Arrived with low expectations, left completely converted

Colombia wasn't high on my travel list. A friend pushed me to go and I'm genuinely grateful. The first full day in Santa Marta reset everything — the scale of Cartagena Walled City and the quality of the aguardiente were immediate signals that I'd misjudged the place completely.

warm and proud people became my personal highlight of the whole trip. Spent 6 days and could easily have stayed twice as long. Now I tell everyone who'll listen that Colombia is underrated — add it to your list.