Para leer esto en español, haz clic aquí
Ever being the optimist, I’d like to think that Gilesy’s greatest Colombian moment is yet to come. I’d also like to think that, this time, this optimism is fairly well-founded. I’m standing on the brink of becoming a full-blown father: Sahani Lewin Giles Rosales is just two months away from coming out into the world. I wrote that sentence with a perfect balance of trepidation and excitement. The realisation of this birth marks a drastically different, Colombian, stage in my life, and has firmly established the fact that I am no longer simply travelling in Colombia, but actually living here.
As a result, meeting the mother of my child would obviously rate rather highly. And, indeed, my crazily intense week down in Pasto and its surrounds is right up there – all the vomit and terror notwithstanding. Not only did my Pasto experience firmly cement my interpersonal love, it rubber-stamped the deepness of my passion for Colombia – a country that constantly suprises me with its diversity and warmth.
The most obvious and clear memories I retain in my life are those generated from travelling, and Colombia is no different in this respect. Swinging in a hammock (finally) up in Tayrona; getting almost hopelessly lost in the mists and giant palm trees of Cocora valley; listening to the beating heart of paisa culture on our Antioquia tour: these are easy images to draw out of my time-addled brain. Still, other moments, just as strong at the time, but hard to pinpoint now, are equally important for sealing my love for this country. Stumbling out of some unknown club into the oddly bright Bogota sunlight after one of those ridiculously intense Bogota nights; finally realising I caught the right Santa Marta bus that will take me to Tayrona; or chewing the fat with local farmers in a little Boyaca tienda: moments such as these meant just as much at the time, and I’d argue it’s these seemingly-mundane and easy-to-forget moments in which you really feel the heart of a country. I’m happy to say that I reckon Colombia’s heart beats strongly, intensely and joyfully. I hope I get to hear it for many years to come.
What’s your favourite Colombian moment?
