II.III.IX HOME Constantly moving on from adventure to another, I failed to notice my time in Colombia was almost up. On my last day, I opened my eyes and I was wide awake. I wanted to keep them closed, to go back to sleep. I wanted to stay in that moment right before you wake up – when things are […]
II.III.VIII – Wandering
II.III.VIII WANDERING Just before we’d get to enjoy the city of Bogotá, we had one final road trip planned in order to cover as much ground as possible. Luckily, Pedro’s father offered his car for that. Our first stop was the Catedral de Sal de Zipaquirá which are salt mines extending some 650 feet underground with a church at their epicentre. Apart from being […]
II.III.VI – Recovery
II.III.VI RECOVERY Our adventures in Santa Marta were soon over and the rest of Colombia was awaiting! We headed down south back to Bogotá once again, where we were given the warmest welcome by Pedro’s family before being cordially escorted to their bathroom. After four days without a hot shower, I could finally scrub myself clean from all the dirt and […]
II.III.V – Reconnected
II.III.V RECONNECTED read on the doe The long-awaited third day was finally upon us. The day we’d get to see the Lost City. I couldn’t believe we were almost there. All battered, bruised and blistered I had persevered. It would still be a long way to go and really, we had only covered half the trek so far. But I […]
II.III.IIII – Tairona
II.III.IIII TAIRONA Somehow, against all odds, I woke up feeling better than ever. We got up, shook off our boots in case of spiders and scorpions (because apparently these things happen), and headed out before dawn in order to get a head start on what was to be the most challenging of days. We trekked along the riverside of the […]
II.III.III – Wild
II.III.III WILD read on the doe My journey through Colombia led Pedro and I to Santa Marta, a city renowned for the natural park of Tayrona – a wildlife sanctuary that is practically heaven on earth. Yet, it wasn’t for this that I had travelled there. It was the Ciudad Perdida – the lost city of Teyuna, an ancient settlement located in […]
II.III.II – Land of Passion
II.III.II LAND OF PASSION And hello Colombia; the promised land! But trust me when I say it really didn’t feel like it when I arrived in Bogotá, the capital. After four hundred million hours of travelling I felt disgusting and exhausted; kinda like a professional athlete at the end of a triathlon, only all I did was sit down on […]
II.III.I – Departure
II.III.I DEPARTURE Colombia… Half the world away it stood. And I was going there. The furthest I had ever been from home was Manchester; three hours away from Malta by plane. And now I was going to friggin Colombia – some 10,000 kilometres away. “It’s okay, it’s okay – he’ll be there with me!” I told myself as I was […]
II.II.VI – Out
II.II.VI OUT Over the next two weeks of my summer general rotation, my passion for medicine would only intensify. I saw all kinds of surgeries – some of which I’d be lucky to encounter again throughout my life. It was all I expected to see and then some. Patients that would forever remain immortalised in my memory. Especially the one […]