Colombia

Garbage Museum
Picking coffee beans

The moment you arrive in Bogota you will smile as it’s a city with tremendous energy and vibe. I was escorted around Bogota and its surroundings in 2016 by Nadja Grote who runs the company AlternativeColumbia.com.

Bogota is absolutely choked by traffic which can challenge any visitor’s patience. Before visiting, its best to decompress and just enjoy, paying no attention to the world’s worst city-wide traffic jam.

I started off my time in Columbia with a bike tour through the central city. Weaving through the city’s streets was both energizing and incredibly informative. We visited many different parts of the city, new and old, learning its history along the way. The following two days I visited a coffee plantation, located about 2 hour outside of Bogota (strongly recommended). I helped some migrant farm workers pick carrots, cut bacon at a carniceria and hauled potatoes at the city market.

One of Bogota’s coolest hidden treasures was the Garbage Museum. Overall, a wonderful place and I am eager to return to see Medellin and the mountain coast.

Sweden

Beautiful Tivoli Gardens in Sweden, 1992 Country Information: The capital city of Sweden is Stockholm. Approximately 10 million Swedes live here, and the official language is Swedish, but Saami and Finnish are also spoken. The majority of the population practices...

Lithuania

The highlight of my time in Lithuania was visiting the Hill of Crosses Vincas Kudirka Square Country Information: Lithuania gained its independence in 1918. Its capital is Vilnius and the official language is Lithuanian. About 3 million people live in Lithuania. The...

Samoa

In tropical Samoa (known as Western Samoa until 1997), founded on New Year’s Day in 1962. About 191,000 people live here (2013), and the official languages are English and Samoan. Most Samoans are Christian, Catholic, or some other Christian denomination. Its main...