Colombia from the Pablo Escobar Era to Today & Using Travel as a Tool to Recover from Cancer with Mari Monsalve (Ep 348)
Podcast: The Maverick Show: Global Travel Stories & Life Beyond BordersRating: Explicit Published On: Mon Aug 04 2025
Description: Hear about living in Escobar-Era Medellin, Surviving Cancer & Leaving an Abusive Relationship to Solo-Travel the World. ============================ Get the Monday Minute my weekly email with 3 personal recs for travel, culture, and living beyond borders you can read in 60 seconds. ============================ ON THIS EPISODE Mari Monsalve starts off talking about her involvement with two empowering travel events: The WITS Travel Creator Summit and Latino Travel Fest. She then reflects on her grandparents' experience immigrating to Florida in the 1960s during Jim Crow segregation. Mari tells the story of growing up in Miami and then moving back to Medellin during the Pablo Escobar era and what it was like to live there during that time. She then talks about moving back to the U.S. as an adult, developing her interest in world travel, and organizing a transformative trip to Iceland. Next, Mari opens up about leaving an abusive relationship to travel the world solo, being diagnosed with cancer, and choosing to use travel as a tool to recover from cancer. She shares stories at different points in her cancer journey from Paris, Morocco and Thailand. Finally, Mari reflects on her last trip to the Pacific coast of Colombia, shares some ethical considerations for visiting Colombia, and makes specific recommendations for how to respectfully immerse in her beautiful country. → Full show notes with direct links to everything discussed are available here. ============================ FIND YOUR NEXT EPISODE Explore The Maverick Show Starter Packs — some of my favorite conversations curated by theme so you can easily find the episodes that match your interests. ============================ FREE RESOURCES FOR YOU See my Top 10 Travel Apps See my Top 10 Books that Shaped the Way I Travel See my 7 Keys For Building A Remote Business (Even in a space that’s not traditionally virtual) Watch my Video Training on Stylish Minimalist Packing so you can join #TeamCarryOn See the Travel Gear I Use and Recommend See How I Produce The Maverick Show Podcast (The equipment, services & vendors I use) ============================ ENJOYING THE SHOW? Follow The Maverick Show on Instagram and DM Matt to continue the conversation Please leave a rating and review — it really helps the show and I read each one personally Support the show by buying me a coffee — espressos help me produce significantly better podcast episodes!
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