Living in Rural Colombia: What is my day like?
Living in Jericó, Colombia. A day in my life.
I live in a small pueblo called Jericó in Antioquia. It is approximately three hours by bus from Medellín, Colombia. However, it is only two hours if you are fortunate enough to have a car or a motorbike.
Yet the journey is full of twists and turns as you slowly climb up the mountains to reach this beautiful historic town.
Jericó has an average population of around 12-13k, depending on how accurate the statistics online are.
That said, it is a very small town by most standards, except where I grew up in Kentucky. The population in the town I grew up in was 1600, so you could say this is a bustling city in my eyes.
The town is known for its 18 churches and the home of the first Saint in Colombia, Laura Montoya, making it a pilgrimage site for many Catholics. The town is often busy on the weekends and empty during the week.
It is a stopover for many backpackers, and most never spend more than a few days here. They hike up to see the view from Cristo Redentor Jericó, drink a lot of coffee, and enjoy the small-town feel of this quaint town.
Each city in Colombia has its own story of violence and what happened to its inhabitants. Whether they were displaced and forced to move to the cities or they were wealthy enough to protect their lands.
Jericó has a reputation of being one of the safest towns in Antioquia because its inhabitants have money. The city was protected during the 1990s when Antioquia was in turmoil.
From where I live I have a view of the town. The town is only 1.5km away, but since I am outside in the countryside, it seems far away, even though it is not. I often walk to town and back.
I live and work at a Spanish school. Each morning, when I wake up and walk to breakfast, I am always amazed by the beauty of the mountains surrounding my home and the cows in the field across from my house.
After breakfast, I sit outside and listen to the birds talk to each other and fly around the garden. Occasionally, I see a hummingbird (a Colibri) flying around and looking for flowers.
The mornings are slow and relaxing.
One thing about Colombia that I enjoy is that there is a built-in routine; the sun rises and sets at the same time every day. The weather is rainy or sunny and usually cool at night, and we never move the clocks forward or backward.
The weather here is chillier than other towns in Antioquia due to the elevation of 6266 ft.
The campesinos (people who live in the countryside or farmers) are friendly and will always stop and talk to me.
A story I wrote here about talking to my neighbors!
It is expected to see a cow or horse wandering freely up and down my street, a dead end, and horse riders going by the school with a group of tourists out on an adventure.
Almost all the farmers carry a machete and wear boots. They also wear long sleeves and hats to protect themselves from the intense sun. I often wear short sleeves and a wide-brimmed hat as I begin my day in the garden and after my morning coffee.
Currently, I am in the planting and dreaming stage of the garden. I have many tomatoes growing, and I plant more seeds every day. I fight daily to keep the dogs and the ants out of the garden.
Between 10 and 1 pm, I work with the volunteers or school activities, and then we eat lunch at 1 pm.
After lunch, I sit and write or take a siesta, depending on the hot midday sun.
In the afternoon, the dogs often remind me that it is time for their daily walk. Today, we walked down to the river as they ran amongst the cows. The puppy has so much energy that he will only chill out by running as fast as he can for as long as he can.
Typically, we have a big lunch in Colombia, a snack around six called ¨algo¨, which means ¨something¨ if you translate it into English. Then, around 8, we have a small dinner, eggs, and an arepa.
Depending on the night, we do activities with the students, such as a game or movie night and a bonfire on Fridays. However, tonight was chill as I sat writing this in my casita (little house).
The dog is sleeping. She is always in bed by 9 p.m. and wakes up at 8 a.m. The house is an old shed converted into a living space. It is cozy and perfect.
The mountains outside my window remind me daily how lucky I am and how taking that first step led me to a life I never imagined.
XOXO
S
Muy tranquilo! y bonita!
This sounds like a perfect day. Your details make it real in my imagination.