–> Colombia Dolar (TRM) <– We just wanted to wish our complicated, schizophrenic, but weirdly and eminently lovable friend, Bogotá, the happiest of birthdays. You´re a grand old dame of 475 today, and so it´s only right we mark the occasion. I guess we never expected to become such intimate mates with such a […]
Author: Paul Giles
Hi my name is Paul Giles and I'm one of See Colombia's Travel Writers.
I must say that it´s a bit of a happy accident that I’ve found myself here at all. After flitting back and forth between Australia and Asia for a few years, I felt the South American continent calling me. I thought I´d end up in Argentina or somewhere, but ever since I´ve made it to Colombia, good things just seem to manifest themselves before my eyes.
Whether it is the funky, slightly grungy energy of the capital, Bogota; the steamy sass of Cartegena; the Carribean beauty of Tayrona; or the jaw-dropping gorgeousness of the coffee region; I’ve found it difficult not to fall in love with the country and its people.
As for myself, I´m passionate about a number of things; travel (duh), poetry, food, good drinks, and ridiculous clothing. And, from what I´ve seen so far, I´m confident Colombia is a peculiarly amenable environment to sustain and develop such passions.
–> Colombia Dolar (TRM) <– There are some wild rumours flying around the place. And I´m not talking about just the usual ones circulating around this country, such as the ridiculous one about the reason why all the gents at the See Colombia Towers wear hats is because they´re going bald; or the completely […]
–> Colombia Dolar (TRM) <– As we keep on telling you, Medellín is awesome. Especially during the Flower Festival. It´s a funny coincidence, but it just so happens that official precedings kick off today. Don´t panic, though: if you haven´t lugged your pack to the City of Eternal Spring (and partays), you haven´t missed […]
–> Colombia Dolar (TRM) <– It seems just like yesterday, when I was still a wide-eyed innocent lad of 33 years, new to big, brash Bogotá; a fresh fish in the See Colombia Travel pond. Now I´m a travel-hardened, world-weary old man of 34, wise to the customs of the near-imaginary See Colombia Travel […]
–> Colombia Dolar (TRM) <– It´s a funny thing. Something about the nature of my job seems to make it necessary for me to access the internet. And, being the scab I am, I like free. Thus, I often find myself traipsing across the country-side, scanning for the above sign, like some kind of […]
–> Colombia Dolar (TRM) <– Although everybody loves Colombia´s Caribbean coast (just check out last week´s gallery again if you yourself still don´t), sometimes I get the feeling that its inhabitants, generally referred to as Costeños, often get a raw deal. In particular, it sometimes appears that some residents of the two major Colombian cities, […]
–> Colombia Dolar (TRM) <– Football? Cricket? Angry Birds? Well I´ve heard that they´re OK, but they are missing a couple of things. For one thing, there aren´t enough real explosions in any of them. Any Michael Bay could tell you that to make any good thing into a great thing, all you need to […]
Guess who´s back? Back again. Gilesy´s back. Aha-hem. –> Colombia Dolar (TRM) <– I bet you didn´t even realise I was gone, you Gentle but also Heartless Reader! Well, I was, even if you don´t care. I´d jumped out of the Bog, headed down the highway (on the way eating the best Boyacense arepa – […]
So, Nairo Quintana gave Colombia a (slightly tardy, mind you) birthday present by becoming King of the Mountains, the best rider under 25, and second over-all in the ridiculously gruelling Tour de France (being beaten out by a Brit, my associate Paul Fowler hastens to point out) – it´s got to be the craziest, most […]
And here I was thinking I was special. –> Colombia Dolar (TRM) <– By this time, I´ve got my little story all scripted out for when people ask me what I´m doing in Colombia. ¨Well, to tell you the truth, it was just an accident. I just came here for a holiday, and wasn´t […]