I’m a 30-year-old British writer and I live in Bogotá, Colombia.
I had planned to travel South America for six months, following a three-month volunteering stint on the Galapagos islands, but I changed plans to include Colombia and fell in love with Bogotá.
I’ve now lived in the city for almost three years.
Oops.
You can read my more serious work here and find me on facebook here.
Don’t forget to ‘like’ the facebook page too!
alvaro
December 13, 2011
Hola Vicki, tal vez aquí encuentres otros restaurantes para visitar, algunos conocidos otros no tanto.
http://maps.google.es/maps/ms?msid=208905643923143543659.00048d0ab3bac0fbed148&msa=0
Emilio Fernandez
April 13, 2012
Good morning how are you?
My name is Emilio, I am a Spanish boy and I live in a town near to Madrid. I am a very interested person in knowing things so different as the culture, the way of life of the inhabitants of our planet, the fauna, the flora, and the landscapes of all the countries of the world etc. in summary, I am a person that enjoys traveling, learning and respecting people’s diversity from all over the world.
I would love to travel and meet in person all the aspects above mentioned, but unfortunately as this is very expensive and my purchasing power is quite small, so I devised a way to travel with the imagination in every corner of our planet. A few years ago I started a collection of used stamps because through them, you can see pictures about fauna, flora, monuments, landscapes etc. from all the countries. As every day is more and more difficult to get stamps, some years ago I started a new collection in order to get traditional letters addressed to me in which my goal was to get at least 1 letter from each country in the world. This modest goal is feasible to reach in the most part of countries, but unfortunately it’s impossible to achieve in other various territories for several reasons, either because they are countries at war, either because they are countries with extreme poverty or because for whatever reason the postal system is not functioning properly.
For all this I would ask you one small favour:
Would you be so kind as to send me a letter by traditional mail from Colombia? I understand perfectly that you think that your blog is not the appropriate place to ask this, and even, is very probably that you ignore my letter, but I would call your attention to the difficulty involved in getting a letter from that country, and also I don’t know anyone neither where to write in Colombia in order to increase my collection. a letter for me is like a little souvenir, like if I have had visited that territory with my imagination and at same time, the arrival of the letters from a country is a sign of peace and normality and an original way to promote a country in the world. My postal address is the following one:
Emilio Fernandez Esteban
Calle Valencia, 39
28903 Getafe (Madrid)
Spain
If you wish, you can visit my blog http://www.cartasenmibuzon.blogspot.com where you can see the pictures of all the letters that I have received from whole World.
Finally I would like to thank the attention given to this letter, and whether you can help me or not, I send my best wishes for peace, health and happiness for you, your family and all your dear beings.
Yours Sincerely
Emilio Fernandez
bananaskinflipflops
April 13, 2012
Hi Emilio, no problem – I’ll send you a letter and I hope others will too!
Emilio Fernandez
April 16, 2012
Dear Vicki,
Thank you very much for sending me an answer so kind, I will be very glad if I can to get a postal letter with stamps from Colombia.
I send you again my sincere wishes of health and happiness to you and your dear beings.
diegoalejo
May 1, 2012
I’m impressed with your job!!… I’m from Bogota and I’ve been living abroad for some time… reading through the lines of your blog made me realize how much I miss my city and understood why you fell in love with the city that for many others is catastrophic.
I will be so happy to keep reading your interesting articles!!… looking forward to following your coming posts!
bananaskinflipflops
May 1, 2012
Thank you! You can also follow the posts through http://www.facebook.com/bananaskinflipflops
AndreaS.
July 16, 2012
Hi Vicky,
I just wanted to drop you a line to let you know that I think you have a fantastic narrative voice and I am throughly enjoying your posts. I found this blog today and I have been reading non-stop!
Your love of Bogota really shines through and it’s lovely to hear, (well, read really!) how a non-native gets the energy of the city. Most people dismiss it in favor of less temperamental climates or better behaved traffic, but to me, that bit of chaos is part of the charm and it seems you think so too.
You’ve made me fall in love with my city all over again!
Cheers!
bananaskinflipflops
July 22, 2012
Thank you Andrea, I love Bogota and agree the chaos is 100% part of the charm; the city is mixed up, messy and endlessly frantic and I wouldn’t have it any other way. There is always so much to do!
backpackerina
July 25, 2012
Hello there! In this little world of blogosphere and self-proclaimed awards, I was asked to recommend some favorite blogs and, well, you were the first one on my list. Lovely reading you!
bananaskinflipflops
August 7, 2012
Thank you
junebug65
November 4, 2012
Help! I’ve just discovered your blog and am loving it. As Andrea said, you have a great narrative voice. I’m not sure my comments are coming through, though. Just wanted to try again and let you know.
bananaskinflipflops
November 4, 2012
Hey June, you are very kind, thank you! I’ve been a bit busy lately so hadn’t been checking the comments – let alone writing anything – but hope to resolve this unnecessary absence from blogging soon! (today hopefully!) It is way more enjoyable!
junebug65
November 5, 2012
Oh, I understand that! Keeping up with blogging can be taxing. I’ve had to cut down from posting every week to every other week. I hate it, but it had to be done. No apology necessary! I hope you get a chance to breathe and get your momentum back. I look forward to reading more of your posts.
Nicolas Torres
March 3, 2013
Hey! I randomly ended up on your blog, i really do not remember how. But anyway, i just wanted to share a small thought. THANK YOU! I was born and raised in Bogota, it is my home even though i currently live in the U.S., and i cannot express how your beautiful words about our city, because it is as much yours as it is mine, fill me with pride and joy, so thank you! That is all!
bananaskinflipflops
March 4, 2013
Thank you Nicolas, glad you like the blog!
GEOVANNY TAPIE
April 10, 2013
Hi! I heard you at “la fm radio”…cool!! Congrats!!
bananaskinflipflops
April 23, 2013
Thanks Geovanny!
orlando
April 10, 2013
Hola, escuche la entrevista que le hicieron esta mañana en La W. Es muy interesante la visión que tiene de Bogotá un extrajero pero quiero decirle una cosa en la que no estoy de acuerdo: Si hay hinchas de fútbol que nos vamos amargados, tristes, deprimidos y muchas veces borrachos en los buses luego de un partido jajajja…De otra parte,a mi novia y a mi nos gustaría tomar clases de inglés pero tomando café, sin ir a institutos; podría ud. o algún amigo(a) suyo dictarnos clases y a que precio?. Gracias.
bananaskinflipflops
April 23, 2013
Hola Orlando, puedes escribirme por correo: victoriakellaway at gmail.com
RICARDO
April 10, 2013
hola vicky me llamo ricardo soy y vivo en Barranquilla y me pregunto cunado piensas descubrir Barranquilla????aca te esperamos saludos y ere extrañamente sencilla y sensata
bananaskinflipflops
April 23, 2013
Gracias Ricardo. Un dia voy a conocer Barranquilla!
Mies
May 4, 2013
Hi Victoria, I have enjoyed very much your blog, as a “bogotanian”, I like reading your nice observations about our beloved Bogota, specially coming from fresh eye like yours, I live in Canada, and given the time time I have lived away from home, 10 years, it is really nice to know that people from all over the world have enjoyed coming/living in Colombia, cheers!!!
bananaskinflipflops
May 6, 2013
Hey, thank you! Glad you like the blog! It´s read by lots of Colombian expats who like to be reminded of home – something I completely understand!