Here’s my monthly update video as we say goodbye to Bogota, Colombia and make our way to Medellin:

And here is the month told in photographs:

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Things that stand out:

• We had two awesome city managers, Luis and Cata. Can’t say thanks enough for all they did to make us feel welcome in Bogotá.
• There are so many perros in the city. We lived right next to Parque Virrey and it’s bustling every day with all kinds of dogs. So cool.
• The altitude is definitely noticeable at 8,600+ feet. I’m sitting now in a taco joint in Medellin which is a substantially lower altitude and I feel like I can breathe again.
• Colombia is a huge country. I spent the first two weeks of Bogotá traveling all over the country and we only scratched the surface- didn’t realize how huge this country is.
• I don’t know why they don’t believe in toilet seats. It’s just weird.
• 8 cities down, 4 more to go… can’t believe we’re 2/3rds the way through this adventure. The regular conversation now is “what are you doing after RY?” and I feel like most of us don’t know the answer at this point. Will be an interesting next few months as plans start to crystalize.
• I know a couple people this month who were a bit depressed (the term “altitude sadness” was coined by one). While I didn’t personally hit those same blues in Bogotá (Valencia was that way for me) I can certainly respect that some people are starting to hit a wall in month 8. Medellin is a welcome change and I think will inject some literal fresh air in our lungs and reinvigorate some.

Gear shout outs

Three pieces of gear this month merit a shoutout:

1. I picked up a Michael Kors down puffy jacket at Macy’s in a Christmas sale for $100 and it’s probably my single favorite purchase this past year. It compresses down to about the size of a tennis ball can and is super warm. I treated it with Scotchgard as well as Permetherin before leaving the States so now it’s both waterproof and mosquito proof. Highly recommend it. They have it for the same price on Amazon here.
2. The Amazon Firestick has been a gem on this trip. It performs the same function of an Apple TV giving you apps like Netflix and Spotify on any TV that supports HDMI but it’s 1/4 the size of an Apple TV and just plugs into the back of the TV. There’s a mobile app you can use as a remote. It’s so nice to be able to throw on background music when you’re working at home or to veg out and watch a Netflix when you’re feeling like a hermit. The voice remote feature is really cool too- you can say “play Miles Davis” and it’ll immediately start playing Miles Davis jazz tunes via Amazon Music… pretty incredible.
3. TRX. This is a resistance training apparatus that let’s you use your own body weight to perform a number of exercises. It’s been my preferred way to stay in shape this past eight months and while we’ve been doing it all along I came to really appreciate it Bogotá. I normally do it outside but there was quite a bit of rain this month so I started using the attachment that comes with it that allows you to hang it off a door inside. It’s about the size of a softball when stored so it travels really well and is more convenient than finding a gym in each city. The basic kit runs $150 on Amazon.

Tunes

Lastly, the songs below will forever remind me of our time in Bogotá.