Blog Archives
South America Travel Inspiration Photos For 2014
More travel should be on everyone’s resolution list for life, but if you’ve made it one of your 2014 goals, I’ve put together a travel photo slideshow for Latina.com that will surely cause you to experience wanderlust.
I lurked through LAN airlines’ hashtag of #OnlyInSouthAmerica, and picked out 20 of the best photos shared by LAN, fellow travelers and two from myself that’ll make you add countries such as Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Argentina and more to your bucket list.
See the slideshow here, visit back soon to see photos from my trip to Ecuador in the fall.
Follow Vee Travels and Andrew Villagomez on Twitter and Instagram: @AndyVeeNYC
‘Like’ and follow Vee Travels on Facebook
Travel Inspiration: Bogota, Colombia – La Candelaria & Monserrate
Following last week’s Travel Inspiration photo series with Cartagena de Indias, be inspired to hop on the next flight to venture down to Colombia to experience the metropolitan life of Bogota (four hours from LAN Airlines‘ Miami hub). Below, enjoy a set of over 30 images of Bogota’s oldest district, La Candelaria, and the surreal mountain escape of Monserrate (pictured above)—just a cable car away.
Picture yourself in place of my accompanying travel bag on this journey, the Bleecker Legacy Weekend Tote, shown in a couple of the photos below, and make sure to check out my story on luxury travel in Colombia for Latina.com.
Bogota, Colombia:
As the oldest part of Bogota, La Candelaria is full of history and character. The architecture of the old houses, churches and buildings has Spanish Colonial and Baroque styles, and the neighborhood is home to hostels, universities, libraries and museums. Among the museums, I got to visit the Botero Museum (containing the full-figure works by painter/sculptor Fernando Botero, and works by Monet and Picasso from Botero’s private collection) and the Gold Museum (housing 36,000 pieces in gold, wood, shell and stone organized in its three floors).
But before venturing to these and the streets of La Candelaria, the first stop in your journey should be Monserrate, a mountain part of the Andes Mountains at over 10,000 feet above sea level. Monserrate is both a pilgrim destination and tourist attraction where you’ll find a 17th-century church, restaurants and countless souvenir stands with native crafts, herbal remedies, food, drinks and more. You can climb to the mountain top, but a quicker (and more restful) way is by a cable car or cliff railway.
In The Bag: Traveler’s Global Style Accessories For The Weekend

Photographed at the Tcherassi Hotel in Cartagena, Colombia
Accessories that can work anywhere in the world are essential for a traveler to showcase a global style, especially for the weekend when you are packing light and need an easy transition back to your day-to-day routine. Once you’ve picked your travel companion—for this trip to Cartagena, Coach’s Bleecker Legacy Weekend Tote ($658) for its modern heritage design and spacious body—its time to pack the necessities for your journey. So what do you bring in the bag?

The Bleecker Legacy Weekend Tote has a fabric lined interior with a large zip-pocket on one side and two open smaller pockets on the other (each fit a iPad Mini), a zip-top closure, and a small exterior pocket for your smartphone
If you’re only going to be traveling for a short time, no need to bring that laptop of yours obviously, but if you need to get some sort of work done or you need to catch up on your shows while in transit, a tablet is the way to go. However for any international trip, the first thing you need before that is to style up your passport:
Passport Cover – Men In Cities
From Yuvi Alpert’s Men In Cities (an edited, limited collection of accessories each month with each item costing the same price), this beige Global Nomad Passport Cover ($40) has a vintage inspired charm to it. With two large pockets on each inside flap—one for a passport end and the other for your ticket—and a smaller pocket on the right flap (not pictured).
Travel Inspiration: Colombia’s Cartagena de Indias
Forget everything that immediately comes to mind when you think of Colombia. The country has been improving its image, especially in many major cities of business and travelers (with tourism tripling since 2006). On a trip for Latina.com, I got to experience the relaxed Caribbean city of Cartagena de Indias (Cartagena for short) and the thriving metropolitan life in Bogota.
Continuing our Travel Inspiration photo series, see select images that’ll make you want to hop the next flight to Colombia. Both Cartagena and Bogota are accessible by a two-to-four hour flight from LAN Airlines‘ Miami hub, depending where you go first.
To accompany me, I selected the handsome and strong Bleecker Legacy Weekend Tote from Coach which proved to be perfect for any weather as we experienced tropical rain the first day in Cartagena, sun with high humidity the next, and Bogota’s unpredictable weather patterns brought a little of all the elements. Picture yourself in its place in a couple of the photos below, and stay tuned for the post on Bogota as well.
Cartagena, Colombia:
A rainy morning, our journey starts high above all of Cartagena in Cerro de La Popa, a convent that attracts tourists for being the highest peak in town and providing spectacular city views at just under 500 feet above ground. Read the rest of this entry
Outfit: Jet Setter Style In Cartagena Featuring @Coach
When packing for a Caribbean city like Colombia’s Cartagena, a booming tourist destination, it’s good to make sure you pack (or are wearing) attire that is versatile. You can dress down as you transition to the humid weather and for a relaxed look, or you can dress up for a meeting if you’re visiting on business or for a special night during your holiday with a significant other.
Accessories are important for any traveler, especially if you love style, and they can help you put together outfits for your trip. The most important one is your bag, so I went with the handsome and strong Bleecker Legacy Weekend Tote from Coach in olive for its modern heritage design and spacious body.