Soul Before Ego
Supplier Spotlight: What Finca San Pedro Teaches Us About True Luxury
When we talk about the future of travel at WhereNext, we discuss more than destinations and hotels. We talk about how we can make guests feel something. Because what good is a luxury itinerary if it doesn’t move you? What good is exclusivity if it disconnects you from the very place you’re meant to discover?
So when we find a partner who gets it, who shares this belief that real travel is about connection, not ego, we hold on tight. Finca San Pedro is one of those partners.
From Germany to Barichara: The Dream That Became Finca San Pedro
When Katja Soechting and her husband Jorge first arrived in Colombia, they weren’t just looking for a plot of land to buy; they were searching for a place that could hold their vision of travel. After taking a bus around the country, they arrived in Barichara. They wandered its sun-drenched paths on foot, exploring every corner in search of THE SPOT.
They eventually found it, not in a postcard-perfect estate, but in a forgotten patch of overgrowth and a run-down house on the edge of town. It had no bells, no whistles. Just weeds, grass, and a feeling. They moved in and lived simply while transforming the land, clearing and planting, designing and rebuilding. What stands today is the result of years of quiet dedication: a regenerative finca with fruit trees, vegetable gardens, and three intimate guest houses.
Finca San Pedro wasn’t a business plan; it was a love story. And that vibe is baked into every stone wall and garden bed.
True Luxury Isn’t Gold-Plated. It’s Hand-Planted
When we sent a couple from Chicago to Finca San Pedro recently, the feedback came in fast, and it was glowing:
“Loved them. Could hang with them all day. The farm was the top highlight of our trip to Colombia. The owners were unbelievably entertaining. Send more people there if possible.”
At Finca San Pedro, everything is personal. Katja and her husband don’t just manage the finca; they are hands-on in every way. She’s in the kitchen, preparing meals with ingredients from their gardens. He’s at the breakfast table, greeting guests like old friends, telling stories about art and his native home of Medellín, Colombia, helping to translate his culture to his guests. Their energy fills the space. It’s an immersion into their way of life.
The industry often talks about luxury in terms of five-star amenities or fine dining. Katja sees it as something more intimate, more human. At Finca San Pedro, luxury means connection. It’s the warmth of being invited into someone’s world. It’s sharing a home-cooked meal at a communal table and meeting other travelers in a space designed for real conversation.
At this year’s SKIFT Global Forum in NYC, industry leaders like Alexandra Walterspiel of Sensei and Neil Jacobs of Wild Origins echoed something that’s been on our minds at WhereNext Travel since our inception: the future of luxury isn’t about sameness. It’s about soul.
Walterspiel said it best: “Luxury is values reflected back to the traveler, not ego. Our role is to make each guest feel understood, not categorized.”
Finca San Pedro is living proof of that philosophy. It reflects values back to travelers. There’s no velvet rope, no hushed lobby. Instead, there’s handmade vegetarian food, hosts who know your name, and a dinner table that feels like it was set just for you.
Katja and her husband don’t segment guests into profiles. They see them for who they are.
WhereNext Travel guests from Chicago USA at Finca San Pedro
No Menus Allowed
Katja doesn’t believe in menus.
“I hate them,” she laughs. “They’re boring. Why would I want to cook the same thing over and over?”
Instead, she begins each meal with a conversation. What is this guest curious about? What flavors call to them? What do they feel like eating? Then she gets to work. The result is a dish that is deeply personal.
That same ethos spills into every corner of the experience. Don’t see an activity on their list? No problem. Katja and her husband know everyone in Barichara. Whether it’s connecting a guest with a local artisan, a birdwatching guide, or a hidden trail, they’ll make it happen.
From the Garden, With Integrity
At Finca San Pedro, farm-to-table isn’t a trend. It’s a way of life. Katja, a passionate vegetarian, grows much of what she cooks just steps from her kitchen. The herbs, the fruit trees, the greens, it’s all part of the living ecosystem she and her husband have nurtured since day one.
Every meal she prepares is rooted in that garden and in her own story. She doesn’t cook meat, not out of principle, but out of honesty. “If someone wants a great steak,” she says, “I’ll send them to someone in town who does it right.”
But when it comes to crafting vibrant, nourishing vegetarian meals, that’s where Katja shines. For many guests, it’s not just food. It’s an education in flavor, in sustainability, and in the kind of quiet luxury that grows when we slow down and reconnect with what’s real.
Built to Give Back
From recycled construction materials to rainwater harvesting systems, nearly every element of the finca has been designed with intention. Living in rural Colombia, Katja says, has a way of opening your eyes. “You see the impact of things done incorrectly. There’s no pretending it doesn’t matter.”
Still, doing things the right way isn’t always the cheapest. Katja knows this. But she’s committed to keeping her pricing grounded, so that younger travelers and families can afford to stay without sacrificing the values that make the finca what it is.
WhereNext + Finca San Pedro Crafted Experiences
Together with Katja, we’ve co-created new experiences for our guests, ones you won’t find anywhere else. Like the corn experience: a deep dive into the regional importance of maize, where guests grind corn by hand, press it through antique machines, and make arepas that they eat together later. It’s tactile. Honest. Rooted.
And Colombian lawn bowling. Think of it as the soulful cousin to cornhole. A metal ball, hand-carved wooden pins, in a field on a farm.
The Travel Memory That Guides Her
When I asked Katja about her most unforgettable travel memory, she surprised me.
It wasn’t Machu Picchu. It was a small, unscripted moment in a village in Peru that she decided to go to instead of Machu Picchu. A market. A conversation. A feeling of being somewhere real and led there by serendipity. That’s what stayed with her.
And that’s what she offers her guests. Not because she forces it, but because it’s simply who she is.
At WhereNext Travel, this is who we build with. People who value moments over five stars without a soul. People who create a connection to place, people, and purpose. People like Katja.
