The Journal

Stories of becoming

Training, nutrition, Colombia and the 1% philosophy — editorial notes from the Phoenix Initiative.

A two-lane road curving through the dry upper Magdalena valley at golden hour, with layered blue Andean ridges fading into the haze.

Getting to Rivera from Bogotá: Every Route, Honestly Compared

Plane, bus or your own wheels: real durations, real costs and the parts nobody mentions, from El Dorado airport to the last 24 kilometres into Rivera, Huila.

May 16, 20265 min read

Close-up of hands holding thin lit candles during an evening Holy Week procession, whitewashed wall and clay roof tiles blurred behind.

Colombia & Surroundings

Holy Week in the Huila Towns: A Region That Slows Down

Candles, river fish and near-silent processions: how Semana Santa is actually observed in Timaná, Garzón and Neiva, and how to be present without being in the way.

May 14, 20265 min read

Misty layered green Andean ridges at dawn seen through backlit foliage, with a small bright tropical bird silhouetted on a mossy branch in the foreground.

Colombia & Surroundings

Huila for Birdwatchers, and What You Will Hear at Dawn

Colombia has more bird species than any other country. In Huila you can find condors, echolocating cave birds and a dawn chorus that arrives before you are ready.

May 12, 20265 min read

Rustic breakfast table in warm morning light with a steaming bowl of clear broth, a golden griddled corn cake, fresh white cheese on a plantain leaf and a small black coffee.

Colombia & Surroundings

Breakfast in Huila: Broth, Corn, Cheese and a Very Small Coffee

There is no pastry, no cereal and nothing sweet before nine. Colombian breakfast is savoury, substantial and organised around the fact that the day starts at six.

May 9, 20265 min read

Flat lay seen from above of travel items on pale linen: rolled clothing, a wide-brim straw hat, hiking boots, a water bottle and sunglasses in warm light.

Colombia & Surroundings

Packing for Colombia: One Bag, Three Climates, No Guessing

In Huila you can go from 2,640 metres to 440 in forty minutes. Here is the packing list that survives that, written for a woman travelling on her own.

May 7, 20265 min read

Overhead close-up of weathered hands weaving pale palm fibre into a hat brim, with coils of natural straw and wooden tools on a rough table in warm side light.

Colombia & Surroundings

Hats, Fibre and Clay: The Hands That Make Huila's Crafts

A palm hat from Suaza takes days to weave and sells for less than a restaurant lunch. Here is how Huila's craft economy actually works, and how to buy from it well.

May 5, 20265 min read

Close-up of hands playing a small wooden tiple guitar with a woven strap, warm golden side light and a blurred festival crowd far behind.

Colombia & Surroundings

Bambuco and Cumbia: Two Colombias, Two Completely Different Rhythms

Outside Colombia they get blurred together. Inside it, they come from different rivers, different histories and different bodies. Here is how to tell them apart.

May 3, 20264 min read

Eroded ochre and grey badland canyons of a tropical dry landscape at sunset, layered sedimentary walls and scattered cactus casting long shadows.

Colombia & Surroundings

Villavieja: Giant Caimans, Fossil Monkeys and a Red Desert

The Tatacoa is not really a desert, and the sea people talk about is the wrong story. What actually lies under this red ground is stranger and much better documented.

May 1, 20265 min read

Close-up of a small notebook and pencil next to a tiny cup of black coffee on a rustic wooden counter, blurred tropical greenery in warm morning backlight.

Colombia & Surroundings

The Spanish That Will Actually Help You in Huila, Colombia

Forget the phrasebook chapter on hotel check-in. Here is the small, specific vocabulary that changes how people talk to you in this corner of Colombia.

April 29, 20265 min read