Adventurous Kate consists of affiliate links. If you make a purchase with these links, I will make a compensation at no additional expense to you. Thanks!

Share on Twitter
Share on Facebook
Share on Pinterest
Share on Email

It was the month of Colombia! I spent 19 days checking out my 64th country and getting back into the groove of long-lasting solo travel after a number of trips with buddies as well as short solo excursions.

Between Colombia as well as some great times at home, right here are the very best as well as worst moments of August 2016.

Destinations Visited

New York, NY

Cartagena, Medellín, Guatapé, Salento, Valle del Cocora, Bogotá, as well as Zipaquirá, Colombia

Favorite Destinations

Salento. This small, vibrant mountain town introduced me to slow-paced Colombian life.

Valle del Cocora. quickly the most visually sensational location in the country, with super-tall palm trees you can’t discover elsewhere.

Bogotá. The unusual city where I slipped in so well, even with the communication difficulties.

Highlights

I had a terrific 32nd birthday. I spent it doing a great deal of preferred things in new York, both old (Big Gay Ice Cream) as well as new (Museum of the City of new York), before grabbing dinner at Red Rooster (also understood as the location that made me choose to step to Harlem!) as well as satisfying up with great deals of buddies at a bar in my neighborhood.

And finest of all were the Snapchat wishes! If you believed having a birthday on Facebook was great, wait up until you’re on Snapchat! I got creative creations, video messages, even tunes from my readers! say thanks to you all! as well as to the person who made me the snap above, I’m honored that you took the time to make rainbow letters! (I’m adventurouskate on Snapchat if you want to comply with me.)

Everything in Colombia. I want to repeat myself in future posts, so I’ll be brief, however a few of my highlights were eating the very best fruit in the world, photographing the doors of Cartagena, seeing some gorgeous as well as otherworldly landscapes, going out dancing, getting my hair cut as well as colored for less than 25% of what it would expense in new York, as well as making great deals of new buddies — both locals as well as travelers! expect far a lot more on Colombia soon.

Visiting Governors Island. This bit island south of Manhattan is only open during the summertime months as well as well worth a visit. I explored by bike, enjoyed the Drone world Championships, as well as got to see one of the most underrated views of Manhattan, visualized above.

And at the end of the month, I obtained a new possession. A Fuji 16mm f 1.4 lens. This wide-angle is the top-rated Fuji lens as well as I’d had my eye on it for awhile, so when the cost dropped by 25% this month, I understood it was time to pull the trigger. (It’s still on sale, by the way. There’s an extra $50 voucher that appears at checkout.)

Challenges

The hives came back. If you’re a long-lasting reader, you may keep in mind when I unexpectedly established hives in Korea back in 2013. I don’t have any type of allergies, so I have no concept what the cause was — I just took antihistamines. soon my lips started swelling up. I saw three physicians in Australia as well as they couldn’t tell me anything beyond, “Just wait it out as well as keep taking antihistamines, or prednisone if it gets truly bad.”

It took nine months before the hives stopped appearing. nine whole months.

So when I was in Bogotá as well as established what I believed was a mosquito bite on my arm…then one more bite…then three a lot more bites, all expanding and linking to every other, as well as a lot more on my hip as well, I groaned as well as thanked my lucky stars that I had brought Zyrtec with me. They did appear once again 24 hours later when the Zyrtec used off, then one more 24 hours after that, however considering that then I’ve been in the clear.

I still have no concept where they came from. I had only eaten eggs, fruit, coffee, a tamale, as well as an aguapanela (Colombian sugar cane drink) that day.

To my readers, even if you aren’t allergic to anything, please pack a strong antihistamine when you travel. I like Zyrtec since it’s non-drowsy as well as one pill lasts for 24 hours. You can get it for inexpensive on Amazon.

I truly requirement to enhance my Spanish. I speak “kindergarten Spanish” — I can interact fundamental stuff as well as speak decently in the present as well as future tenses. French has always been my main foreign language. I taught myself Spanish 1 overnullnull