A life in Colombia
I wonder what would happen if someone tried to copy the ceiling of the Sisteen Chapel using a toothbrush and a few manky watercolours? I’m sure we all agree even a decent artist would struggle to replicate such beauty. That’s exactly how I feel when I sit down and try to write about Galapagos. I’ve […]
MoreI’ve been meaning to write about the time two of our friends decided to get married here on our island, San Cristobal. They arrived on the boat one day and fell in love with the place – deciding to marry on the beach the following day. They shared their crazy plan with us and the […]
MoreOur local nightclub resembles the opening scene of a bad 1980s film. It is impossibly hot and glows with lime green strobe lighting. The toilets are filled with discarded cigarette butts and the cubicles shake and thump in time to the beat of the too-loud music. The dance floor is sunken and tiled with huge […]
MoreThat surreal feeling resurfaced for the second time at dinner last night. We were huddled around the table, six girls, eating the delicious fried cakes Norma makes by mashing cheese, egg and a vegetable called yuka together. It was the realisation that I didn’t want, or more importantly need, to be anywhere else. Some people […]
MoreDoes anyone out there love cake as much as I do? If you love cake and are similarly fond of biscuits, ice cream and, well, food generally then, like me, you’ve probably given a fleeting thought to liposuction. I don’t need it now. I’m just glad it’s a possibility for later in life. Remarkably, it […]
MoreWe arrived home to find a large chicken sitting in our kitchen sink. The bird was flapping furiously and dislodging various cups and plates. It was mildly confusing because the house was empty and all of the doors and windows were closed. Pippa made a brave attempt to catch the bird but it remained elusive […]
MoreA very strange thing has happened. I’ve somehow managed to fall head over heels in love with working at the school. I realised this on Sunday night. Normally, I would have been looking forward to 12.30pm the following day, when I would be free from lessons and ready to enjoy a glorious Galapagos afternoon. Instead, […]
MoreGalapagos men are bloody everywhere in Galapagos. You might roll your eyes, but when I say Galapagos men I mean Galapagos men. Ones like the fine 50-year-old specimen who wandered up to me as I sat at this very Wifi hotspot, overlooking the boats and sea lions in our beautiful bay. “Boyfriend?” he sleazed in […]
More“Bad things go in threes,” Pippa muttered to me gloomily as we walked across the playground. The family had lost Hernan’s grandfather and, with the timing so typical of fate, Camilo’s two-month-old puppy had followed shortly afterwards. It was a beautiful morning, our little school was soaked in the late dawn sunshine, but her words […]
MoreIzzy is our lovely new volunteer. She is 31 and although she is originally from Colombia, she now lives in Boston. For the next three weeks she’s volunteering at tiny San Cristobal hospital. Unfortunately, the poor girl’s first day was the worst it could possibly have been because an elderly man passed away on the […]
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Banana Skin Flip Flops 