In my one day in Barranquilla, I found almost nothing worthy of a detour to this industrial city. For example, Barranquilla has been called “the Cleveland of Colombia“. That’s an insult to Cleveland.
My last week of school in Belén de Umbría was actually just three days long. The first day of the week at Nuestra Señora del Rosario started on a Tuesday because of a holiday on Monday.
All of the students from my high school in Taparcal walked nearly 5km to nearby Belén de Umbría to honor a student who was murdered in 2011. 16 year old Andrés Felipe Espinosa and another man, Wilder de Jesús López Valencia, 31, were killed for a cell phone and COP$10,000 pesos when their jeep was attacked by two armed men one Sunday evening.
The schools in Belén de Umbría had one of the biggest weeks of the school year with their annual parade and science fair. Students in 1st through 10th grade participated in the parade while 11th graders worked very hard on the science fair, which was actually a business fair.
I’m now two months into my teaching post in Belén de Umbría and it’s been very interesting so far. I work at Colegio Nuestra Señora del Rosario every day except Thursday. It’s got over 800 students in grades 6 through 11. The school is just one block uphill from the plaza in Belén. It’s got an amazing view of the green mountains from the second floor.
Every year for one week, Belén de Umbría celebrates a week of fiestas to commemorate the founding of the town. The fiestas usually take place in November. This year, they were moved a month earlier to October.
While on an organized tour to El Totumo Mud Volcano, we stopped for lunch at the small seaside village of Manzanillo del Mar on our way back to Cartagena. As lunch was being prepared, we had some time to swim at the not so nice beach.
Taking a chiva tour is a touristy way to get acquainted with some of the highlights of Cartagena. A chiva is a colorful bus that was historically used in more rural parts of Colombia (and sometimes used today). Many cities now use them to give tours or as party buses.
Getsemaní is a historic neighborhood just outside the Old Town of Cartagena. It’s a popular place for tourists to stay and has a few minor attractions. It’s also part of the UNESCO World Heritage listing of Cartagena.
Anserma is a town in the Coffee Region of Colombia and part of the UNESCO World Heritage listed Coffee Cultural Landscape of Colombia. I spent a lot of time in Anserma because Marisol’s parents lived there.