Saying yes to everything the universe had to send my way was one of the best mentalities I could have adopted while traveling. Yes took me to beautiful beaches, yes took me to Bocas del Toro and then to Colombia, yes made me new friends, took me mountain biking, rafting, dancing, and yes gave me so many memories.

Fear can stop anybody in their tracks. Whether it’s fear of the unknown, heights, or a new culture, we have all felt fear in our life. Sometimes fear is good and keeps us out of legitimately dangerous situations, but more often then not fear stops us from what we really want to do or at the very least from trying something new.

Facing a fear and saying yes to a new adventure, maybe an unfamiliar food, or an idea leads to really amazing experiences and it feels really good to say yes. When I first heard all my new travel buds talking about Colombia it was an idea I was so uncomfortable with. I had only been to Costa Rica, unexpectedly to Panama, and now Colombia was on the table for my taking.

Hearing so many people say that was their next stop made me at least intrigued but I figured that’s where my interest stopped. I’d heard so many bad things, that Colombia was dangerous and full of drug cartels and criminals, I heard it wasn’t safe for women and to be honest I was intimidated and a little nervous about the idea of going to Colombia. But it kept coming up in conversation and I think the universe was sending me that way.

Powers of the universe are tricky things to try to understand but sometimes it just clicks and you get the message. This was Colombia for me and one day I just said you know what I’d love to check out Colombia why not? Me and my travel friend jumped back and forth for a few days between Nicaragua and Colombia and one night we both just knew, we had to go to Colombia. So we hopped on a night bus to Panama City and caught a flight to Cartagena, Colombia.

Jumping into Colombia was hands down my best travel decision I made. Colombian people are the nicest people I’ve ever met, the landscape was epic to say the least, and I made some of my favorite memories and had my greatest adventures there. (Stay tuned for blogs on those adventures). Living on a yoga retreat center, and then staying in Bocas for two weeks were both amazing experiences but they felt like little bubbles of safe travel. Colombia felt like my first real travel. I was drenched in the culture and adventure of Colombia, made one of my closest friends, had the most amazing crew of friends to hang with, and fell in love with a country. Saying yes not only got me over a fear not rooted in anything substantial, it gave me the greatest gifts of all, trust in the universe and a deep love of travel. Say yes.