Villa de Leyva is the most well-preserved colonial town in Colombia - a museum of cobbled streets, white stucco walls, and tiled roofs. I spent an enjoyable and unremarkable three days there. Interestingly, I left on January 24th - with exactly a year of travel in the rear-view. On the horizon was a few weeks of rest, work, and anti-tourism in places I’d already visited, before heading to Central America. In other words, Villa de Leyva was the last item on my South American checklist, meaning it took me a neat 365 days to get through the continent.

I pulled into Bogota for one last time, having spent the previous three-and-a-half months in 46 different beds, hammocks, and bus seats. I was excited for a few weeks of R&R - albeit amidst the chaos of Bogota and the pulsing nights of Medellin.

Bogota was just what I needed. A lazy week of familiar faces and places, with a small dose of culture - namely a classical piano concert, a mediocre museum, and some nice restaurants. On the opposite end of that spectrum, I accompanied a friend to a beauty clinic, because she’d asked that I tag along to translate and ensure that she got just the right amount of Botox (my suggestion of none was ignored). It wasn’t exactly how I wanted to spend five hours of my last Friday in Bogota, but no trip to Colombia would be complete without visit to the ol’ plastic surgeon.

All too quickly, it was time for a tough goodbye, and I boarded a plane to Medellin.