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In South America, various countries and cities are top destinations among travelers such as Brazil (Rio), Colombia (Medellin) and Peru (Lima). However, several months before entering into the new decade I decided to make it one of my goals to live in a country in South America to get a feel for the cultural difference and way of life compared to my hustle-bustle lifestyle in London. Now selecting a destination was no easy task but after some thorough research I ended up choosing Colombia and Medellin as the city I would move to mainly because of the temperature and city life. So, January the 15th 2020, I booked a one-way flight to my chosen city having no connections a basic knowledge in Spanish and a bit over 20kg worth of luggage to my name. After staying in Medellin for a few days, I bumped into a beautiful woman called Martha who was selling fruits outside a metro station who if I had to guess was in her early 40's but nothing like I had seen on TV about Colombians who tend to be of a different skin tone, she was darker and indigenous looking. I remember one of the first questions I asked her was (Donde eres?) which translates to "where are you from" in English. She responded "Colombia" but the follow-up answer was a city I had never heard of or even stumbled across during my research, which was a city called Quibdó just west of Medellin. Despite my basic knowledge in Spanish we ended up having a deep 30-minute conversation about Colombia's history, music, what brought me to here and the one which interested me the most was where Colombia's unheard indigenous voices live. Towards the end of our encounter, she invited me to visit her city that hardly any gringos (means foreigners) visit as it is totally different from the fancy life in Medellin which attracts them. In the end, she gave me mangos and lime which I offered to pay for but she refused to take my money saying "You are welcome here" (translated from Spanish). I left my encounter with her more open and curious as I started. How could I have not heard of such a place with a long history, filled with indigenous and African descent people? The next day I sent Martha a message and accepted her invitation to the city with her cousin Gabriela which was a 7 hour trip via bus. So the following weekend I packed enough clothing items for a 3 day trip to this special part of Colombia and we took a bus for just under $7 USD which was comfortable and air-conditioned. During the ride, I was breath taken by the amazing views Colombia is blessed with. Normally, I would refuse such an invitation with people I had just met but the warmth and welcoming energy I felt from both of them made me feel no fear whatsoever. After arriving in Quibdo after the long and at times bumpy ride, we were welcomed to the city with street sellers offering fresh juice and snacks which we just could not refuse. The first thing which really gave me an eye-opener was the diversity which the city possessed. I saw people I had never seen in my life or even thought of them as Colombian before living and smiling in a city which is one of the poorest regions in Colombia. I booked a local hotel for my duration close to where Martha and her cousin lived and during our trip, Martha, Gabriela, and their friends showed me around rivers, historical landmarks and I got to try some traditional food which consisted of coconut rice, fish, plantain and plenty of salad. My trip to the city was everything I wanted and more. After our amazing 3 day trip, I reflected on how my leap into the unknown allowed me to make an amazing local connection with a Colombian and discover a part of the country I had no idea I would expect to find.