The Unknown Colombia - Adventures and Travels of El Indio Andino

An Ode to Los Llanos The first journey from mountain chill to the warmth of the Llanos Some journeys begin quietly, long before we realise how much they will matter. My connection to Restrepo started in the early days of my relationship with my wife — a time when everything felt new, hopeful, and full of gentle possibility. One afternoon, she invited me on a trip to a small town in Meta and mentioned, almost casually, that the climate there would feel similar to India. That simple detail lit something inside me, a small warmth in a country that was still becoming home. I had no way of knowing then that her invitation would lead me toward a landscape that would stay with me for years. I did not know that this first descent from the cold of the Andes into the warm, open plains would become a thread woven through my life — or that I would one day be affectionately called el amigo del llano , the Friend of the Plains. This chapter is my ode to that beginning — to the first journey that ope...

Happy new year and this is the time to start a new chapter in Unknown Colombia. Thank you for sticking around.  Orinoquía region, also known as the eastern plains, is one of the most fascinating natural regions of Colombia, yet is often overlooked by travellers here due to the vastness and remoteness of this region, starting with the complicated trunk road RN 40 from Bogotá to Villavicencio. Sunrise over the plains is a sight to experience Geographical Extent The Eastern Plains covers the departments of Meta, Casanare, Vichada, Guaviare, parts of Cundinamarca and Boyacá. Although there are some cities in this region such as Villavicencio, the capital of Meta department, which is the 11th largest in Colombia and Yopal, the capital of Casanare department, this region is rural, remote, fertile and full of culture, gastronomy, music and dance. Villavicencio is affectionately referred to as Villao (Vee jaa oo) and is considered as ‘Puerto Del Llano’ or ‘Gateway to the plains’. The gover...

  Escape Travel A favorite topic of mine is on escape travel. According to me, the easiest definition is the following: A travel that allows me to escape from my routine, typically a short one. This escape travel does not have to be a long drive in a rented car, it does not have to be a flight trip, it does not have to be an overnight bus journey. It can be as simple as a 45 minute bus trip to an entirely different world. A world that struggles to maintain its identity amidst urban invasion from an ever growing Bogota. Welcome to the world of life in the Bogota Savanna . Tabio - The town of the Torbellino My love affair with Tabio began in 2016 during one of those safe explorations as I would like to call them - Look for a destination not too far away and find about buses to travel and to come back the same day, if needed to find a place to stay where I go.   The journey Buses to Tabio used to be from the Portal Norte, however have since been moved to the Terminal Satelit...