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A life in Colombia
Browsing All Posts filed under »Cartagena«
Capture the Colour…
No matter how far I travel, my holiday photographs are always going to be a standing joke in my family. “Would you like to see my pictures?” I ask proudly, full memory stick in one hand and battered, ‘beginner’ SLR in the other. “Sure,” they reply patiently. “How many of them are of children and […]
Goodbye Cartagena
January 24, 2012
Last time I was at an airport, I pledged to quit my mañana habit. I promised to explore the cities where I lived and do all of the fun and interesting things usually left to tourists or, worse, tomorrow. Because you never know how long you will live somewhere. When I worked in newspapers a […]
Bocachica, the village tourism forgot
January 24, 2012
I can’t remember the last time I ate an oyster. In fact, I think the only time I’ve eaten the ‘food of love’ was in Paris, when I was 21-years-old and backpacking for the first time. All I remember is swallowing a mouthful of seawater, followed by a feeling of vague disappointment. What’s so great […]
101 Reasons to love Cartagena
January 19, 2012
1. It is impossible to eat too much coconut rice. 2. I’d barely taken one step outside the airport before wondering why I’d ever owned a coat. 3. I’ve never seen a Cartagenero rush – not even when crossing a busy road. 4. No-one likes getting up early. But it’s easier knowing you’re going to […]
Cartagena museums (and other old stuff)
January 16, 2012
Come on, who doesn’t love a shiny cabinet and something old and crumbly? Cartagena is rich in museums and old stuff generally, which means plenty of mornings can be spent wandering the various exhibits before enjoying a guilt-free ice-cream (everyone knows you should reward a cultured mind) Here’s a little guide: Inquisition Museum (could also […]
Cartagena in the time of Gabriel García Márquez
January 13, 2012
Legend – well, his autobiography at least – has it that when Gabriel García Márquez arrived in Cartagena, he took one look at the beautiful city walls around him and was instantly reborn. (For those not familiar with the author’s life story, he arrived in the city in 1948 with little more than the clothes […]
A Caribbean Christmas: Observations
January 5, 2012
At 3pm on Christmas Day, my boyfriend’s mother and I lazed on the sofa; drinking ice cold beer and watching a Disney-esque film about poor young Mexicans playing baseball. My boyfriend – who’d been up since seven cooking lunch for 12 people – was fast asleep on the sofa. His 17-year-old sister was in her […]
Cycling Cartagena’s colonial streets
January 4, 2012
Avenida Santander – that gloriously windswept road running along the shore to Cartagena’s old town – is arguably one of the nicest routes through the city. In the morning the pavements are home to eager joggers and early bird dog-walkers, alongside dozens of mildly over-friendly fisherman who will sell you a catch or two if […]
Honey… would you like to move to the Caribbean?
November 30, 2011
Last Christmas Day I woke very early and listened to the sound of 15 people snoring, before stretching out my left leg – immediately losing all of the warmth of the feather duvet – and reaching tentatively for the cold, tiled floor. I was in Cusco, Peru. Due to the celebrations of the previous night, […]
August 20, 2012
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