I am not lying when I say beautiful Bucaramanga, Colombia has stolen our hearts… It has well earned being labeled ‘La Ciudad de Los Parques‘ (The City of Parks) with over 160 parks as well as ‘La Ciudad Bonita de Colombia‘ (Colombia’s Beautiful City). Both names represent the city well! I am tearing up just thinking about our departure but the next adventure awaits. Six awesome months we have spent in Bucaramanga & the friends we have made… BUT immigration dictates six months is allowed per calendar year so we must move on but oh what memories we will have forever…
The kicker is this beautiful city in the Department of Santander, Colombia was never on our list to check out for a possible landing! I seriously wanted to go back to Medellin for a longer look at the city when one day while chatting with our friend, Shihan while in Quito, Ecuador he invited Horace to compete in an upcoming kickboxing competition in Piedecuesta, Colombia, a small city outside of Bucaramanga. If you know us, we looked at each other & after reviewing the budget, we decided why not? And so the love story began…
A Little About Bucaramanga, Colombia
Bucaramanga is the capital of the Department of Santander in Colombia having been ‘founded’ in 1622. As of this year, 2024, the population is just around 1,400,000 people & is the fifth largest city in Colombia. The city is located in the north eastern mountains of the Colombian Andes at 3146 feet above sea level.
It is a significant tobacco & coffee growing region. It was exciting for me to see the coffee beans on the plants during our beautiful (but sometimes strenuous) mountain walks. Let me say I had to talk myself (‘you can do this Holly’ kind of inner talk) but what beautiful rewards from the sights & meeting locals along the way. Yes I would do them all again!
If you read my previous post you can see how economically friendly Bucaramanga was to these two traveling seniors. Originally, living on a budget took a minute to get use to but I can easily say that without that budget we would not be able to have made the memories we have. Memories we will cherish forever.
Photo Memories of These Two Seniors Living in Bucaramanga
I hope you enjoy this trip down memory lane of our six months in Bucaramanga. We didn’t see everything we wanted to see but we were not rushed as we knew we would be back! Til next year… In no particular order…
The people so welcomed us into their community inviting us to what some would describe as a walk, but should be described as a pilgrimage to the mountain top. These walks up the mountain were some of the most difficult walks that we have ever taken and created memories that will last our lifetime.
The thing that we like most about Bucaramanga was not just the beauty of the city, but the people of Bucaramanga & how they welcomed us into their community. Not only were the people of Bucaramanga kind & welcoming to us, but they frequently made traditional food dishes or brought us one or more of the traditional fruits from the area.
This sculpture was across from the Cacique Mall & NeoMundo Event Center.
Parque Bosque was probably our favorite park for several reasons – awesome views of the city & mountains, daily exercising as well as catching up with friends. It was a good walk from our Airbnb & coffee break was the perfect ending to a long exercise at the park.
Will we go back to Bucaramanga? Oh yea! As I end this blog we are looking at a return trip. This could be the place for us! Enjoy!
