Just over a week ago, we finally moved into our new place! If you’ve followed our quest to sign a lease, you’ll know just how big a sense of accomplishment we felt when we actually had the keys in hand.
Of course, our 1-year old son Marcello also took the keys in his hands, which resulted in THIS. (Side note: if you are thinking of moving to Colombia, do not use a rental agency. Rent directly from the owner.)
Our new apartment is lovely. Continue reading
Posted in Making the Leap
Tagged adventure, air conditioner, apartment hunting, barranquilla, Colombia, expat, international, Latin America, south america, travel
Just about anywhere in B’quilla, you can get a cup of coffee right on the street. Vendors wheel carts with several thermoses. Using a wooden paddle like the one you see here, vendors can prepare several cups, large and small, at once. There’s milk and sugar to add in and you can get a pancito (small piece of bread) too. Who needs Starbucks anyway!
$20,000 peso bill, back and front. $1,000 peso bill. $5,000 peso bill. My niece recently gave me a lesson in how to tell if bills are counterfeit.
One of the challenges for a NorteAmericano in Colombia – at least for one like me who is not so great at mathematical estimates – is the exchange rate. Right now, it’s roughly 1,800 Colombian pesos to the dollar. So a bottle of Coke might be $3,000 (the symbol for the peso is the same as for the dollar – $) and your groceries might cost $248,000. We bought a queen size mattress the other day and the cost was over $1 million. It’s hard not to feel an initial sense of shock when you hear the number. Continue reading
Posted in Daily Life
Tagged adventure, barranquilla, Colombia, Colombian peso, credit card, currency, exchange rate, financial services, international, Latin America, travel
The process of establishing our new home continues. Our shipment from Miami arrived, but the entire crate (they build a crate for your boxes when shipping internationally) was accidentally left outside at the Port for two weeks. It rained heavily on Wednesday. Our customs agent (you have to hire this person to get your stuff out out of the Port since you are not allowed in) called with the bad news that everything is soaked.
Most likely the bulk of it is ruined. The rest, we have been told, is already growing mold. Continue reading
Posted in Making the Leap
Tagged adventure, barranquilla, Colombia, international, Latin America, movers, port, shipping, travel
Movie theater at the Buena Vista shopping center.
This past Tuesday, August 7th, was a “día feriado” – a holiday – and so Gio and I headed for a late afternoon movie. Here are a few things we learned from our first Colombian movie experience: Continue reading
Posted in Arts & Culture, Daily Life, Sports & Leisure
Tagged adventure, barranquilla, cinema, Colombia, Latin America, movies, travel
The infamous baby car seat and Gio installing it.
Ah, the baby’s car seat. Rarely does such an accepted feature of toddler life in the U.S. raise so many issues when traveling abroad. Like most parents, Gio and I are extremely vigilant about the safety of our baby. After being informed by a pediatrician friend and fellow mom that motor vehicle accidents are the number one cause of accidental death for children traveling abroad, we committed ourselves to using the car seat during our time in Colombia. Continue reading
Posted in Daily Life, Parenting
Tagged adventure, baby, barranquilla, car seat, carseat, child safety, Colombia, international, Latin America, safety, travel
Barranquilla or Bust! 
