Life on a Colombian farm in San Marcos Colombia

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When I think of the "coast of Colombia" I think of Cartagena or Barranquilla, but Victor was taking me to San Marcos! We were going there to celebrate New Years with Victor's father's side of the family, which is really big. Best of all, we were staying at a farm! A real authentic Colombia farm with many acres of land and animals. We flew to San Marcos where Victor's father picked us up in his truck, and we drove the rest of the way to the farm. The coast is always hot in Colombia, so we all made sure to take light breathable clothing. When we arrived at Victor's grandfather's farm I was greeted by a bunch of Victors relatives about to cut open a pig! Normally I would not be interested in watching a pig get slaughtered, I'd be looking away. However, I wanted to get a feel for what farm life was like, and this is part of it. I saw the full inside anatomy of the pig as it was getting cut, and as you probably already know, every single part of the pig gets used for a meal.

There were these really cute parots that talked a lot, they'd say funny phrases in Spanish like "run away from the cat!". A den for the chickens that looked like a tree house was close by, it was positioned high so that at night they'd be protected from any intruding wild animals like the foxes. A momma pig and her litter of baby pigs roamed around and even though they were dirty looked absolutely adorable. I forget the exact number of acres this farm had, but it was A LOT. I had never seen such beautiful cattle before, they roamed the acres and chewed on grass. There was just one random donkey that once in a while you would hear go "Heeehaww, Heeehaww." All this wild life was amazing to see. There were a couple wild dogs and they scared me at times because they were more like wolves than dogs. I didnt get to see the horses because they were on one of the far plots of land, but was told they were gorgeous. There was a cane field close by that they owned as well. I'm not sure which animal Im leaving out but im sure there were more.

The farm house was all one story and It had been remodeled to fit more people as the Hoyos family is very big. I spent most of the week lounging around the farm or sleeping in a hammock, giving Victor the chance to spend quality time with each of his family members. It was too hott to be walking around too much, and I was glad that the farm's shower only had cold water, it felt so good in the hot humid heat.

New years was crazy and fun! There was loud music, dancing, and lots of good food. When the clock hit midnight we all hugged and kissed eachother. It felt good to be embrased by my boyfriend's family like this. Unfortunitly I got sick that night from something I ate or drank and was taken to see a doctor in the town nearby, I felt like such a burden at times but Im so glad they took care of me.

The day after New Years I learned how to milk a cow. Just as I watched a pig get slaughtered earlier on the trip, I also got to see a cow get slaughtered. I watched for a little bit but I really couldnt stand it for long. Not only is it sad, but they were using the old technique of bashing the poor animal's head in with a hammer. After about 5 minutes I felt nauseous and had to walk away.

That afternoon, the whole family was invited for a big feast. I was still feeling sick, but I managed to spend some time with the family before falling asleep on a hammock. I was feeling a little sad that our time in Colombia was almost up, we only had 3 days left. Overall this was a neat and unique experience... I don't know many people who can say they've stayed at a real authentic farm. And the best part of all was meeting Victor's father's side of the family, which is now my family 😊

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Photos

Farm Cows
beautiful cows grazing around the farm

Milking the cows
First time milking farm cows