Tag: Colombia

I have too much time, said nobody

by Stacy Ziegler, posted in Colombia, Early Retirement, home exchange, Lifestyle, Mexico, Riviera Maya

Well, I may have to rename this to, “annual update” blog. Sooooooo much has happened since the last entry, even then I kidded about needing to rename this the “Quarterly update.” Woops!

Since June of last year what have we done, where have we been? According to my Google timeline, we returned from our “Trip of a lifetime” in June 2023. That summer, we returned to Washington state to see friends and family. It was an extremely packed 4 week trip and we swore we would never try to pack that much in to such a short stay in Washington again. We came home and decided to treat ourselves to an actual vacation so we set off to Medellin, Colombia. That trip was magical! We have been to Cartagena and Santa Marta but never inland. I cannot emphasize enough how blown away we were by the entire area of Antioquia. Rio Negro (Where the airport is) and Guatape were equally as stunning. We took a few tours in Medellin as well as an all day tour out to Guatape that included climbing to the top of La Perla aka El Peñon. The height starts are roughly 7,000 feet and there are 750 stairs to the top. That’s right, you start of with the air already being so thin you can barely breathe and then you hoof it 750 steps, practically straight up to the top but it is so worth it.(You can also see this on season 36 episode 3 of The Amazing Race, we did it before it was cool 😂) Since we were on a tour, we didn’t have the luxury of really taking our time getting up, It took us about 30 minutes and what really kept us going was having these young moms passing us up while carrying a baby on their hip! Ok, ok, if they can do it, so can we!

When we moved to Mexico, we vowed to explore as much of it as we could. We love the country, the people, the culture and of course, the food. After our whirlwind trip to Colombia, we spent a week in San Miguel de Allende and another week in Guanajuato. We were able to utilize Home Exchange to do it so we really did get to take it all in and live like a local. We had a brief stop in Querétaro as that is the city we flew into. We took the Primera plus bus from SMA to Guanajuato and flew out from there back home the last day of October, just in time for Día de Muertos festivities around are neighborhood. The Primera plus bus was equal to flying business class. Very clean, comfortable and well organized.

Both neighborhoods are filled with charm, culture, museums and unfortunately, much like Oaxaca, fireworks at 5 am. We visited the mummy museum in Guanajuato and just happened to be lucky enough to visit overthe 51st annual Cervantino, an enormous arts festival!

Winter was filled with visitors from my kids to Lisa’s parents, a trip to ruin Ek Balam and a cenote called Coj Ha also known as “The Cathedral” which was the most stunning cenote I have ever seen. This was part of a Mayan cultural retreat where we met an herbalist for a reading and cleansing, a cocoa ceremony and a lot of soul searching. It was organized by Laura LaBrie, Maya Harmony. If you are interested in a real experience, very little glitter and gold, where you learn more about yourself, the Maya, and having a cleansing, definitely contact her. The winter also, unfortunately, included the passing of my Aunt, who was more like a mother, on Christmas day.

In February, I was honored to officiate my brother’s wedding so that involved a very quick trip back to the US. Pro tip, if flying from San Diego area to Cancun or vice versa, use the CBX (Cross border Express) inside the Tijuana airport. There are currently no direct flights from San Diego to Cancun but there are several from Tijuana. The CBX is INSIDE the airport. We landed in Tijuana, pulled out our passports and tickets for the bridge and walked 15 minutes and walked out of a terminal in the Otay Pacific are of San Diego where we rented a car and headed straight to In-n-Out. Tickets for the bridge start around $20 and can usually be purchased with your airline ticket.

In March(MARCH? It came in the blink of an eye) we set sail on a Celebrity cruise for Lisa’s birthday to the Grand Cayman, Aruba and Curacao with her dad and step mom. We did not like the Celebrity ship or process nearly as much as we enjoyed Princess but really, who is going to complain about that trip. We were able to spend time with her family and go snorkel some amazing reefs and a ship wreck. Our favorite island was, without a doubt, Curacao. Lovely little Dutch Caribbean island with stunning waters, Kokomo and adorable stores.

We made it back in time to head home for a few days to repack, and take a breath. Not a long one, just a few days before we headed off to attend Lisa’s niece’s destination wedding in Cancun. It was a beautiful few days filled with beautiful people. After the wedding, we continued on a road trip while our home was being occupied by family over spring break. This gave us a much needed push to get out and explore locally. We spent a night in Valladolid and then onto Merida for another Home Exchange. In my opinion, Merida is completed over rated. We saw some really cool things but I think after being in SMA/Oaxaca and Guanajuato, the bar was set fairly high. We stopped to see Chichén Itzá on our way to El Cuyo. I think we have figured out the trick to seeing the ruins without hoards of people is to go about 1:30 in the afternoon. By then the morning rush is gone and you have beat the afternoon tours. Chichén Itzá was really a magical place to visit. Coba might still be my favorite ruin in the area though. (Did I mention Coba already? I don’t think I did. Amazing ruin in the Riviera Maya where you can rent bikes to explore the massive grounds.)

After 2 weeks of exploring the Yucatan peninsula, we made it home the beginning of April and were happy to go NOWHERE for several weeks. A friend of ours invited us out to Isla Mujeres and we almost declined as we were so tired from traveling but how do you say no to that? Isla has been on Lisa’s bucket list for awhile and I have used me seasickness as a reason not to get on the ferry. Our friend has her own boat so it was impossible to turn down and I am glad that we went. I don’t think we have ever seen water that color, even in Aruba. We did not go ashore so I can’t speak to that but it looked really crowded, even from off shore during off season so if you are planning a trip, be prepared for that. The snorkeling was amazing and we saw several species of fish, rays, and eels that we don’t see at home.

I am certain I have left things out. I really do need to get back to trying to keep this updated on more than annual basis. Our next big trip starts next week. We are spending 2 weeks driving through Mexico before visiting family in Arizona and California then spending the summer in Washington (Thank you Home Exchange and Trusted House Sitters for making another amazing trip possible. (more on that later) Our trip back home involves a trip to Yosemite, Zion, Bryce Canyon and ?? Still wondering about Home Exchange? It has made most of these once in a lifetime experiences a reality, check it out here!

Till next time-

Stacy

What an adventure! Part 1-Colombia

by Stacy Ziegler, posted in Colombia, Early Retirement, Ex pat, LGBT, Lifestyle, Travel

We just returned from a 3 week whirlwind trip that included New York city to celebrate our wedding anniversary, Cartagena and Santa Marta Colombia and winding down in Playa del Carmen Mexico. If you have followed this blog at all, you will know that we have been looking for a place that fits our needs/budget so we can pull off an “early retirement.” Colombia and Mexico had been on the short list for sometime so this trip was a long time coming. I am going to break this into two separate posts as there is so much to cover. You can also check out the reviews I have left on Tripadvisor for more detailed information and places I have left out of this page 🙂

Colombia…wow. What a lesson in first world problems, humility, culture, food, and privilege. It is not like I went in blind. Colombia is a third world country and I expected a lot of what I saw. What I didn’t expect is how absolutely desperate people are there for food/money. I have been to plenty of locations where there are street hustlers, beggars, etc but the beaches in Cartagena trump it all. You will be asked several times a minute if you want, xyz and you will need to say no repeatedly and often times, that isn’t enough. Some of the vendors took no for an answer and would move on but several did not. It appeared to be especially true of female vendors who would offer a massage. They would start by asking you, telling you some story about starving children, you can say no repeatedly and they would persist. Often times moving into your personal space and touching you while stating you are so tight, you need a massage. When you continue to decline, some would say that because they touched you, you now needed to pay them, even if you never accepted the massage. We had to physically get up and leave. When I mentioned this at our hotel, the staff said that was unfortunately normal and that the beaches are just not safe. This is an absolute shame as the beauty of Colombia is unparalleled but you can’t go anywhere in Cartagena (Boca Grande is the area we stayed in) without actually being accosted.

Cartagena, CO
Walled City Cartagena

The walled city in Cartagena was absolutely beautiful and full of history and culture as well as little boutique shops. We experienced several vendors and children begging for money saying they were from Venezuela but it was nothing compared to the beaches.

We took a bus from Cartagena to Santa Marta. After much research, we settled on Marsol for transportation. They picked us up (late but that was to be expected, it’s been my experience that almost everything runs on different time in Latin America) from our hotel and dropped us off at our hotel in Santa Marta. You need to text Marsol using Whatsapp to get a reservation. It was $50,000 COP (about $15 USD) per person and the van ride was ok. We scheduled a time slot where there was no stop in Barranquilla but it still took about 5 hours. This is where the biggest shock came. We chose to take the bus instead of flying because we wanted to see the land and area between Santa Marta and Cartagena first hand. After passing Barranquilla, you enter the small fishing town of Ciénaga. Until that day, I had never seen actual slums. Skid row in LA? Yes, small fishing villages in Belize? Yes. Ghettos, bad neighborhoods, poor tribal reservations, and my own research could not have possibly prepared me for what I saw on that bus ride. Children playing in pools of what I can only assume is contaminated waste water. Dogs, trash, rubble… and it went on for miles. Here is a good article that talks the death of Cienaga .

In 2007, the city built a highway at the edge of the Cienga. These houses right agaist it flood when it rains and are not connected to the sewage system.

When we arrived in Santa Marta we could tell the vibe was different than Cartagena. The poverty didn’t seem as pervasive and the vendors were not as aggressive. We spent only a day in Rodadero which is considered the “ex pat” section and to be honest, we didn’t really care for it. The beaches are beautiful but it just seemed so cut off from the rest of the area. We did look at an apartment for rent/sale while we were there and were impressed with the location and value. The big advantage i felt Rodadero has over SM is the breeze! Nothing feels as good as the breeze coming down from the Sierra Nevada mountains on a very hot and humid day. I could totally see spending the day on a hammock on the balcony. Oh and if anyone is wondering, yes, there are lockers for rent on the beach! I searched forever for that info and never found any 😉

The beach in Santa Marta isn’t as pretty but the Marina is very nice. And lets be honest, after the experience we had with vendors, we weren’t going to be hanging out on the beach. While we were in Santa Marta, we found plenty to do besides hanging out on the rooftop bar/pool. The big adventures were trying to navigate the city and find the best restaurants. I think we were pretty successful, the food there was amazing! We really had a great time even though our level of conversational Spanish is minimal and practically no one in Colombia speaks English. We flew out of Simon Bolivar Airport south of Santa Marta to Bogota on Avianca where we connected to our flight to Cancun, also on Avianca. One of the most stressful parts of the trip was trying to navigate the airport in Bogota having arrived on a domestic flight and needing to make our way to the international terminal where there were literally no signs. We had to ask two different people and it involved a long walk, going down several flights of stairs, leaving the terminal we were in and walking a bit more to the international terminal. If you are planning to do this, allow plenty of time to get lost, get through customs and get to your gate. Both flights were pleasant, on time and without issues.

We went diving with Caribbean Pro Dive while we were in SM and had a great experience diving at Tayrona Park. It was just the two of us with the divemaster and a photographer. We left from the marina in a small dive boat and they provided snacks and water. Two tank dives with equipment was $180,000 COP (about $52 USD) Later that week we took a sailboat excursion back to Tayrona to spend the day at the beach. Similar vendor issues but they took no for an answer much more readily. The sailboat trip was booked through Tripadvisor- Tayrona Bay Sailboat Trip

Final thoughts on Colombia…. It was an experience of a lifetime, it really helped shape my perspective. The people there are mostly friendly to foreigners though Lisa caught a handful of dirty looks. I am not sure if it was because of her looks (blonde/blue) or? I did not catch a single one though maybe I am more oblivious. Most people assumed we were travel partners, and the one time someone asked for clarification they were genuinely shocked when I said she was mi Esposa. I would definitely go back to Santa Marta to visit though I think it is safe to say we have ruled it out as a possible future home. Mexico on the other hand…. More to come!

    Hosting a Colombian host

    by Stacy Ziegler, posted in Colombia, Lifestyle, Travel

    I wasn’t able to post at all during the month of July because we were lucky enough to have visitors almost the entire month. Early in the month, my surrogate family came as well as my best friend and her husband to celebrate my birthday! After they left, we spent 8 days hosting a gentleman from the Colombia government who had chaperoned children over to stay with their potential adoptive families. What an absolute treat that was!

    It all started with a random question from my colleague and friend over lunch a few months ago who worked with an international adoption agency. “Hey, do any of you know someone who would be willing to host a Colombian host for awhile this summer?” Of course I wanted to jump at this opportunity! First I had to make sure my wife was on board as she is much more of an introvert than I am and was probably going to think this was a crazy idea. I on the other hand, thought it was going to be an experience of a lifetime! When would we ever get this chance again? We have been researching for months and now we have the opportunity to hear first-hand experience from somebody who not only lives in Colombia but also works for the Colombian government in the foster care system! The universe could not have been more perfectly aligned.

    We were given a short bio on our guest, he worked as a psychologist for the central authority working with children in the foster care system. His interest included Mozart, theater, and heavy metal. From the moment we met him I felt that there is this instant connection, likely because our worlds already overlapped in so many areas. Miguel was kind, helpful and anything–but obtrusive. Socially we shared the same values and beliefs.

    Miguel is at the end of the table standing next to me

    Because our line of work and interests overlapped, I brought him with me to work and he was able to meet several of the judges and players in the county that I work in and observe our court system. Listening to his observation of our court system and how civil he believed we were to each other in court was really an eye-opener for me. Sometimes I become extremely frustrated in the line of work that I do, though I love my colleagues, and listening to Miguel’s experience opened my eyes to how good we do have it here.

    Miguel told stories of corruption in the central authority in Colombia and how there is a real lack of care for the children at all and that they might as well be treated as random numbers. I heard of stories where social workers would just swap the names children on reports and submit them. Some social workers wouldnever even see the children they were making recommendations for. It was not uncommon for the only reason the were social workers had the job was because they had a friend that got them the job and they were paid decently but they really had no desire to do that line of work.

    We learned so much from Miguel during his stay. We learned that Colombia it’s experiencing a regression under the new president and there is an increase in Narco activity along the Pacific side of the country. He spoke of poverty, homelessness and drug addiction being issues but it seemed like the biggest issue was poverty. He did say the US was the biggest “client” the Narcos had. He said the tourist areas and more affluent parts of the country are not necessarily impacted and he believes it would be completely safe for us to rent a car and travel the route that we have mapped out.

    When it was time for Miguel to leave us, Lisa and I felt genuine sadness. He quickly became part of our family and will always have a place in our hearts and our home. Maybe we will be fortunate enough to host him again next year and we will definitely look for a reason to visit him and meet his family in Pasto.

    Hasta luego, Miguel!

    But what about family?

    by Stacy Ziegler, posted in Colombia, Early Retirement, Empty nest, Lifestyle

    Today is the last day of school for my 16 year old son, next year he will be a Junior. He is the last of 4 boys who range in age from 16-25. My family is, and has always been, the focus of my life. Slowly becoming an empty nester has made this inevitable transition easier. I have gone from buying 2 gallons of milk at a time to 1, then to a half. I remind myself that one of the two things guaranteed in life is change, the other is death.

    Moving to another country, away from my children, will not be without struggle. Even though the majority of them have moved out and are adults, we still have regular family dinners, celebrate holidays and birthdays together and have the random lunch dates just to catch up. As exciting as it is to plan for the future, I continue to have a little momma bear sitting on my shoulder, whispering to me horror stories that might succumb the children if I am not physically present. I flick her off and remind her I have tried to teach my children to be brave, fearless, and to pursue their dreams. Who would I be if I let her keep me from mine?

    In researching Colombia, it appears that when we apply for a (M) Migrant or (R) Resident Visa, that children under the age of 25 can obtain a beneficiary Visa. That takes care of my youngest 2 of 4 should they want to spend some time in Colombia. My oldest is a frequent traveler to Costa Rica-he is a bit of a gypsy so I imagine he will make his way to visit plenty of times. My second oldest son talks about traveling with his long term girlfriend during a gap year to Central and South America. My hope? They love it and want to stay but even if they don’t, who is going to pass up a couple of weeks a year with mom on the Caribbean coast? We are keeping some property in the US, whether it is our family home that we rent out or a small apartment is yet to be decided but there will be plenty of coming and going We are trying to be as realistic as possible so we are concurrently planning on returning to the States after a decade or so, should we chose.

    As much as I remain family focused, I also remain committed to living my life to the fullest and being the brave, daring, bold, mother that has tried to teach them that they can do, be, accomplish whatever it is that sets their soul on fire. I just might do so while wiping away tears in the grocery store while buying a quart of milk.

    Next stop, Colombia

    by Stacy Ziegler, posted in Colombia, Ex pat, Inspirational, LGBT, Lifestyle, Travel

    Though not why you would think. I have been extremely inspired over the last year or so to really listen to my inner voice and pay attention to what the Universe is trying to tell me . We had put an offer in on a house that we didn’t love but thought it would be a good investment. After a few bumps, and the sellers thinking they should have listed it for more, we walked away from it. We had already said that we would accept what was meant to be and clearly, that purchase wasn’t it.

    Since I have almost always been self employed, I have no pension. I have a few small retirement accounts but nothing huge. My retirement plan has always been to sell my home and downsize. The falling through of our most recent financial venture has spurred some pretty interesting ideas. Kids are almost all grown, I am not getting any younger, I would like to retire from my rather emotionally draining and somewhat PTSD triggering , though very rewarding and at times, cathartic, career while I still have some physical get up and go and certainly before I end up being totally jaded and dead inside. I would also like to finish my second book but have decided I can’t tackle that while in my current profession. Lisa is almost at her 30 year mark at work, shes been there since she was 20. I’m sure you see where I am going with this.

    We have decided to check out what Colombia has to offer us as expats. We are going to visit the Caribbean coast of Colombia from Cartagena to Santa Marta in November. Nothing has been decided yet, obviously, but my research on Colombia has proven to be very promising. It is very easy to obtain a resident visa, their universal health care is quite good, they even have a Johns Hopkins hospital in Bogotoa. The WHO ranks Colombia #22 in the world, easily beating out the USA at #37. Oh, and it is cheap. Really cheap. The cost of living index in Santa Marta is 74 compared to 196 in Seattle. If you were interested in buying a 2/2 new condo on the beach in Santa Marta, you could do so for about $100,000 USD, about 3.2m COP . The Colombian Peso is very weak against the dollar and has been for years.

    This blog is all about living life to the fullest and this is me, putting my money where my mouth is. For those of you who are wondering about the safety of Colombia, the days of Pablo Escobar are long over. Sure, there are places you probably should go alone or after dark but that is true even in my little town in the PNW. The Government in Colombia is set up very similarly to the US-three branches of government, a democracy, an elected president, etc. Colombia has a tragic history but it is one of the most beautiful,safe, and biodiverse countries in the world. It is also one of the best countries for Expats, continually ranking in the top 10 according to International Living, beating out Spain and Portugal. Colombia is one of the most LGBTQ friendly countries in Latin America and same sex marriage has been legal in Colombia since 2016.