The centre of Barranquilla is, in my opinion, one of the most interesting places in the city. It is full of life, from the busy market to the coffee street sellers, to the men in shop doors, singing and dancing all day in order to encourage people inside. There is also a great amount of fantastic architecture, although, sadly, a lot of the buildings are very run-down. In fact, the poverty in this area is very clear - many homeless people are to be seen, lying sleeping in doorways and street corners all around the centre. In short, it sums up - for me - Colombia itself: a country with a wonderful cultural history and much to offer, but still many problems to be addressed.
Monday, 22 December 2014
El Centro: The Heart of Barranquilla
Labels:
architecture,
Atlántico,
Barranquilla,
centre,
centro,
Colombia,
Fotomaratón,
market,
mercado,
Mira al Centro,
photo,
poverty
Location:
Barranquilla, Atlantico, Colombia
Sunday, 7 December 2014
Wolf-whistles, cat-calls and the lost art of conversation
The time has long come for me to write something about Colombia's cultural attitudes. This week, I'd like to touch on a subject that affects my life on a daily basis here, and yet to many seems widely insignificant - street harassment.
Sunday, 30 November 2014
Minca!
Up in the cloud-covered forests of the Sierra Nevada, far from the bustling heat of the city below, lies a small Colombian village. It has all the features of a typical coastal town - brightly painted restaurants, yellow taxi cabs, motorbikes parked on every corner - the only difference is the beautiful tranquility that transcends this location. A place for recharging your batteries, taking a deep breath and enjoying the simpler things in life.
Labels:
backpacker,
coast,
Colombia,
hiking,
Magdalena,
Minca,
nature,
Sierra Nevada,
traveller
Location:
Barranquilla, Atlantico, Colombia
Friday, 14 November 2014
To the end of the earth: Bocas de Ceniza
Barranquilla is a little-known tourist city. In fact, in the Lonely Planet guide to South America it states that 'there's little to detain the traveller here'. While this may be partly true - it is a mainly industrial city - there are still hidden delights to be found for those who look hard enough. And one of these is the ride out to where the Magdalena River meets with the Atlantic Ocean: Bocas de Ceniza.
Ocean to the left, river to the right: the contrasting colours of Bocas de Ceniza |
Labels:
Barranquilla,
Bocas de Ceniza,
Caribbean,
coast,
commerce,
crabs,
fish,
government,
Magdalena River,
port,
poverty,
Río Magdalena,
super port,
tourism,
travel
Location:
Barranquilla, Atlantico, Colombia
Tuesday, 28 October 2014
Medellín: Land of the Paisas
Medellín, the land of eternal spring |
Labels:
backpacker,
British Council,
Colombia,
drugs,
El Peñol,
English language assistant,
Guatapé,
Medellín,
Pablo Escobar,
paisa,
poverty,
tourism,
travel
Location:
Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia
Sunday, 5 October 2014
Let's Face the Music and Dance!
As you are probably aware, life in Colombia is full of music of all varieties - it is extremely rare to walk even 100m down the street without hearing some kind of beat pumping from a nearby stereo, if not several at the same time! What's more, a Colombian cannot hear music and stand still. I'm convinced that if you tied one of them up and played some music - even if it was in the next room - they would start twitching and eventually implode. I mean, it's in their blood. I even walked past a nursery school where they were teaching little two-year-olds how to dance salsa. So unfair!
Locals in 'La Troja' bar, showing off their well-practised salsa skills. Image: Golden Colombia |
Labels:
aguardiente,
Alliance Française,
Banda de la Escuala Naval de Barranquilla,
Caribbean,
Carlos Vives,
Colombia,
dancing,
electronic,
La Troja,
live,
music,
Semana Cultural,
Uni Atlántico,
Vallenato
Location:
Barranquilla, Atlantico, Colombia
Sunday, 28 September 2014
Cartagena: Land of the Pirates
Welcome back! I've not written for a couple of weeks, because I've been Just. So. Busy! However, this weekend I've got a bit of downtime, and I intend to capitalise on it to tell you lovely people all about what I've been up to these past few days. Apart from the time I spent sitting at home, planning lessons, and running around Barranquilla, being sociable (I know, it's a hard life), I managed to get a bit further afield and visit the beautiful city of Cartagena de Indias!
The atmospheric Cartagenero seafront |
Labels:
beach,
Bolivar,
British Council,
Cartagena de Indias,
Catedral San Pedro Claver,
coast,
Colombia,
culture,
Plaza Bolivar,
raspao,
South America,
teaching assistant,
travel,
Uni Atlántico
Location:
Cartagena, Bolivar, Colombia
Thursday, 11 September 2014
¿Dónde está la biblioteca?
The season of freshly-ironed shirts, oversized jumpers and those oh-so-cute photos on the doorstep are upon us - it's back to school time! And I am no exception. Having spent my first month here doing what could kindly be described as hanging around, my classes have finally begun and I am finally a bona fide English teacher! Well, that's what I like to think, anyway...
One of the teaching blocks at Uni Atlántico |
Labels:
Barranquilla,
Colombia,
English language assistant,
football,
lessons,
Puerto Colombia,
start,
teaching,
term,
Uni Atlántico,
university
Location:
Barranquilla, Atlantico, Colombia
Monday, 1 September 2014
When it rains, it pours.
I've been waiting for a good moment to introduce this little graph to you all. It's a diagram that the British Council (my UK link to Colombia) gave to us at our training in Bogotá, that tracks the ups and downs of living abroad. I think it's pretty accurate (although the middle bit should definitely be higher) so I thought I'd share it with you lot, so you can have some idea of the roller-coaster ride that is life on the road!
British Council year abroad graph - click image to enlarge |
Labels:
abroad,
adjusting,
Barranquilla,
British Council,
Caribbean,
coast,
Colombia,
difficulties,
expat,
flooding,
rain,
teaching
Location:
Barranquilla, Atlantico, Colombia
Monday, 25 August 2014
Mud, mud, glorious mud!
(and then the heavens opened...)
Well, this weekend was certainly an experience! I'll have to tell you the story in order, because that's the way things go, but let me just say that it includes mud baths, torrential rain and plenty of Colombian dancing to top it all off!
Early on Saturday morning a group of us set off, direction Cartagena, to the Volcán de lodo Totumo - which roughly translates as 'The Calabash Tree Volcano of Mud'. Catchy, eh? Well, if you haven't already picked it up from the subtle hints I've been dropping (or if you've had a sneaky peek at the photos below), the main activity at this volcano wasn't exactly sightseeing, but rather getting our hands - and all the rest of our bodies - rather dirty!
Labels:
arroyos,
Barranquilla,
British Council,
Colombia,
English language assistant,
Flanders & Swann,
flooding,
Hippopotamus Song,
mud,
mudbath,
rain,
rumba,
South America,
Totumo,
travel,
volcano
Location:
Barranquilla, Atlantico, Colombia
Wednesday, 20 August 2014
Naturaleza
Two weeks in and Colombia continues to give. I am enjoying a lot of free time at present, mostly because my work at the University doesn't seem to start until the end of the month, and nobody seems too bothered about the fact that I'm just chilling at home (T.I.C.). However, the weekends are still as busy as ever. We decided to head out along the coast again this weekend, this time a little further along, to Parque Tayrona - a National Park, and place of outstanding natural beauty (especially for us foreigners!).
Our route to Parque Tayrona |
When talking over plans with the group, there was a great discussion about what we'd have to take (everything), where we'd be able to sleep (on a campsite) and what we'd be able to eat (what we'd brought). There was even some talk of supermarkets and hotels. Given that Parque Tayrona is, basically, a jungle, this seemed unlikely. And faced with the question of what there was to see in the way of attractions, the appeal of a place with no wifi or good restaurants to go to seemed limited to some. But for those who went, the appeal was clear: naturaleza (nature)! And nature, on its part, definitely delivered...
Labels:
abroad,
Atlantic,
backpackers,
Barranquilla,
beach,
Caribbean,
coast,
Colombia,
El Cabo de San Juan,
hammock,
heat,
jungle,
La piscina,
naturaleza,
nature,
Parque Tayrona,
sea,
sun,
travel,
trekking
Location:
Barranquilla, Atlantico, Colombia
Tuesday, 12 August 2014
T.I.C. (This Is Colombia)
View from Monserrate, Bogotá |
Labels:
Barranquilla,
Bogotá,
Colombia,
costeño,
crazy,
European,
hot,
language assistant,
loco,
new,
Santa Marta,
sun,
travel
Location:
Barranquilla, Atlantico, Colombia
Saturday, 28 June 2014
10 Things to do in Nottingham
Friends celebrating in Nottingham's Old Market Square |
After a long period of absence (turns out final year is quite time consuming, who knew?), I thought I would warm up my blog muscles again by dedicating a post to my beloved city of Nottingham! Having now lived three years of my life in this midland metropolis, with this time now sadly coming to an end, I would like to share my knowledge of its quirks and quaintnesses to all who are willing to explore it. Anyone who lives in Nottingham, plans on going, or will mistakenly end up there by boarding the wrong train from London St Pancras, this is for you:
Labels:
Bopp,
Broadway Cinema,
Coco Tang,
favourite,
Globe Café,
Jam Café,
Jubilee,
Lee Rosy,
Malt Cross,
Nottingham,
recommendation,
Rescue Rooms,
review,
Thea Caffea,
tourism,
White Rabbit,
White Rose,
Wild
Location:
Hitchin, Hertfordshire, UK
Tuesday, 21 January 2014
German Humour... You must be joking!
When I told people I was preparing a presentation on German humour, the reactions were fairly typical; disbelief, mocking, confusion... ok, they weren't really that bad, but there was certainly an edge of questioning about it. 'Why would you choose to present such a topic?'. 'What kind of humour do German people have?'. 'Do Germans even have a sense of humour?'. Well, I took it upon myself to delve into this controversial matter, looking deep into the history archives and doing extensive research, and here is what I have found out:
Labels:
British,
comedy,
comparison,
culture,
Die Spiegel,
funny,
German,
Henning Wehn,
humour,
Karl Valentin
Location:
Nottingham, UK
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