Among the countries in Latin America, Colombia has one of the most negative reputations. Truthfully, Colombia has had a bloody, tragic history. But how much does that history affect the present day, especially for people interested in overlanding in Colombia?
That’s the topic we tackle in our latest video. But rather than sharing our own thoughts as people who have only been in Colombia for two months, we interview one of the leading overlanders in the country!
Meet Juan Pablo Olarte, known as Adventurando Ando Overland on Instagram and YouTube. He has taken a leadership role in the blossoming overlanding scene in Colombia, and we think you’ll appreciate his expertise as he answers our questions. As a bonus, he also gives a walk-around tour of his Jeep Wrangler build!
Watch now:
As a sidenote, we think Juan Pablo has the right idea with his overlanding setup. This Jeep is his daily driver, so it’s more practical to use a high-quality ground tent than a roof top tent that’s on his Jeep all the time. It’s also a great option for overlanding with a large dog.
If you have any questions for Juan Pablo, leave them on the YouTube video! And if you’re curious about what you really need to start overlanding, then we have an article all about that subject.
What’s next for us?
It’s been just over three weeks since we posted our last video and they’ve been three of the most trying weeks for us…ever.
Caspian kicked the whole thing off on Dec. 18 when he caught a stomach bug. It hit at the camping spot where we filmed with Juan Pablo. From there, it was a constant string of sickness that lasted into the new year. Caspian got sick three times (one stomach thing, two colds) and I got sick three times (one cold, one flu [?], one stomach thing).
We moved into our Bogotá Airbnb where I spent Christmas Eve and Christmas in bed. Eric and our guests ended up making the Christmas meal, and I ate by myself in the room.
Before I was even feeling better, it was time to prepare for the reason we came to Bogotá–my surgery. I explained more on Instagram. The surgery took place a week ago on Jan. 14. Because of the physical damage that needed to be repaired, the surgery was more intensive and invasive than my surgeon expected. But the procedure was successful.
I spent one night in the hospital and have been recovering at home since then. The first few days, I maxed out my pain prescriptions and could not manage the pain. Those were hard days. But since Wednesday or so, things have been looking up.
I can’t travel for one month, so we will be here in Bogotá until Feb. 11. It could take three months total for me to completely recover.
If you’re curious about health insurance and medical costs in Latin America, then I encourage you to join our Patreon. I just made a long post about our exact medical costs in Nicaragua, Panamá, and here in Colombia. All tiers have access to this information.
Our family appreciates all the encouragement we’ve received from our community during this challenging time. Hopefully the worst is behind us and we can find our footing again. In the meantime, we have a lot to be thankful for.
-B
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