This e-zine is a bit of summary of how I
see things in and around Colombia where I am currently living.
Why am I in Colombia? Itīs a long story
but to sum it up, Australian policy drove my partner back to Colombia and we followed. Living separate lives is difficult
between cities let alone across oceans.
For the rest, read the novel.
Meanwhile, we live in Santafe de Bogota,
the capital, a city of 8 million people, settled at 2640m above sea level, on the western range of the three Colombian Andes.
Bogota is 1700k from the Atlantic Ocean, and 370k from the Pacific.
Colombia is a country of enormous variety
in its people, geography, climate, architecture, history, food, and politics. It hosts a biological diversity equal
only to Brasil. Colombians are vibrant, friendly people. Their streets and homes are noisy and colourful.
And they are resilient - breaking into dance and song if life becomes too difficult.
Bogota is a classical city - at times dangerous
and exhilarating, at times cultivated and demure, but at all times, unpredictable and ancient. It was established in
1538 by Jimenez Quesada, a mad Spaniard driven by greed for the gold of the elusive El Dorado. So its history is steeped
in the blood of the Indigenous peoples, and more blood with the many struggles for independence from Spanish tyranny
which brought the world great heroes like Simon Bolivar and his wild lover Manuela Saenz. The bloodletting has not stopped
yet. Struggles between left-wing and right-wing forces, international corporate interests and the various governments
has left the country anaemic.
