Just being cool in hot Colombia!

Spanish Caribbean Colonial .........

For the first time in years (and years) I had an almost perfect holiday, having promised myself (and Nick) that I would not get stressed or annoyed I almost managed it. Colonial Cartagena is a jewel of a city, wonderful architecture spiced up with Carribean colour. I have to confess that with one exception, I did not enter a museum or art gallery, did not go on an organised trip, and did not operate to any timetable and hardly consulted a travel guide – except to hunt for decent restaurants.

Despite a lengthy trip - we started with a 11pm flight from Trujillo to Lima and then 5 hours at Lima airport we arrived to our hotel in Cartagena in time to dump our bags and hed off for lunch. Oh, yes and our baggage was minimal, we had decided to restrict ourselves to hand luggage only. I still brought back some clothes unworn!

So the days were spent in wandering, renting bikes one day for a tour of the greater Cartegena and the up market hotels and beeches of Bocagrande, leisurely lunches, siestas, cocktails, dinner and a nite-cap or two …...

Why do my eyes always go big when I am a little "merry"?

The obligatory cheesy pic in Hard Rock Cafe

On the Sunday, Cartegena was virtually shut and this presented me with the opportunity to try my first “Hard Rock Cafe” - sitting in the sports bar area watching footy and (sad to say?) munching through some pretty excellent food, even if it was a European prices.

 
After our trip to Playa Grande we returned to Taganga, a fishing village for lunch, during which a delightful old-old lady who had just had lunch with her old son (as she told us) inquired as to what we were celebrating as we were obviously enjoying ourselves and it is so lovely to see a father and son out for lunch together!   

Fortunately we both saw the funny side of what she had said. But we gracefully declined to tell her the exact nature of us being friends, not relatives!

Travellling opticians

 The glitches on the holiday revolved around the hotels, there seems to be an increasing trend for hotel to describe themselves as “boutique” and the concept seems to be stretched now almost to the point of incredulity. Putting arty washbasins in the bathroom and themed art on the walls is really only part of the answer. In Cartegena Nick had his work cell phone stolen from the room, and we also discovered that the key to our room also unlocked 2 other rooms! This fact was found when returning late on eevening our key had disappeared only to be find it had been given to the occupants of another room. Thirdly, the night porter was more intent on entertaining females around the roof-top Jacuzzi than staffing reception. We quietly (for me) explained these difficulties to the owner, who at first was suspicious and then realised that we were telling the truth. Rather than wasting time with the police, she dealt with the situation and offered us compensation in the form of our planned return stay at the hotel (after a trip to Santa Marta) being free of charge.

The weather was excellent for the entire trip up until our last afternoon when it rained a little bit, each day being around 34 – 36 degrees but with relatively low humidity so, hot but pleasant. As the weather had taken a change for the colder (18 degrees) in Trujillo, this was most welcome.

Maracuya juice is an aquired taste ..... soemewhat sour!

The hotel boasted a rooftop jacuzzi – but I have to say that  jacuzzi's always leave me with more questions than answers – how many people had been sitting in that warm water before – and sitting with jets of water going every which-way just doesn't feel right (in so many ways)!

Santa Marta, 4 hours by bus from Cartagena, was the first Spanish Colonial city on mainland Latin America, the historic centre is pleasant enough, but today it is also a commercial city, so the city beaches are black, from the open cast coal mining and huge coal terminal further up the coast and, despite there being a charming island directly in front over which the sun sets, to your right as you look out to sea, it is hard to avoid the very large container terminal and port!

Boutique hotel ...... charming.

But the historic centre had all the things we needed – good bars and good restaurants and the “casa del agua” our almost 100% boutique hotel. A converted house with only 5 bedrooms, swimming pool; we had a terrace and beautiful furnishing, the hotel proved to be a real oasis of calm and we used the pool each day and always had the place to ourselves. Only occasionally meeting other guests at breakfast.

Sitting area

Bedroom

Whilst lounging in the pool, I thought it would be nice for us to have a refreshing poolside cocktail and as the hotel offered superior room service via a bar/restaurant and neighboughing hotel (owned by same people) we plumped for some strawberry daiquiris, the maid duly rang through the order, sorry no strawberries …...ok, we will have margueritas instead …..... so, not possible ….. ok, vodka and orange juice …...... sorry, no oranges …... ok, what can we have ….. well the barman has not turned up today so only what we have here in the fridge ….. ok a coke and a beer - but not club colombia ….. sorry only pepsi and the beer is club colombia …....... in frustration we settled for two club colombia beers.

The pool -- with the beers!

From Santa Marta we made two excursions, one to Mamatoco to see the memorial to Simon Bolivar and to see the bed he died in, interesting but all a bit run down - the place, not the bed that is! And an excursion to Playa Grande up the coast - so that Nick could have his first boat ride, and as it turned out got a two hour snorkeling lesson and experience for a staggeringly cheap £6.50, whilst waiting, I managed to completely fry my legs as I snoozed under a tree on the beach.....Own up, who moved the sun?

Now the food in Colombia is good, not as good as Peru or anywhere like as cheap as in Trujillo, the best food had to be Arepas with carne de res (shredded beef) eaten on the pavement in Categena. Otherwise food was international, or very much the same kinds of fish as I eat here on a regular basis, except everything was twice or three times as expensive.

The bed Simon Bolivar died in or on .....

A "strange" plant growing in teh grounds of Bolivar's memorial

Bit shocked that the grounds of the Simon Bolivar memorial seemed to be harbouring some very interesting plants, probably explains why the grounds aren't so well kept, the gardeners are probably stoned all day!

All a bit dilapidated.

Drug dealing .......

Another downside to the hotel in Categena was, that it was a little oasis in a very poor locality and from our bedroom window we could watch the drug dealers busy about the seemingly never ending business. Nick and I got stopped when we took a walk along the city wall in front of the hotel, I never thought I would be taken for a drug addict! The police were polite but thorough! I more or less kept my cool, except for an extraneous comment of “ridiculous” ….... 

Basebol en la calle

more amusingly the road in front of the hotel was closed on Sunday so that the space could be used for Baseball which the local mainly black (Caribbean) community took very seriously.

All in all a great holiday, not doing much, just mooching, which I enjoyed and taking the time to get to know Nick better was a real blessing. Talk about work was banned for the week but the experience has made many things clearer for me. I know now where my priorities lie, and what is important to me and my future.

 

Over the Andes

Last Friday I was on a three person jury to decide on Trujillos talented young musician of the year. Six finalists all played a concerto movement with the Symphony orchestra. Nick and I had planned to go the concert anyway, but I sat with my fellow jurors. I didn't see Nick before the concert or during it, I assumed he was held up at work and would be late probably joining the concert at the interval, imagine my surprise when after about 45 minutes I realised he was actually sitting right next to me!    Oooooops!         I promise that it was my focus on my jury duties that made me fail to realise that I was sat next to him, but I did have one heck of a time trying to explain that …... I don't believe how I managed this feat of ineptitude ….. but there you are fact is stranger than fiction.

Maestro Alvarez at the helm!

Tomorrow I start my two-week residency with the Trujillo Symphony Orchestra, I am looking forward to it and at the same time a little nervous as my style is so different to that of their regular conductor, my friend Maestro Alvarez. Especially as I want to bring a bit of European exactness to the slightly more laid-back Latino style …....... so tact and diplomacy to the fore. The programme is taxing including the first violin concerto of Bruch, Tchaikovsky -Polonaise, Elgar – Serenade and Sibelius - Finlandia. And whilst not wanting to be presumptuous we will prepare an encore (just in case).

Oh yes finally, for a number of reasons, which I have been putting off, I have finally decided to take off my consultancy/training hat for good and acknowledge my semi-retired status with the work element only being confined to matters musical from now on. I had been feeling stressed, and having made this decision the stress has gone. I simply have lost my passion for these things and despite loosing potential income, my health and well-being are far  more important.

Living and learning.




 

The director's cut, really like this pic - the set-up was my idea!

  ............  hasta luego amigos.