The Roaming Rose 🌹

  This trip wasn't about going to one country and then going back home. I am creating a lifestyle change. The plan was Panama 🇵🇦, then Colombia 🇨🇴, and then, if fate allowed, Costa Rica 🇨🇷. And it did. My journey in Costa Rica has just begun, and honestly, it didn't start off great, but that's a story for another blog post. Here, I want to talk about my stay in Colombia. It was very eye-opening, to say the least. I had an amazing, cozy Airbnb in the heart of Chapinero. I walked to the grocery store every two days. I bought chorizo, rice, and a whole lot of fruit. I was serious about that fruit diet I wanted to do. If you read my last post, you already know that. 🙄 So I would cook and chill. Nothing too big. I was very comfortable. Colombia feels like fall every day, and that's my favorite season, so I was absolutely here for it. One day I did a reading, and I didn't understand it. But something told me I would eventually. Because sometimes that's how read...

  This trip has been a truly transformative experience so far. It started off a little rough. You can probably see that if you've read my last two posts. Then things got better, then they got rough again. But as I come to the end of the first leg of this journey, I can honestly say: a time was had. Overall, I think I've learned a few things about myself. And if I'm being honest, I think that was the entire point of doing this. I wanted to rediscover, or maybe even discover for the first time, who I am outside of all the roles I play. I wanted to see what kind of courage it takes to step into the unknown and meet yourself there. I went to Taboga Island, and the experience was bittersweet. The island itself was beautiful, but I felt lonely. Everywhere I looked, there were groups of people together, laughing, exploring, and making memories. I was one of the few people there by myself. I did notice another solo traveler, but before long he had made friends with a couple and joi...

After I landed and went through my little turmoil (see my last post), the next day I stayed in bed almost the entire day. My stomach wasn’t feeling the best, and I was absolutely exhausted. I messaged my host on WhatsApp because I didn’t want her to think I was being rude or avoiding her. I ended up sleeping most of the day away. That night, when she finally saw my message, she knocked on my door with a warm cup of green tea and some Pepto-Bismol in her hands. It was such a small gesture, but it meant a lot to me. Like I mentioned in my last post, on my first day here she had already seen me struggling to figure things out and even offered to take me to the grocery store with her. After my long rest, I finally decided to venture out and get something to eat. My appetite had started to come back, and I remembered seeing a Caribbean restaurant on my TikTok FYP. Ever since I arrived, TikTok has been flooding me with recommendations for places to visit while I’m here. The Ubers are incredi...