfall behind the cave! We made a pasta dinner that night and enjoyed watching the Broncos win. Yes, we were able to watch the game on the TV at our place (with Spanish commentary).

On Sunday, we walked into town to go to church. It was very crowded, and we had to split up into pairs and squeeze into the pews. Some differences we’ve noticed between Catholic churches here versus at home: pigeons or other birds fly around in the rafters—it’s normal and nobody blinks an eye, there is no orderly line for communion—everybody just goes up at will, the Stations of the Cross are incredibly ornate—often large and 3D and colored, and music is usually provided on an electronic keyboard—there is no fancy organ or even piano even though the churches are elaborate and gorgeous.

After church, we walked to the edge of town to ride La Garrucha, a cable car originally used to connect the town center to agricultural areas. It works on a pulley system, and it seems a little sketchy, but it’s totally safe. We enjoyed drinks, little empanadas, and views from the top. Then we walked down the winding road back to our place, seeing horses and cats, bananas and waterfalls, and more epic views on the way.

That evening, Johanna and I explored the main plaza, taking in the nightlife and trying out a few treats, including buñuelos and an oblea, which is a dessert with arequipe (basically caramel) sandwiched between two large circular wafers. We also chose to have raspberry jam, cheese, and cream on ours, as that’s what the lady selling them recommended!

On Monday, after school, we set out on some afternoon adventures. Zack and Johanna took one path up toward Mirador Cristo Rey, a viewpoint on the other side of town from where we were the day before. Jonas and I followed a nearby road, which eventually led to Cascada Escalera, an enormous waterfall that we had all to ourselves! On the way, we saw a bird that I had heard about. If you know Jonas, ask him the name of it, as he finds it quite amusing. We also stopped at a truchera, a trout farm, because we had heard it was one where you could fish for the trout yourself and then they would then cook it up for you to eat. Alas, they didn’t allow fishing, but we could view the tanks full of trout (and the nearby vultures), and we shared a trout dinner plate, which was pretty yummy!

Zack and Johanna had drinks at the café at the top and then headed back down. An agouti (the same gopher-like creature that I saw in Tayrona) crossed in front of them on their walk! Jonas and I took a looped path to come down past Cristo Rey ourselves, though we were an hour behind them. After a mango juice break, we hurried down the path toward town before it got too dark and late. We ended up taking a tuk tuk back to our place once we reached town, since we were tired of walking!

The next day, it was time to catch our bus back to Medellín. Two tuk tuks got us and our luggage into town successfully, and we bought some snacks at a nearby store before boarding the bus. This time, our delay was caused by a downed tree branch that got tangled in electrical wires, but I think it only held us up for 30-45 minutes. 

Jardín was a lovely place to explore for a few days. It reminded me of an undiscovered Costa Rica, with the various waterfalls and tropical mountainsides. Jardín actually is the Spanish word for garden, so the greenery everywhere makes sense! 

Medellín Madness

After flying from Santa Marta on January 13, we spent a few days in the city of Medellín, specifically in the El Poblado part of town. While our apartment had hot-water showers (hooray!) and a jacuzzi in the living room (random, but fun!), it was unfortunately located next to several loud bars which played music at a ridiculous volume until 3am each night. Sleep was hard to come by!

We were able to walk to a variety of nearby restaurants, coffee shops, and stores. One fun restaurant was a ramen place with manga character statues and paintings. We discovered a love of buñuelos, which are round fried dough fritters, sometimes with a filling (we had cheese ones). We noticed that there are often street performers who do their act at crosswalks during red lights…tightrope walkers, jugglers, breakdancers, magicians, etc. I’m not sure how much money they make, but it’s entertaining to watch! 

One night, we went to a Colombian restaurant called Mondongo’s and tried some traditional dishes. I had the bandeja paisa, which translates to “platter of the people.” You can find some variation of this dish at almost every restaurant in this area of Colombia. It usually includes beans, rice, an arepa, ground beef, chorizo (sausage), fried ripe plantain, a fried egg, avocado, and chicharrón (fried pork rind). It was very good and very filling, which is the point of this dish, as it is a traditional meal that originated for farmers in the region, providing them enough energy to continue working for the rest of the day.

We also celebrated Johanna’s ninth Adoption Day on January 15 with some pizza from Pizza Hut (yes, they have that here!) and continued with our school sessions. Our big outing was the tour of Comuna 13, described in the previous post. After three nights in Medellín, it was time to head to Jardín!

P.S. Picture loading is being fussy, so I will add those later!

Comuna 13

For our social studies “lesson” the other day, we visited Comuna 13, a neighborhood in Medellín with a very recently violent history. Now it’s a vibrant community that’s incredibly alive with color, music, dancing, and food. We met up with a tour guide who had grown up in the neighborhood; his stories were incredible to hear. He also knew and greeted everyone personally as we walked through the streets, taking us to his aunt’s empanada stand for a snack, his friend’s café for a coffee and hot chocolate testing session, and a popsicle place at the top of the neighborhood to enjoy a treat with the amazing views. He pointed out his childhood home, territory lines, and locations of previous violence.

In correlation with our language arts writing, I had the kids look for murals that represented the community’s past, present, and future. When we got back to the apartment, they had to write a paragraph about each of their chosen murals, answering specific questions about the details and the artist’s message. I’ve included their assignments below…

Jonas: One mural I saw was a stone faced man with a red background that was holding a double barrel shotgun 12 gauge. That mural was to symbolize the past and how they had a violent past and how everyone was scared. Also it shows that it was a scary and dangerous time. The artist’s main message is that back then was a dangerous time.

Another one was a breakdancer doing moves that symbolizes now. The mural was yellow and blue with a guy doing an uno arm handstand. It symbolizes how people have moved away from the violence and now express feelings in art forms. It makes me feel happy because it is a cool move. Furthermore, today's culture lets artists tell stories in paint, moves, and food.  

A mural that made me think of the future was a beating heart. It was a light red and blue showing it was healthy and working. It symbolizes that it will beat now and in the future. I believe the artist was trying to show that the future has hope and will be strong. Also, the artist is showing that the community started the beating heart, and it will still be beating in the future.

Johanna: Past: On the wall, there is a monkey that looks sad. It has human and monkey characteristics, and it was painted with yellow, red, pink, blue, green, black, grey, brown, gold, white, and purple. The artist was trying to represent human evolution and that we are like animals and that we shouldn’t harm animals. The monkey has his arm resting on his head, his fingers a mix of monkey fingers and human fingers. On the left side, it had a more of a pointed ear sticking up from the side of the head, whereas the right side has a rounder more human-like ear.

Present: On the wall there are 4 family members that are smiling and looking happy. It was an everyday life mural with the mother, father, and two boys, one older and one younger. It was painted with green, blue, red, orange, brown, and black. The artist was trying to represent how family is an important part of life and that family can bring you so much joy and happiness. They are all sitting down and it looks like they are posing for a picture. The mural makes me appreciate my family and makes me realize how important they are. Colombia has vibrant streets and embraces their culture through their music and dance.

Future: In this mural, there is a giraffe with mushrooms coming out of its head with blue leaves drifting in the wind. There is a purple sky and more mushrooms next to it. It was painted with blue, pink, green, black, red, brown, orange, purple, and gold. The artist is trying to warn us that if we keep killing animals to the point of extinction, it would disturb animal and plant life, and change the food chain. The artist wants people to be more careful and to think about how killing animals until they’re gone would change everything.

Things to Remember

In no particular order, here are some random things we want to remember about the trip so far…

1. Zack asked for “la checka” at a restaurant the other night. The correct term for the bill is “la cuenta,” and we all had a good laugh at his Spanglish.

2. The kids are always on their Kindles. Jonas has been reading Pearls Before Swine comic strip books and sharing his favorite ones with us at all hours of the day.

3. We taught Jonas how to play euchre, and the kids always partner up and have made it their goal to beat the parents. It hasn’t happened yet!

4. If you know Zack, ask him about a certain bathroom and bread incident. I will not give further details here, but it’s worth hearing the story!

5. We’ve lost a hat and a pair of reading glasses so far. We wish we would have packed a nightlight, a stain remover pen, less flimsy playing cards, a portable power bank, Keens for Jonas, and shampoo for the kids. Obviously we can buy (and have bought) some of these things along the way. We’re happy we brought filtered water bottles, laundry detergent sheets, a portable clothesline, bug spray, and raincoats.

6. Various animal encounters have been memorable: the snake eel we saw while snorkeling, the monkey banging a coconut against a tree in Tayrona, the dog that chased another monkey around our hotel, the lines of leaf-cutter ants everywhere, etc.

7. On our very first night of the trip, after flying all day, Zack tiredly and quickly grabbed his money pouch and gave our Colombian Uber driver a tip…but he realized later he had given him Chinese yuan!

Tayrona National Park

Wow! Tayrona National Park was absolutely beautiful. We hiked several miles through the jungle, listening to incredibly loud howler monkeys in the canopy above us and watching several capuchin monkeys play around us. Then we hit the beach, swimming at the picture-perfect La Piscina, which we had nearly to ourselves. Eventually we hiked on to the famous Cabo San Juan, where we admired the views and had some drinks. It was pretty crowded here, so we didn’t swim. Zack and the kids hiked back from Cabo San Juan, while I went on to explore some further beaches.

Before the day was over, other animal sightings included an alligator in the lagoon, a blue morpho (huge butterfly) fluttering around, an agouti (kind of like a capybara) crossing the trail, a frog, and numerous lines of leaf-cutter ants. We were all sweaty messes by the time we got back, and our watches told us we hit nearly 30,000 steps…it was worth every one of them!

The Trek to Tayrona

We had an exciting speedboat ride from Isla Grande back to Cartagena on Saturday afternoon; it was extremely fast and felt like a roller coaster ride! Zack even lost his hat to the sea as it blew off as soon as the driver accelerated. We eventually found our SUV driver at the pier and began a very long ride to our next place, a lovely location across the street from Tayrona National Park. 

SUVs are smaller in Colombia, and though our suitcases fit in the trunk, the kids and I were stuffed in the backseat with our backpacks for the six hour drive. Watching Colombia out the window made the time pass fairly quickly, as there was plenty to see. We went through bigger towns like Baranquilla, where the whole city seemed to be out for the evening enjoying the Christmas decorations, food, and music. But there were several smaller towns too, where everyone seemed to be sitting outside just hanging out on plastic chairs. There were always places with food or blasting music. There were some traffic jams, and we even got stopped at one point because of a protest, which in this case was just several people standing in a line across the street. Our driver paid a local guy to show us the way through the side streets to get around it all in a few minutes. Driving in this part of Colombia is similar to what we experienced in some of our Southeast Asian travels…lanes are optional, passing is always occurring, motorcycles are everywhere, and you hope for the best and feel lucky you don’t die on every trip! We finally arrived in Tayrona at around 10pm and went straight to bed.

The next day, we enjoyed relaxing at our place, Arca Tayrona Restaurante & Hostal. From our balcony, we saw toucans in the morning! The mountain and jungle view was lovely. Later in the afternoon, Jonas spotted a monkey climbing on the balconies, and we enjoyed watching its antics for awhile. We cooled off in the pool and explored the river behind our place. It was a slow-paced day after our busy travel day on Saturday!

The Truth About Travel

We’ve been traveling for less than two weeks, and while we’ve already made many wonderful memories, it’s also important to share the truth about long-term international family travel! Here are some behind-the-scenes facts that you wouldn’t know if you looked at my curated Instagram account with smiling children and beautiful scenes…

1. We haven’t had a hot shower since we left home. Our showers have been lukewarm at best. With the high temperatures and humidity, the cool water usually feels okay, and surprisingly you get used to it after a bit, but that first step into the shower is the hardest!

2. Our legs are covered in mosquito bites. 3/4 of us have had or currently have traveler’s diarrhea and have  already broken into our stash of antibiotics. Zack has a cold, and his nose won’t stop running. With the humidity, we sweat A LOT. Thank goodness our accommodations have air conditioning!

3. Food and water are challenging. Because you can’t drink the tap water, we are always buying water or filling up our filtered water bottles (but it’s not cold!). Food takes forever compared to the United States. We did pretty well in Cartagena once we got some groceries, but when we went out to eat, places were either very crowded or took nearly an hour to bring us our orders (even if we were nearly the only ones there). It’s been even harder on the island. We learned the hard way that if you don’t set your alarm to get to the included breakfast that starts at 7:30am, you may not get much/any food! For other meals, our resort has a very limited and overpriced menu, so we’ve been walking to another resort a few minutes away, but that has its own challenges. One time we arrived there at around 3:30pm, very hungry having not eaten since our 7:30am breakfast. They had just stopped serving lunch and wouldn’t be reopening the kitchen until 5:30pm. We put in our orders anyway to hopefully be prepared as soon as they did reopen, killed a couple hours with card games, and finally got our food at 6pm! We’re all learning patience, how to deal with being hangry, the importance of obtaining snacks in advance, and how to subsist on two meals per day total. To Colombia’s credit, the food is delicious once it does show up!

4. Teenagers (and grown-ups) still have mood swings in South America! Adults and kids alike are working on approaching transitions and unexpected challenges with a sense of optimism and positivity. We are getting better at being prepared for various circumstances, knowing what to expect, and working our way through the unanticipated difficulties. We are all a work in progress, right?!

5. Sharing one small bathroom is challenging. One child sheds a lot of hair all over the place. Counter space is limited. And let’s just say that toilets don’t flush with the same “oomph” as ones at home! Sometimes they don’t flush at all, and you have to wait for awhile before trying again.

6. Online pictures can be deceiving. Reviews can be inaccurate. This island stay was supposed to be the luxurious part of our trip, a bit of a splurge above what we’re normally paying for accommodation. The setting is beautiful and the outdoor area is gorgeous, but the room is, um, a bit rustic. And that’s not just some spoiled American talking…take a look at the “view” out our bedroom window. The pool is refreshing, but it has broken tiles, and loud looping music blares all day long. Food and drinks are limited in selection and way overpriced. A fan hanging above Johanna’s head was held in by one dangling screw. When we let them know about a hole in our bathroom screen (flies were coming in), a guy came to “fix” it by stuffing a trash bag in the hole!

7. WiFi is spotty and unreliable here. This is to be expected on an island, but it does make certain schoolwork more challenging to complete.

8. It’s hard to not speak the language very well. This is our own fault, as we should have studied more Spanish, but I am surprised at how little English is spoken, even in the more touristy areas. I don’t expect anyone to speak my language (I understand I’m the visitor), but I anticipated it’d be a little easier to get by. Google Translate has become our best friend!

I’m very aware that most of these are first world problems, and I don’t want to come off as a complainer, but I do think some people might find some of this interesting, and I want to be sure to document our full experience! Overall, we’re having a good trip so far, and the minor inconveniences are worth what we’ve been able to see and do together as a family.

Island Living

We’ve spent the last four days on Isla Grande, one of the Rosario Islands in the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Cartagena, Colombia. Our days have been spent having school, swimming in the pool and sea, drinking limonada de coco (coconut lemonade), reading in hammocks, observing various animals (crabs, stray dogs, and an iguana), playing cards while waiting for meals, and watching sunsets. 

On Thursday, we took a private boat tour of the islands with a few snorkeling stops. We saw a sunken airplane, Pablo Escobar’s abandoned mansion, hundreds of fish, a snake eel, a bird sanctuary, and beautiful coral. We stopped at a beach where Jonas found tons of conch shells underwater at the end of the pier.

The temperature has been near 90 degrees every day, so it’s strange to think that there is snow back at home. It’s been a relaxing few days, but we are ready for the next leg of our adventure!

Back to School and Bye Bye Cartagena

Well, we started school today! Zack led Jonas and Johanna through some math, and then I did some language arts and social studies with them. We reviewed types of nouns and some literary terms and learned about Cartagena’s history, specifically the fort we visited the other day. They even had homework to complete; we’re not kidding around! 

But we still managed to have some fun this afternoon. The kids and I did some souvenir shopping, as I collect keychains for my travel backpack and Christmas ornaments from spots I visit, and Johanna collects snow globes. We also got some postcards, but we don’t have a way to send them yet. After shopping, we rented scooters for half an hour and rode all over the wall. It was quite the juxtaposition to be on electric scooters atop a wall that’s several centuries old! I was a slowpoke, and Jonas freaked me out by going way too fast without a helmet.

We grabbed a treat and some drinks at a cute bookstore/coffee shop after riding scooters, and later in the evening, we had some arepas from a stand around the corner for dinner.

Tomorrow, we’ll be one week into our trip. The only thing we’ve lost so far is one pair of my reading glasses, probably in the Uber we took back from the fort, but thankfully I packed two pairs. We’ve gone to the grocery store twice, the shop below our apartment more times than we can count for bottled water (we’ve gone through SO much water), made at least four full meals and several casual breakfasts/lunches at “home,” visited multiple plazas, seen buildings of every color of the rainbow, walked an average of 10,000 steps per day and on the wall multiple times, done laundry twice, eaten two arepas each, and tried several types of lemonade. The kids did well with sharing one bedroom (and one double bed). But we have learned that sharing one small bathroom among four people is not always fun! 

Onward to our next Colombian city…tomorrow we take a boat ride to Isla Grande and stay on the island for a few days. Cartagena sure was a beautiful and colorful place to start our journey in South America!

A Sunday About Town

We went to Mass this morning at the Catedral de Santa Catalina de Alejandria. Some websites said it started at 11:30am, but it didn’t actually begin until noon. Whoops! It would cost a fortune to air condition this place, so there were several fans to help everyone try to stay cool. We did our best with understanding the Spanish and following along!

After church, we got brunch at a French place (go figure), mainly because the line for a recommended Colombian place was ridiculously long. Then we checked out the Museo Histórico de Cartagena to learn more about the city’s history and the Inquisition. We also watched some Colombian dancers on the plaza out front. This evening, we’re chilling at the apartment, eating leftovers and getting ready for school to start tomorrow!

All is Well

Some people have reached out and expressed concern about our well-being here in Colombia (thank you for caring!), given the current US situation with neighboring Venezuela. Honestly, it’s business as usual around these parts. We are about 800 miles from the border right now, and the closest we’ll get to Venezuela on this trip is about 650 miles away. The only thing we noticed that was different today were some guys wearing Venezuelan flags and blowing horns on a street called Avenida Venezuela just on the edge of town. They seemed to be in a celebratory mood. Also, there were a couple of people walking around town wearing shirts with Venezuelan flags or with flags around them as capes. You can see one in the picture here if you look on the right-hand side. 

This morning, after a breakfast of bacon, eggs, and toast in our apartment, Zack and I did some planning for homeschooling, which we will start up next week with the kids. Later, we cooked up some spaghetti and salad, which turned out pretty good considering we don’t have all the kitchen comforts of home. I walked around the Getsemani area afterward, enjoying the monkeys in Parque Centenario and all the artwork on display in the streets. We all spent our evening hanging out at Plaza de la Trinidad, eating street food and watching various street performers. So, no danger here that we can see. Mom, you can sleep in peace now!

Storming the Fort

                                

Yesterday, our big outing was a visit to Castillo de San Felipe. The kids will be learning more about this fortress when we start homeschooling next week, so they’ll come back to add information about it then, but we enjoyed the various viewpoints, lookouts, and underground tunnels! As always, there are many more pictures on Instagram (@aubreekeys).

Senses of Cartagena

Cartagena is a feast for the senses!                 

                            

The kids helped me come up with the answers to each of these categories about these five senses we’ve experienced so far in our two days here.

                                 

See: street food, Colombian people, Christmas decorations, police, motorcycles, taxis, people, artwork, vendors, restaurants, dressed-up people (Johanna says with minimal clothing!), flowers, vibrant colors, old buildings, water, big buildings in the distance, statues

                                   

Hear: honking, fast Spanish, birds, fireworks, music always and everywhere, sales pitches

                                                                

Smell: fried food, car exhaust, meat being cooked, sea air

                                  

Taste: arepas, Coke, pastries, paletas (popsicles), chicken-flavored chips

                       

Touch: walls of the Old City, people squeezing by, water bottle, Kindle, wind when on the wall near the sea

Today was a recovery day after yesterday. We all slept in, Zack and I took turns walking around the city, we made a chicken/potato mash-up with our grocery store haul for dinner, and then we all walked around together in the evening. We explored more of the wall, ate some delicious popsicles, and enjoyed the holiday decorations and evening energy of the city.

Cartagena on New Year’s Eve

                              

We slept in after our late landing in Colombia. We’re in a cute 2-bedroom place right on the edge of the Walled City. It’s super convenient for walking around the town and exploring various sites. Sharing one small bathroom, however, has been a new experience! 

Once we got moving, we walked over to Getsemani, which is known for its artsy vibe and vibrant street art. On the way, we walked on a bit of the wall surrounding the city. It was neat to see the cannons and old structures. After two cafes we had looked up were found to be closed, we ended up enjoying delicious arepas at a restaurant. We each had a different flavor, and we were all happy with our choices.

We rested up in the afternoon, preparing for the busy evening ahead. We started with dinner and college football bowl game watching at the Clock Pub right near the famous Torre del Reloj (Clock Tower Monument). Then we walked among the crowds, attempting to find the perfect spot to wait for midnight. It was SO crowded! We ended up sitting along the water’s edge, which had a great view of the fireworks that happened all over the city when 2026 began. It was a bit of a sensory overload with all of the people, music, and fireworks, but the mood was celebratory and exciting. Happy 2026!