Colombia

“Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow.” – Anita Desai

Colombia was never in my travel BINGO card, yet there I was in Oct 2023 visiting Cartagena as part of a business trip. I first heard of Cartagena from the movie Romancing the Stone, I remember watching it as a teen (a bit young to be seeing it imo) and just fully enjoying the film. Who knew 30 years later I’d see it for myself.

Much has been said about Colombia but I never felt afraid nor wary, mostly because I knew it was a business trip and not a DIY travel. Truly the only downside is the travel time, there’s no direct flight to Colombia but thankfully I can take the NA route and I traveled via Florida versus the 40-50 hour travel if I didn’t.

Work had us stay in Barranquilla but it also allowed us 1 day tour of Cartagena, it only took us 2 hours each way. We left on a Friday morning and first on our list was a visit to their walled city, Las Murallas (the walls of the old city). It was hot, hot, hot! Atop the walled city is a panoramic view of the city, surrounded by peddlers selling Colombian hats (vueltiao), homes, and Lago del Cabrero. Across the lake are towering buildings and I couldn’t help but compare the state of Philippines and how stark the differences are.

Truly the highlight of my travel was the food, both in Barranquilla and Cartagena. Granted that the meals were fusion and not legit Colombian food (except for that one restaurant we went to), they were still amazing. I don’t think I ate that much octopus in my life and I don’t regret a single second.

If one day I’ll have the chance to visit again, I’ll take it in a heartbeat. Until then I will cherish the memories and the photos I’ve taken.

Just beyond the old city you’ll find towering buildings, separated by a great lake. A clean, great lake.

After walking around Las Murallas our next stop was lunch at Hotel Charleston Santa Teresa at Harry’s Restaurant (Harry Sasson). The venue is amazing and the food, no surprise, was exemplary. The seafood was fresh, the meals were all tasty, and desserts were *chef’s kiss*.

After resting for a great while we set out again to finish our tour, we stepped out of the restaurant and onto the streets of the walled city.

I just love taking photos of cobblestone streets

Philippines, Colombia, and all other Central America countries that were once colonized by Spain all share similarities in culture. But while they inherited the Spanish language as their mother tongue, after being sold to America, ours was replaced by English language. I find it interesting, from reading history books, that Spaniards used their language to ostracize Filipinos. Although some books also indicate that at some point majority of Filipinos were speaking Spanish. Sadly, all but remains is the Chavacano dialect.

By this time the sun was still out, we’re just about to head over to the Emerald museum when it started to rain, heavily. We ended up staying at the museum for a while until the rain stopped.

This meant gloomy skies and while the view normally offered the best sunsets, this was the best we got.

Heading back to the bus I took this lovely shot of the walled city. Ain’t it a beaut? Cartagena happened oh so fast, a day wasn’t enough.

Meanwhile, a few days earlier, Barranquilla was our stomping ground. Work during the day, gastronomical experiences at night. First up was dinner at Kinto Elemento. I tried to take photos of my food but to be honest I’ve never been one to take photos before eating. Instead I have photos of the outside.

I did manage to take photos of the food and place when we ate at an authentic Colombian restaurant.

This was lunch time, mind you.

This is mojarra frita, it’s seafood country in Barranquilla and Cartagena. They also have chicharrones which is akin to our lechon kawali. In my most humblest opinion, ours is better, our chicharon much preferred. They served coco limonadas, it was refreshing albeit reminded me a bit of coconut lotion.

The drinks in Colombia are also top-notch. Just look at this, it’s a fruit basket in a glass!

We also took a city tour around Barranquilla.

A trip won’t be complete without a visit to their tourist center to buy knick knacks. I made an effort not to buy a single thing, not even Escobar’s license ref magnet and a traditional Colombian bag. Luckily, a colleague gifted me with the ref magnet and as a welcome gift for the summit, they gave out the traditional Colombian bag I was longing for.

On our last night we all had dinner at Manuel Cocina. I forgot how many X-course meal they served. All I remember was being dead tired and feeling sleepy the entire time we were there. That said, it was an experience.

Isn’t it fancy?

Heading back home I had my layover at Doha (on my way it was Dubai) and was amazed by the expanse of their airport. I think Singapore takes the cake out of all the airports I’ve been to, Doha definitely comes close to second.