​Colombia, compared to Canada is a poor country, but life in a Colombian city like Medellin, is not really all that different from life in a Canadian city. The levels of poverty are higher, but the levels of Paisas (a person from Antioquia, but more specifically Medellin) living in relative comfort are also significantly higher than in more rural regions in Colombia. Then, you visit La Guajira, the northern most desert department of Colombia, and poverty takes on new meaning.

I think La Guajira is a place every traveller to Colombia should go, especially if your typical vacation idea is an all-inclusive Caribbean resort. I also think it is a place all Colombians should visit, just like I feel the Canadian North is a place all Canadians should visit (and by this I mean the TRUE north, not Northern Ontario cottage country, or anything north of Edmonton). This place has stunning desert meets ocean landscapes on one hand, and gut-wrenching poverty and desperation on the other. Have I sold you yet?

Life in Medellin is pretty nice, but in the spring time the smog tends to hang heavy in the valley, and you curse the lack of natural escapes. My biggest gripe about life in Medellin is the lack of green space for a city of its size. The pollution is something that is not often discussed when people talk of Colombia, and much of the country does not have this problem, but this is Medellin. It is built in a valley, and when the wind stops blowing in the spring, there is no moving the smog, and pico y placa (the rotating prohibitive driving scheme based on licence plate numbers aimed to reduce the number of cars on the road) makes only marginal difference to the air quality. The drowned town of Peñol, which lies submerged under the lake adjacent to the town of Guatapé, is a popular spot an hour and half or so down the road, but if you seek a bit more adventure, natural beauty, and less tourists, then the small town of San Luis and the river Dormilón, is place worth your time!

 My  goal is to see as many countries and cultures as  possible, my official goal is 100 countries and all seven continents before death departs me, and at 31 and 6 down, I have a way to go. Since 2008, I have been a family man, so my dream should have died then right? Certainly that is the common thinking - that when you have a family you have to stop travelling, give up on your own dreams, right? People think this way for many reasons: it’s too expensive, too hard, kids need structure etc. My wife and I disagree. Leaving home in 2012 has been one of the best decisions we ever made.

Some context for you: we sold our home in Alberta, Canada in 2012, and with our two eldest daughters, moved to New Zealand with no job guaranteed. The money from our home sale did fund this initial move in terms of flights and spending money, but most of the money we made, we invested for our eventual return to a traditional lifestyle. I would say we had around $15000CAD to start. If things didn’t work out in 90 days (the length of my wife’s visitor visa) we would head to Australia. If it didn’t work out there within the same timeframe, we would return home and to our traditional life. It is now 2019, and after three and a half years in New Zealand, ten months back home, and now two years in Colombia our now, family of five, is contemplating the next chapter in our journey.
So, while the last six years of our life has not been conventional, it has not been the life of traditional travellers either. We have chosen to work and travel, but not as digital nomads, as proper secondary school teachers, though for our time in New Zealand we were a single income family. In this time we have tried to balance some kind of structure for our kids, while still travelling as much as possible and getting immersed in culture along the way. The idea is that we locate ourselves in one new area of the world, and branch out from there. This gives us stability and structure for the girls, and travel opportunities for everyone. From New Zealand we did Australia, Indonesia, Fiji and south East Asia, and from Colombia, other parts of South America. This has allowed our kids to go to school in three different countries, learn new languages, and still have normal kid activities like ballet in the mix.
The journey has not always been easy, or cheap, and there are a thousand other ways we could have done it. This is not the right way, or the wrong way to have travelled, but it is, our, way. And, along the way we have learned these important things:

1. Wear bright, but warm clothes
2. Have shoes that can get wet (but preferably keep your feet dry)
3. If you have time, do the three day tour ( Salt Flats are definitley the highlight, but there are amazing things on the second and third days!)
4. When you take your photos, make sure you get the silhouette as well as the main subject
5. Go in the rainy season (January to April - though late December is likely fine) for the epic photos
I have reflected on on our experiences here, and also provide tour info about the group we went with if you click read more...

​You should be prepared for cold weather, and we had been told to expect to freeze near to death on the second night, but we chose a great tour company, who had a very warm private hostel, and we were all very snug and warm throughout the whole trip.    

,After visiting the Pyramids at Giza, Machu Picchu moved to number #1 on the ole’ travelling bucket list. On the day of the summer solstice, (winter for the northern hemisphere) I am proud to announce, it has come down! Ultimately, I would have loved to have done the Inca Trail as well, but in this context we are travelling with a 4, 7, 10 and 71 year old, some of whom had a hard enough time doing the regular tour. I am not sure what I can add about this place that hasn’t already been said, but I will reflect on our family experiences, and provide some travel insight nonetheless.

​One of the most significant, unique and beautiful cultural traditions in Colombia happens on the eve of the Immaculate Conception (Catholic recognition of the immaculate conception of Mary and a public holiday in places around the world). On this night, everyone in towns and cities all over Colombia sets out candles and lanterns to pay hommage to The Virgin Mary. Beyond that it is an opportunity for community building, revelry, and is seen as the festive, but unofficial, beginning of the Christmas season.

Our work days in Colombia are long. We are up at 5am to take the school transit to work, which leaves at 6am. We leave to return home between 330-4pm. This may not sound like a big deal to some of you, but bad traffic can make the journey (home in particular) - though it is only 9km from our house, a 1-2 hour ordeal. This puts us at home between 530-6pm. That is just a 12 hour day, you say? Bear in mind that we have three children, and our mini 4 year old, after 8 hours of school, and no food since 1145am, is often a "delight" under these circumstances. When we return home, it is homework, supper and more or less bed for these niñas. Just to get up and do it all again. I know, it sounds glamourous right? Needless to say, when a long weekend rolls around, we are more than ready for a few days off, and ready to get out and see what has proven to be a much larger country than I originally imagined. Afterall, if we wanted to do the 9-5 grind, we could have stayed home in Canada with the comfort of family, friends, and a familiar language (and decidedly worse weather).

When you choose to uproot your family and live a non-traditional life, there is always the lingering doubt that you have made a horrible mistake, and that you have made a terrible decision, and that there is a good reason why people general, do not choose to live as you do. This was all magnified yesterday as our three year old faced deportation, and our nine year old oozed blood from her left ear.
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Yesterday was one of the biggest tests the homeless Hartlen’s have faced since departing on this almost non-stop journey in December of 2012. Ultimately I think we will be fine, we have a few days to sort out the pending deportation of our three year old, and our eldest’s bleeding ears, while still causing her much pain and throwing vacation plans into question, is on the mend.

Lessons learned yesterday: Colombian immigration has little sympathy for late visa applications, even if it is only by ten days, and even if the person in question is only three. The courier system between Colombia and New Zealand actually works amazingly well (I should point out now that this is all my fault, but I am not completely ready to admit that in tedious detail just yet). The Colombian healthcare system, despite being a “developing” country is first rate, and surprisingly expedient. I will wager though, that when an obviously distressed minor starts oozing liquid from her ear whilst awaiting treatment, this tends to expedite said treatment. Finally, due to my still sadly lacking Spanish skills I would have been much poorer and more frustrated were it not for our amazing Colombian family support system of Sylvana, who sorted out our health insurance issues, and Rafa, who helped Stephanie with the immigration process.