Tag: Visa

Cali, Colombia

November 30, 2025 BY CASSANDRA JOHNSON

Cali. I had a feeling I would really like this major Colombian city. Nice and warm, I found myself taking a stroll each day looking for a particular food spot or coffee shop. From a variety of points, I could work/chill with a little dessert and a warm variation of a sweet beverage. Cafe mocha, cappuccino, etc and by now, I had also developed a taste for Colombian coffee. The only factors slowing me down were the hills and the steep drop offs, some occasional rain. I was continuously walking up, reminding myself that it was going to be so much easier coming back, but honestly the steep downslopes were something one should brace for as well.

Well, I made it and I notice that once I know there is a spot within reach, no matter how far, I am compelled to get there, even foolhardily. I laughingly remember a friend getting lost from his hostel in Cochabamba, Bolivia and he said something to the effect that if you are going to wander off, don’t do it downhill, seeing as how he had to return at the opposite angle, righting himself up a steep incline.😊

I leaned into Cali’s ambience. People were friendly, not too particularly focused on what my story might be, but still engaging, treating me as if I could be from there or aptly treating me like a welcome guest. Cartagena would later prove similar, though the weather was much hotter.

Cali had left me curious. It was a place where more people looked like me and previously, I had just spent a day or less there. Fortunately, I was able to stay for about 12 days this latter time, since I could be flexible with my bus tickets from there back to Bogota. I liked purchasing them in person on the day of my trip, leaving my bags in the bus terminal luggage storage, so I could be free to walk about and eat in the city, leaving any weight behind. I also left them behind when arriving before accommodation check-in times.

I knew the bus station well by now. I had taken to the budget travel option over the flight I took into Colombia primarily when I arrived the very first time in Colombia and stayed in Medellin.   

Cali is a place I could have stayed for a majority of my 90-day Visa but I was also ready to get back to the chillier Bogota for a work minus distraction strategy that Bogota was more suitable to me for, and what I needed to fit in before stopping in Cartagena and getting out a somewhat underrated country, before I was required to leave altogether.

Ending Begins

August 30, 2025 by Cassandra Johnson

When I accepted that I would not be able to visit Peru again for another year, and my 90-day Visa was coming to an end, I was okay with that. I was nostalgic in the way one could get right before leaving a place and experience of which they have grown quite fond. Peru had again become my temporary home. I had a good run and being that it was my 4th visit, I bargained on how I would return. 

I had ended my visit this time, after some apartment seeking in the San Isidro neighborhood but also thought about how convenient it would be to live in the area of Miraflores, where I had been spending most of this recent time. 

However, I wondered if me navigating these decisions in the capital this time was altogether too different, since my true affection for Peru started in the city of Pisco versus this metropolis. I would later question if I could also translate that to Cusco, retrying this home to Machu Picchu as well. Lima had always mostly just been a travel-through city, even after the extended stays, so yep, this could almost be like acclimating to any major city in a number of places. Still that could work for my aging lifestyle. I am not mad at all at blending all life’s modern conveniences with Peruvian culture and cuisine.

Consequently,  a time for a decision on a long-held dream had now reached me just as I again reached my dream South American location. I was still just deciding on where specifically to live in Peru, or was I?

Another thought lingered around overall just connecting with people, so I pivoted between accommodations and events to find both a nice comfortable setting and a local group of friends. Setting up a life with conveniences and support for part of the year abroad and another part of the year back home was my broader plan. Setting up a life to thrive while working as a digital nomad, translating from anywhere was also key.

Yet, following this repeated trip, I gradually realized I wanted to continue seeing more. Maybe my dream could even be played out in another South American country and/or across multiple ones. I set my sights and my next experience on Colombia.