Living Once Again in The Countryside of Colombia: Jericó

I have been living in the small pueblo of Jericó, Colombia, for the past week.

How long will I be here? I have no idea.

My only plan is to leave when my visa expires at the beginning of February. Then, I will do what all of us travelers call a visa run. Then, I plan on applying for a digital nomad visa for Colombia while I search for a small farm to live on in this area.

If you have read this far, you are wondering what I am procrastinating about.

Writing: ironic, isn’t it? I have a deadline I am working on for a test blog that I am submitting to a big travel blog, and it is difficult as I usually write on platforms and can say what I want.

However, I am anxious.

What if my article needs to be better? What if I don’t know what she wants? What if it’s just crap, and then what if it’s not crap? What if she likes it, and I have a constant gig?

Who knows?

I have written the article, but now, as most freelancers know, I need to edit, which is not my strong point; I ramble. Yet I want it to be good, so I need to delete the ramble and keep the essential bits…sigh.

Plus, format and follow the style of the website. I am feeling overwhelmed, so I thought I would tell you what I am up to. To help get my creative juices flowing, do something easy!

Why do I love Jericó?

I visited Jericó over a year and a half ago and instantly loved this little Colombian pueblo. A preserved colonial town that is surrounded by mountains and coffee farms.

I loved the city I was living in previously here in Colombia, but it was a town entrenched in violence, and you could see it and feel it in the energy of the place. However, the town has always been rich and protected (aka Mafia protection).

Towns that survived during the times of violence had help and money, which has left the town of Jericó thriving today. It is not as popular as the neighboring Jardín, but in my opinion, it is better.

Less tourists, and off the beaten path, yet slowly being discovered, yet still preserved. The climate is perfect. It is chilly at night, maybe in the 60s, and during the day, it is between 70 and 80 (maybe). The night sky is full of stars, and it is quiet.

I am staying about a 10-minute motorbike ride into town, which is about a 30-minute walk. The town has some fantastic restaurants, bakeries, and, yes, of course, excellent coffee. I am back on coffee; I knew I would begin drinking it again once I returned to Colombia. But resting my body for three months off coffee was perfect.

When you enter the square of Jericó, you are instantly met with a church in the center and 18 others springing up in the small area. The locals sell their handcrafted bags and leather in the square, and of course, you can eat an empanada.

My favorite is sitting at a local coffee shop, watching the campesinos ride through the square on horseback. The horses’ hoofs on the pavement remind me of when I was a little girl, making me feel at ease and home.

Where I am staying, it is expected to see riders pass by, and all I can think is there is nothing better than being on a horse, the freedom, the wildness, the ancient art of transportation.

It makes my soul happy.

From where I sit, I can see the town in the distance, a small village in the mountains. The birds sing, and the local dog that comes to visit and, if you go for a walk, will join you.

Getting to Jericó is always an adventure as the road up the mountain is breathtaking, and it feels like you have entered your slice of heaven. The ride is bumpy; as you leave Medellín, it will take you approximately 3 hours on the bus or, if you have a private car, about 2 hours.

Yet once you arrive, there is a possibility that you may never leave, as is my case.

This week, I will go to explore some of the glamping cabins. I am not usually one for glamping, but I have been volunteering at a school, and having some peace and solitude in the middle of a mountain will be precisely what I need by Friday.

Tomorrow, after I finish the article I am procrastinating on, I will walk into town and ask some locals if there is a small farm I can rent from February on.

The proximity to Medellín and just enough tourism make this little pueblo the perfect place to rest for a few months. Maybe longer, but as the price of land here is more expensive, I plan on slowing down and easing into a slower pace of life.

I am looking for new opportunities, not being so stressed about what is to come, and allowing my body to flow instead of push.

Of course, I have a video:)

https://youtu.be/MOISIl-w5ZA?si=4MJ-MXkbzLRP_Z2G

XOXO

S