Blogs from Santander, Colombia, South America - page 2

Wishing you the best on this holiday season! This entry will be both in English and Spanish for all my friends Deseándoles lo mejor en esta temporada de vacaciones. Escribiré en inglés y español para abarcar más amigos. Dear friends, Now that we are approaching our biggest festivity, It is such a pleasure to think about you and know that, although we haven´t been in touch for a long time, our hearts are reunited and rejoiced at the thoughts of so many memories lived together. it is time to reflect on the most important festivity of the year and I am taking the pleasure off myself to write you some lines aiming to spread some cheer for a lovely Christmas full of warm season greetings. Ahora que se aproxima nuestra festividad más importante, es muy grande ... read more

Hi, this will be a very small entry of a visit to Barrancabermeja, a city in Santander, which seems more of a coastal resort. vallenato a la lata On the Magdalena River The petroleum city, which is the second biggest city in the department is located at 120 kilometres from Bucaramanga. Barrranca is better known for being the largest refinery of oil in our country. Not a place to go sightseeing, well, at least, I don´t think anybody would go there for that mere goal, they do it for work-related reasons; what´s more, there is not much to see, really. I have heard that some people do some water sports but outside the city. In fact, I went there to do some oral exams. Yes, given the boom of petroleum in Barrancabermeja, lots of people have ... read more

Dear friends, Sorry for my delay in writing, but my teaching had me too busy over the past year; here, I am going to tell you about Cucuta, a city which is supposed to be the sixth most important city of our country but that given its current economical situation, it might as well be called Macondo, like the forgotten village in Gabriel García Marquez´s One Hundred Years of Solitude. That´s true, Cucuta has suffered a non very positive transformation -to say the least- due to the current events that are creating both chaos and poverty. What´s certain is that the glorious past of the city belongs to that... the past: big changes here, from offering big businesses opportunities and welcoming its Venezuelan neighbours, the city is undergoing its latest trend: a paradox of deportation which ... read more

Happy New Year to all of you!!! Felíz Año a todos!!! Hello to all of you, this entry to be published on the very first day of January will serve as a way for me to welcome 2014 and what's best than doing it in my hometown where I grew up with my two brothers and two sisters? Nothing beats it, really. It goes without saying that I hope that all your wishes for the new year will come true and that you get the best health and job opportunities you can have. Hola a todos ustedes, este escrito se publicará el primer dia de Enero del nuevo año y me servirá a manera de recibir el 2014 y díganme ustedes qué mejor que hacerlo en el pueblo que me vió nacer y donde crecí con ... read more

Finally got out of Medellin and got on the road... and it felt good. there is nothing quite like the feeling of not really knowing where you are going, but just going there anyway. Arrived pretty late in bucaramanga and caught a taxi to the hostel. I was a little nervous about the taxi ride, as I didn't know what the city was going to be like. It turns out though, the taxi driver was super friendly, as are most people in Colombia really. Had a brilliant conversation with old mate Nelson on the 20 minute or so cab ride. For some reason it was ridiculously cheap, only $8000 COP, $4.50AUD. I think maybe he just liked the chat and gave me the Colombian price. Good bloke anyway. I stayed in Kasi Guane, British bloke and ... read more