Next Stop: Colombia!

Posted on 14. Aug, 2011 by in Destinations, Housekeeping, South America

That’s right, I’m headed down south, and sooner than I expected, too!

Grand Canyon backpack

photo credit: kevindooley

I honestly feel like I just got home. I’ve spent most of my summer boomeranging between DC, New York City and rural Pennsylvania. Oh yeah, and Mexico. Somewhere in the middle of all that Mike and I have been contemplating our next major move in world exploration.

Truthfully, I’ve felt kind of adrift the past couple months, not really sure what the next step should be. The fundraising for Everywhere Connection didn’t go as well as planned (although we’re still going ahead), and money is much tighter than when I set off for Japan last year. What we needed was somewhere we could hang out, explore, while working on projects. Although we knew we want to head towards Latin America sometime this fall, the when and where were up in the air. I guess you could say we were waiting for some direction, a push.

Well, the push came. While skyping with a travel-blogger buddy of ours who lives in Bogota, we mentioned we were looking for house-sitting gigs. “Why don’t you come house sit for me,” he asked. He was coming back to the states for a few weeks and needed somebody to look after his ridiculously cute bull dog. A quick online search revealed that tickets from NYC to Bogota cost a measly $220, non-stop. How could we say no?

So that’s it. We bought the tickets the next day- departure date: September 30th.

The New Plan: For most of the month of October we’ll be in Bogota, hanging out with the AWESOME dog. After that things are incredibly open ended. We’ll be traveling slowly, house-sitting and renting apartments in various places around South America as we gradually make our way down to Buenos Aires (Mike’s favorite city) where we’ll be spending at least a couple of months.

It’s all happening a bit fast but I am incredibly psyched. Colombia! I’ve heard so many awesome things about this country- it is second only to thailand in travel blogger love. I’ll be doing more research over the next month but for now I’m just trying to brush up on my high school spanish.

In the meantime, maybe you can help! Are you in South America? Do you have any connections in South America? Any friends who might be looking for a house-sitter? We want to make as many connections as possible!

There is a lot to be done over the next month and a half, but I can’t wait to get back on the road again!

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27 Responses to “Next Stop: Colombia!”

  1. Emily in Chile

    14. Aug, 2011

    Exciting! I’ll keep you guys in mind if I hear of anyone needing a housesitter in Santiago.

    Reply to this comment

  2. Jaime

    14. Aug, 2011

    Oh wow… congrats on picking your next stop. Looks like you got an awesome gig and S. America should be interesting. Umm as for the price of the ticket… WOW just WOW!!!

    Reply to this comment

  3. Cam @ Traveling Canucks

    14. Aug, 2011

    Sounds like a fun adventure! Don’t you love it when things just come together?! Good luck ;-)

    Reply to this comment

  4. Faith

    14. Aug, 2011

    Yay, exciting! It’s great to start your latin american adventures on a high note like house sitting. Good luck with your spanish-my pronunciation is horrific.

    Reply to this comment

  5. Drew Meyers

    14. Aug, 2011

    Somewhere in South America (maybe Argentina) is one of the two places I’m thinking about heading off to come January. The other being southeast asia.

    House sitting sounds amazing…I gotta get on that train.

    Will let you know if that becomes a reality or not.

    Reply to this comment

  6. Abhijit

    14. Aug, 2011

    Exciting times ahead! Good luck! :)

    Reply to this comment

  7. Sarah

    15. Aug, 2011

    All kinds of exciting!

    Getting that extra push is sometimes all we need…

    (Except maybe if you are in a fistfight. Then well, that extra push is like, zero fun.)

    Reply to this comment

  8. Natalia

    15. Aug, 2011

    Colombia! My home country!! Yay! I am looking forward to reading about your stay there. I am pretty sure you will find people to help you in anything you need, but any questions you have about C., I am happy to help.
    Also, my brother is currently in Buenos Aires and just started tutoring Spanish, if you are interested.
    Buena Suerte!!

    Reply to this comment

  9. Sheryll

    15. Aug, 2011

    SO excited for you Stephanie! Can’t wait to read about your South American adventures!

    Reply to this comment

  10. enjirux

    16. Aug, 2011

    south america! so exciting! good luck with the house sitting gigs and I’m looking forward to reading about your adventures – and a photo of the awesome dog ;)

    Reply to this comment

  11. Amanda

    17. Aug, 2011

    Awesome news! That’s really exciting that things just sort of fell into place. And housesitting will be a perfect way for you guys to settle into South America. I can’t wait to start reading about that adventure!

    Reply to this comment

  12. Kristen

    21. Aug, 2011

    Awesome! I love when random trips come up out of nowhere. Have a great time – Can’t wait to read about it.

    Reply to this comment

  13. Flavio

    24. Aug, 2011

    Great news! I am Colombian, currently discovering Buenos Aires. Let me know if I can help you with tips.

    As my sis told you, we can work on your Spanish improvement. If you’re interested, check this out http://es.flavors.me/spanishspeaker ;)

    Reply to this comment

    • Steph

      29. Aug, 2011

      Awesome- thanks for getting in touch! I am definitely headed to Buenos Aireas at some point.

      Reply to this comment

  14. Gareth Leonard

    29. Aug, 2011

    Yes! Let me know when you start planning for Buenos Aires, I can definitely help you with connections there. I’m actually heading out to Ecuador in October and working my way down to Bolivia, so we’ll definitely have to cross paths at some point along the journey! Best.

    Reply to this comment

  15. Cecilia

    01. Sep, 2011

    I’m from buenos Aires, so if you want I can give you recommendation on places to visit (and which to avoid). Good luck!

    Reply to this comment

  16. Don

    05. Sep, 2011

    Looks great … have you got a follow up on this .I would be interested in reading how you are getting on.

    Reply to this comment

  17. Stephen

    13. Sep, 2011

    Colombia is a fantastic place to travel…there’s a little bit of everything there…have fun!

    Reply to this comment

  18. Andrea Guthmann

    29. Sep, 2011

    Don’t miss the mountainous countryside outside of Bogota. The colonial towns of Villa de Leyva (already a tourist destination for Colombians) and Paipa (completely undiscovered) are not to be missed. While in Paipa, you must stay at the Hacienda del Salitre, a sprawling colonial resort. There’s a naturally fed hot springs pool in the back that is magnificent! The resort is beautiful, food is superb, best is the history of the place. Simon Bolivar stayed there with his troops during a battle in the 1860′s. Buen viaje!

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  1. Itinerary Update: We're Going to Colombia! - August 18, 2011

    [...] didn’t really know where we would be starting out South American adventure, but thanks to a lucky set of circumstances (a house-sitting gig and very cheap tickets), we will be leaving on September 30th for Bogota, [...]

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