Irene Quevedo

South America just keeps getting better.

Full disclosure getting to Argentina was the craziest travel day we’d experienced to date. In order to save a buck our research told us to fly into Argentina via Paraguay… thought we could cross the border cheaply by land.

Happy go lucky we landed well after 9pm from Medellín only to learn Paraguay was charging Americans $160 each for on-the-spot entrance visas. No exceptions! Then they wanted to charge a huge surplus for folks not using cash. All in all, we would have paid $1,000 additional dollars for 3-4 days in Paraguay. Just like that we refused and instead booked a flight out of the airport to our next planned destination: Argentina. After spending a long night in the Paraguayan International airport (sorry, but literally the worst airport ever based on zero dining options, cash-only policies, and horrible wifi) we were back on schedule and headed to beautiful Buenos Aires.

Buenos Aires hit us with the biggest jolt. After more than 10 months of perfect summer weather we were now south of the equator in freezing cold weather. On average it was 40 degrees but it often felt colder. We’re Californias true and true so 40 degrees was freezing to us. We quickly bundled up and called this walkable city home for three unbelievable weeks.

Argentina gave us new weather, new accents, new architecture… and a whole new city vibe we all loved. Especially Diego and Isaiah who are huge Messi/Argentina soccer fans. In Argentina the world cup soccer craze began and so we did what many Argentines do… we watched great games while enjoying great wine, amazing steak, and Argentinian deep dish pizza. Pizza in Argentina rivals that of Italy, New York, and Chicago.

Every week in Argentina we stayed in a different home and neighborhood. I highly recommend this for those looking for variance in any one city. First up was the eclectic and bohemian vibes of San Thelmo, full of tango in the streets, great flea market finds, and all the dulce the leche (milky caramel) any sweet tooth could muster. Sunday nights meant wild music in the streets and dancing. Sunday mornings were meant for shopping. Our place was right smack in the middle of all the action. The comfy old-timey apartment was similar to a European apartment from the 1920’s. Finally, we got to use the outlet adaptors we’d carried for months. Felt good to be prepared.

The following town was Retiro right next to upscale Recoleta and close enough to get us to the best hotels, malls, and restaurants in town. We walked everywhere and loved it. Even pulled off a fun date night at one of my favorite international hotel chains: the Four Seasons Hotel, Buenos Aires.

Thereafter, we decided to feel out the suburbs of Buenos Aires and stayed in Colegials. There we ate the best burgers in #BA and got a true feel for the everyday life of regular citizens away from the usual tourist sites. Our apartment was homey and here Diego mastered his fried rice recipe which we proceeded to eat about 5 times the following weeks. I love when we settle into a great place with a family feel and fully equipped kitchen. Argentina will forever be credited with the town where our kiddos learned to appreciate fine meats and cheeses… we ate until our hearts content for many, many Argentine nights abroad. Our children’s expanding palettes makes this momma very, very happy.

The highlight of our time in Argentina was scratching off a major bucket list destination and I don’t just mean Buenos Aires. We finally were close enough to the Brazil and Argentina border to fly over to Puerto Iguazú and visit Iguazú Falls or Paradise Falls as it’s referred to in the movie Up. These falls are so much more than anything I could write about here. They felt majestic, powerful, and huge — this coming from a family that’s seen many, many waterfalls this last year.

Iguazú Falls is a natural wonder that truly takes your breath away, plus, our trip there was the smoothest we’d had for a quick flight. All of us were so excited to be there and the seamless travel made being there feel easy. We also loved the super small town feel in Iguazú and our amazingly sweet airbnb host who drove us around all weekend. We will forever cherish this destination as a top 3 site seen during our beautiful #queventure year abroad. We recommend it to all families especially those hoping to knock out a visit to the three borders: Paraguay, Argentina, and Brazil…

But don’t get me started on the fun-loving Brazilian side full of great food (picaña steak), ambiance, and all the romantic Portuguese lingo a girl could swoon over.

After a whirlwind two-month stay in Cartagena, Colombia we moved to a totally different region of Colombia. This region known as the “Land of Eternal Spring” was once the crime capitol of the world. Sadly, that stereotype still lingers and though Medellín, Colombia recently received the honor of being coined the “most innovative city in the world” people all too often still ask about its drug-trafficking past.

If this trip taught us one thing above all others that was to look beyond preconceived notions. The number of people who shared fears about our traveling to Colombia is astounding, and I am so glad we didn’t listen to one critic. We would have missed out on so much had we been led by fear.

In fact, at the point that we are now while writing this, we’ve been to almost 15 counties and never once have we felt unsafe or threatened. We haven’t been robbed or cheated. Neighbors weren’t sketchy and tour guides weren’t out to rip us off. This isn’t to say we visited crime-free countries, of course not. Per usual, we exercised caution, researched a lot to determine housing and travel comforts, and most critically, never decided on the path of least resistance: which would have been not venturing outside of the U.S. at all!

Now, back to Medellín…

Its innovation mixed with the Colombian small-Pueblo-vibe made us feel so at home. People in Medellin clearly have high expectations and pride in their town! Their standards for eco-friendly living and healthy lifestyle choices was apparent at every turn. This city is majorly walkable, marathons are a plenty (my hubby ran one) and biking is king! There were so many wonderful healthy dinning options, too. I’ll surely miss my favorite vegan falafel & hummus salad from Vin&Gretta.

That and all of the following reasons made Medellín one of our favorite stops and a town we called home for over a month (we were offered a six-week housing deal we couldn’t resist):

1. Great public transport (we loved the cheap and easy access and the city had one of the cleanest and safest metros we’ve ever used). This including the amazing cable metro which had us “flying” high above the sites! Our kiddos loved using the Medellín MetroCable.

2. Amazing and varied nightlife venues that opened well into the morning hours (+a bonus Mexican stand with authentic “al pastor” pork tacos).

3. Developed restaurant and shopping delivery services similar to Uber eats (+ crazy cheap Uber all over the city).

4. Beautiful greenery, parks, museums and other public spaces for interactive family time (fully equipped with city WiFi and charging stations).

5. Access to truly scenic day trips (Guatepé specifically was gorgeously scenic).

6. Opportunities to volunteer… There’s no shortage of ways to be in service globally and when we found a program dedicated to enriching the lives of women and children in the most impoverished areas of Medellín we jumped at the chance. We will forever cherish the smiles on those children’s face – the children of Bello, Colombia.

In the end, Medellín was the first place that felt like home especially since friends and family visited us there. If we could take our extended tribes with us all over the world that’s exactly where home would be… time and time again.

Thank you, Medellín.