“If we get kidnapped, we’re going to feel really stupid,” Theo says to me as we get ready to go to a local Colombian’s apartment for drinks.

Two nights prior, we met our new friend, Marcos, at a bar across the street from our hotel.

We were struggling with our Spanish as we ordered drinks and spoke with the bartender.

Marcos was sitting at the bar and asked us where we were from.

He told us he’d just moved back to Colombia after many years in the states.

We had a wonderful conversation about life and travel, Colombia and America.

He lived a block from our hotel and invited us to come over for drinks the next day. We gladly accepted the invitation.

As the time approached for us to go, I asked Theo, “Is it wise to go to some guy’s house after meeting him at a bar? Especially in a country known for kidnapping?”

Marcos himself, terrifyingly, had been kidnapped and held for random in the jungle many years prior, which prompted his move to the United States.

We realized a few things. The first is that Colombia has a bad reputation that isn’t reality anymore.

Second, although you must be cautious everywhere you go, you cannot let fear isolate you from the world.

Just as we were getting ready to go, Theo jokingly says, “I just got a text from Marcos, he says his 5 p.m. kidnapping is running a little late.”

We laughed and realized how silly we were being and got on our way to what was a wonderful night with a great new friend.

Oh, want to know the best part? His sweet and lovely mother answered the door. We exhausted our Spanish skills in 20 minutes but it was a great night.

May 20, 2016 Bogotá, Colombia

~ LiAnn