Barranquilla is the 4th largest city in Colombia with a population of around 1.2 million, also famous for its Carnival celebrations in February marking the beginning of Lent. We visited primarily so that Carrie could teach Yoga at the studio of Hot Yoga Barranquilla. The studio owner Wyatt practiced at the South Pasadena, LA and it was that studio (where Carrie had previously taught) that put us in contact with him. He set the studio up 8 years ago and it’s beautifully decorated, the most impressive we’ve visited so far with a lovely use of tactile materials and restored surfaces. The yoga community Wyatt has built is a strong and dedicated group of mostly women so it was a great experience to teach and practice there too.

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Easter Weekend…

As I was teaching yoga (in between losing my voice!) Rory journeyed south to Mompos to see the Easter parades leaving me and dad to explore Barranquilla further. The Museo del Caribe is a fascinating museum with lots of interactive exhibits showing Colombian culture and history- dad enjoyed it even more as it was free entry for him being an O.A.P! We walked through the old town and past the colossal cathedral Metropolitania Maria Reina and past numerous colourful street art pieces. We spent Easter Sunday in the area of Las flores and Bocas De Cenizas beach where a kind security guard gave us a lift to the beach on the back of his motorbike.

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Mompos

Mompos is a beautiful colonial town 8 hours drive south of the Caribean coast, founded by the brother of the Spaniard who founded Cartargena. Mompos and its' river networks acted as a trading point for gold from the Colombian interior to the coast and back to Spain. It’s wealth and prosperity led to its impressive collection of churches and homes. I was here for the Semana Santa (Easter) celebrations some of the most impressive in Colombia with a series of processions throughout the town parading from one church to another carrying a Christian effigy accompanied by music and incense. The very last and most attended procession of my weekend in Mompos was on Monday evening and was completely silent.

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