I’m Laura and I am Colombian born and bred. I have an insane passion for travel and adventure sports. So I know a lot about my home country and all the many things we have here for you to enjoy on your holiday!
I always say to my clients:
“Treat me as your source of local knowledge on everything to do with Colombia! Ask away and I am more than happy to share everything I know with you – you can never have enough knowledge.”
My love of travel has taken me the length and breadth of Colombia many times over and to places all around the world! Most recently I have been in Europe – Holland assisting on a ‘bootcamp’ retreat and Germany promoting Boogaloo’s kitesurfing tours in Colombia. But today, I wanted to write a blog post for you that gives you that spark for my 3 most favourite places to visit in Colombia that I think are truly amazing.
1. The Rosario Islands
The top of my list is the Rosario Islands where I absolutely love the catamaran trip around the islands. I am lucky enough to have snorkelled my way through these crystal clear waters and experience for myself a visit from Dolphins!!
The beaches on the Rosario Islands are of the most beautiful I have ever seen. With pure white desert sand and crystal waters it feels to me as close as you can get to Heaven on Earth!
Just because I love this place so much, I always try and include it in my group tours of Colombia and my guests have never been disappointed.
2. The Coffee Plantations
A visit to the organic coffee plantations in the Coffee region is one of my favourite things to do – there is nothing like that plantation fresh smell. A smell that stays with me and I am brought back to in my mind every time I grab a cup of coffee.
As well as being a blast for the senses, a trip to the organic coffee plantations of Colombia is highly educational. I have learnt how Coffee is protected from sunburn (yes, it really can get sunburnt and this doesn’t give it a very nice flavour) and how the m
ist and cold affects the plants particularly in the mornings due to high altitude.
I also discovered that organic mango trees and banana trees are grown here too because their leaves provide the perfect amount of shade for the Coffee plants. When their leaves fall they then become organic food for the earth, revitalising the soil with minerals to feed the Coffee plants. The natural cycle of life on a Coffee plantation really is extraordinary.
Coffee for me as a Colombian will always hold a special interest. Not just because it gives me that extra boost during my day but because it is such an important industry to Colombia – it is our main economy.
3. The Graffiti Tours
In Bogota the authorities provide permits for street artists to Graffiti certain buildings of the city. When I speak of graffiti I don’t m
ean ‘tags’ or ‘vandalism’ types but instead, here, our graffiti artists create beautiful building sized murals that form a rich part of our culture.
The graffiti tour in Bogota can be done by cycle which allows us to take in as many of these works of art as we can. Although it’s a two hour tour it really is designed for any level of fitness (as long as you are able to cycle you should enjoy this tour!).
We stop at every mural to enjoy the art and for photographic opportunities which means we are never on our bikes for too long. We also stop to enjoy a coffee (or two!!) along the way. I like to talk about the rich history as we go along and point out my favourite restaurants too.The extra bonus here is that the city is pretty flat – so no big hills to try and conquer!
In cities like Cartagena and Medellin also can be enjoyed with this awesome for of art!
I hope my blog post today has inspired you to visit Colombia and come and experience for yourself some of my most favourite places in the whole world. If I have managed to get you interested in Colombia for your next trip or even to learn more about what Colombia has to offer to the traveller, then my work here is done!!
Have a beautiful day.
Laura Vega.