The bus stopped and I opened my eyes. It was almost 6am, half hour earlier than the planned arrival time in Rio de Janeiro and I was the last one to get off, as usual.
I got my brand new (and expensive, according to my finances) backpack and a carry-on I've had for over 5 years but still looks and works as new. Btw I'm proud to say this is my only travel luggage - even for long international trips like this one would be. I've learned this in my last trip to Australia in 2018 when I kept leaving my big luggage everywhere I could because it was too hard to carry it up and down the country. I finally understood then that we don't need that much stuff to live (and travel) well.
I called myself an uber to GIG - Galeão International Airport of Rio de Janeiro, and checked in online quickly following an email I got from the airlines. I didn't pay much attention to this step - which I regretted deeply later.
I got to the airport 4 hours before my flight and went through security quickly, due to my online boarding pass I carried on the app, plus having only a carry-on bag to board to Colombia.
I read bright green covered and extremely
interesting printed book I borrowed - as usual - from one of my best friends Andressa. I was pleasantly suprisse to fall immediately in love with the story: a woman who gave up life and found herself in a library filled with books, each one being a possible life for her to experience. Definitely something worth trying. Book: A Biblioteca da Meia Noite, Matt Haig (Brazilian translation).
I imagined how many possible lives I could be living right now, if I had made this of that decision. What would you change if you could go back in time and make different decisions?
But it also made me feel grateful for living my life - a lifetime of adventures - where I get to travel, work with what I love (teaching language), have the sweetest, healthiest, funniest possible son and a loving and supporting family who keeps him for 2 entire months him while I explore a new country.
I'm happy.
It's curious how the English Language uses the same verb for both a state of being and also a permanent self feature:
I'm happy now.
I'm a happy person.
( I stopped myself from writing 'Im happy always' as I now understand no one is happy ALL THE TIME, and that's almost healthier, as other emotions make us move).
I was pure happiness and gratitude until it was time to board on my flight to Colombia. The airline employee checked my Yellow Fever Vaccination Certificate (if you're Brazilian, you need one from Anvisa, not the vaccination card) and my flight back (you can't board without a proof you'll exit Colombia), and then he told me my flight was to Bogota, the capital of Colombia, when I actually needed to go to Medellín.
SAY WHAT?!
I wanted to go to M E D E L L I N.
I immediately remembered I had bought 2 flights - 1 of them to Bogota, that I thought I had cancelled, but clearly not.
I explained I probably checked in for the wrong flight, but he said he could only let me board to Bogota.
Devastated.
As both flights would have a layover in Panama, I took my only flight option, heading to Bogota as a final destination, and called the airline company to fix the mess.
Later on I succeeded to board on the right flight and arrived at my final destination: Medellin.
WOOOOOHOOOOO
Medellin would be the first of many stops in Colombia. Colombia was never my number 1 destination when thinking of travelling, but it wasn't the last on the list either. It was exciting to arrive!
It was night and I didn't have a local SIM card with internet access, so I didn't desr taking a bus. My sweet boyfriend called me an Uber instead - if you're a woman reading this, do not settle for less, we deserve princess treatment.
I arrived at Laurelles neighbour, which I later found out to be safe and full of life, and went directly to the Airbnb room that would be my new home for the next few days. Here's a photo of the building from the outside I took the next morning:
I went out to eat dinner at Carrera 70 where there are LOTS of restaurants, panaderias and bars, all next to each other and all playing local music loudly. Reggaeton everywhere. I love dancing, so for me it was amazing! However, it can also be annoying to hear 3 different songs at the same time, if you choose a spot in between loud bars/restaurantes. My first Colombian meal was a bowl with
rice, avocado, meat and the biggest light brown beans I've ever seen in my life (sorry, forgot to take a photo, I was too hungry and excited haha).
I went to bed early, because I was tired of my 24hour trip (between the bus from Vitoria to Rio and flights) and also excited to explore the new country early the next day.
On my first day in Colombia I went for a walk and found a tienda where a lovely lady sold coffee, jugo and empanadas then back home to teach from the rooftop. Great start!
Here are some of the things I did, places I visited and loved and food I ate in Medellin:
Visit Parque Arvi: beautiful National Park where you can take a paid tour through the wild forest and (if you're lucky) see animals in their natural habitats. There are food & craft stands at the entrance of the park, as well as shops around it. I walked all the way down through it following the locals (cool way to learn about the culture and explore the other areas of the park that are non-paid). I had my first Coca Tea at a shop nearby (the Coca leaves are great for digestion and they are absolutely not related to the drug made of the plant).
2. Drink Coca tea
3. Museu Casa de Memória in Medellin
4. Visit Guatape (2 hour bus ride from Medellín, worth staying the night)
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