Una aventura africana – Gabón, Parte 1

El Covid nos cambió la vida a muchos, nos hizo reflexionar sobre muchas cosas y sobre todo, nos hizo apretar el freno. Para mí, el Covid sacó ese sentimiento de “destierro” que muchas veces siento, uno con el cual he aprendido a vivir a lo largo de los años, pero que apenas ahora empiezo a entender y a verlo desde otro punto de vista. Algo que seguro comparto con muchas personas. A causa del Covid tuvimos que postergar algunos planes, uno de ellos, nuestra mudanza a Gabón. Sin embargo, ahora, un año y medio desde que se concretó nuestra aventura africana, me lanzo de nuevo a escribir en este blog desde mi casita en Gabón. Un poquito sobre Gabón… ¿Gabón? Les confieso que cuando mi esposo me dijo que nos íbamos a Gabón, tuve que buscar en un mapa dónde en África quedaba. Y es que no es uno de los países más conocidos, sobre todo para nosotros los latinoamericanos ya que es cero turístico y era una colonia francesa. Gabón se independizó de Francia en 1960 y cuenta con una población aproximada de 2.300.000 habitantes, y qué decir de su riqueza petrolera. Con ese número de habitantes, Gabón debería […]

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Travel La Rioja, Spain

Visita La Rioja, España Travel La Rioja, Spain! In Europe, the regions renowned for their wines are many, and Spain is not the exception. The Rioja region, located in the north of Spain is rich in wine production, specifically red wine. The vineyards surround the Río Ebro (river) and with the years its wineries have become more than just places to store and produce wine, they have become artworks. To begin this trip through the Rioja, we arrive in Logroño, its capital. En Europa las regiones reconocidas por su vino abundan y España no es la excepción. La región de La Rioja, ubicada al norte de España es rica en producción de vino, en especial el vino tinto. Los viñedos rodean el Río Ebro y con los años sus bodegas se han convertido en más que un lugar de producción y almacenamiento, en obras de arte. Para empezar este viaje por la Rioja llegamos a Logroño su capital. To visit the region, I suggest you rent a car to arrive to Logroño, this way you will be able to move around the region much easier. Logroño is a city with a charming and lively center, it’s definitely worth spending some nights […]

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Moving to Aberdeen, Scotland

[ Me mudo a Escocia] Here we are again, in another city, another country, not knowing anyone, and with a lot of challenges ahead. A couple of months ago, my boyfriend’s company announced to us that this summer we were moving to Aberdeen, Scotland. I could lie to you, and tell you that by now I’m getting used to moving countries, but the truth is, you never get used to this sort of changes. Aquí estamos de nuevo, en otra ciudad, otro país, sin conocer a nadie, y con muchos retos por venir. Hace varios meses, la empresa para la que trabaja mi novio nos anunció que este verano nos estaríamos mudando a Aberdeen, Escocia. Les podría mentir y decir que, igual ya me estoy acostumbrando a esto de mudarme, pero creo que uno jamás se acostumbra a este tipo de cambio. Starting over can be difficult, especially if you were able to forge friendships and close ties where you lived. Moving to France was hard, but it was these difficulties that made me grow up as a person. While I was there, I decided that even though I missed my family and friends very much, I was going to […]

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Shànghǎi – Futuristic City [Ciudad Futurista]

Shànghǎi - Futuristic City [Ciudad Futurista]

Unfortunately our trip to Shanghai was very short, we were there for only 3 days taking advantage of the fact that we had some friends that lived there. Our final destination was actually Vietnam. To travel to China most people need a visa (Colombians, French, Americans , etc.) however you can do transit through the country for a total of 144 hours. So luckily we didn’t have to deal with that! But you do have to get a special permit upon arrival, showing you’re there for the less than the hours permitted.

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Weekend in Bordeaux [Fin de semana en Burdeos]

Weekend in Bordeaux [Fin de semana en Burdeos]

This past weekend I finally had the opportunity to go to Bordeaux for my first time. The actual reason we went was to see Muse play that Thursday night at a festival, Garo Rock, near Bordeaux in Marmande. Our plan was to rent a house though Airbnb, and sleep close to Marmande the night of the concert; then the following day head to Bordeaux to spend the rest of the weekend there. [Versión en español abajo]

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Bali, Indonesia

Bali, Indonesia

This past Monday I came back from a two-week trip to Bali, Indonesia, an incredible island. Before leaving, we made an itinerary of the trip we wanted to make in Google Maps. We practically ended up crossing the whole island except for the West part… and we decided to spend the two weeks in Bali only to really enjoy and get to know not only the important places, but the people, the traditions, the food, etc. If getting to Bali from France is a long trip, from the American continent it is even longer, which is why in my opinion it is worth going at least two weeks. [Versión en español abajo]

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Pau, France [Pau, Francia]

Pau, France [Pau, Francia]

On my last post I wrote about my experience on moving far from my family. But…where am I? I’m in Pau, France. A city on the southwest of France located in the department of Atlantic Pyrenees.  In about an hour we have the ocean, Spain, and the Pyrénées Mountains, therefore there’s always something to do in its surroundings. [Versión en español abajo]

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Moving to France [Mudanza a Francia]

Moving to France [Mudanza a Francia]

I arrived in France with the joy of finally being with the person I loved, and the hope of getting to know more about his culture, friends, family, and of learning the language. The first couple of weeks everything is new, you feel like a little kid discovering everything where even the most ordinary things are fascinating. However, at the same time you feel vulnerable to be in an unknown place. I’m not going to lie, the change was hard on me at first. I felt strange, I felt like I was on a trip…on one of those trips where you feel that you’ve left part your heart somewhere else, and even though you try to enjoy all the new experiences you know you are fortunate to be able to live, your thoughts fog all the amazing things that are right in front of you. [Versión en español abajo]

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