Travel Diaries: Cartagena Day 2

Life in Cartagena is everything but hard. I've spent endless hours by the pool, relaxing and reading, while getting tanned.

On Sunday, we went for lunch at my favourite restaurant of all times: Restaurante Árabe Internacional, which serves Arab food. Ever since I was a little kid, I remember going to this restaurant with my parents and one of their friends, Captain Alonso, to have lunch on Sundays at this restaurant. I remember indulging myself on tahine and quibbes and never wanting to leave without eating enough almond rice. Of course, going back after several years made me realise how much I missed the authentic flavours of its kitchen and how much I can eat when it comes to Arab food!

We also had a short walk before going back to the hotel, where we spent the rest of the day, where we saw the sunset –although the day evening was a little cloudy, which was a shame to my pictures– and relaxed for another while!

Love,

Photography: Laura Beltran-Rubio

Travel Diaries: Cartagena

After spending most of the summer working, I finally have the chance to get some rest before starting grad school in the fall. To be honest, I thought I wouldn't have holidays at all this season, but my dad decided to bring me back to where I was born––Cartagena––to spend some quality time with him before I move to New York. So far, it has been amazing. I've spent almost two days napping and reading by the pool, I've visited my favourite restaurant in the world––which you'll meet tomorrow––and have been treated like a princess by my dad.

We arrived last Saturday in the afternoon, so we came directly to our hotel––Santa Clara––in the centre of the city. We were super hungry so we had a quick lunch in a small Thai restaurant near the hotel, and then we spent the rest of the day by the pool, where we ate ice cream and relaxed. We then got a shower and made ourselves look decent, and went for a walk around town. It had been a very long time since I last came here, and I really missed the magic of the old streets.

Love,

Photography: Laura Beltran-Rubio

5 Things To Do Before The Summer Ends

The summer might be one of my favourite seasons––ok, I love them all, but right now I'm particularly loving the summer! I usually love travelling during this season and getting some rest. But this year, because I spent most of the summer working, I didn't really have time to do all the things I love to do during the warm days.

However, with my job contract having ended yesterday and with another month of summer to go, I thought it would be a good idea to write a small bucket list of the things I still want to do this summer. Here's how it goes...

1. Have ice cream for dinner



2. Go to the beach



3. Spend a whole day by the pool



4. See the sunrise



5. Get another tattoo

Love,

Photography: Laura Beltran-Rubio

Throwback Thursday: Travel!

Some of the best memories I have from growing up happened while travelling. Luckily enough, my parents not only chose to give me a world-class education, which taught me to get out of the box––sometimes probably too much, too often– and find the magic in different cultures and societies that coexist in our world.

One of the trips I remember the most––probably for its simplicity and its close distance to home, yet its adventure and beauty––was when we went to Isla Margarita, in Venezuela, when I was around 8. I'm pretty sure that when I was that young, I didn't realise how important travelling was to me, or how it would shape the way I view the world today. But I did love seeing the world from a different perspective, and in a place completely different to the city I've called home for the past two decades... Especially when there were horses and birds around!

Love,

Recommended Books For Summer

For many of us summer is a season meant for reading––probably as a result of those summer reading lists we had as homework during school! And it's definitely nice to read a good book while you're resting at the poolside, hearing the ocean waves hit land on a beach, or in bed before going to sleep. Books are also great companions during flights, especially if you can't sleep and don't feel like watching the movies available.

I'm usually an avid reader––not only during the summer––and, although I tend to read academic texts more than anything else, I've had the chance to read some good books lately, I would recommend to anyone who wants to find a good book to read these days. I'm pretty sure you can find better reviews out there––and I recommend you to read them––so I will just mention what I liked about the books –which usually tends to be related to emotions and not feeling bored!

Brain on Fire – Susannah Cahalan

Susannah tells the story of how she suffered of a mental illness and finally managed to go out of it. It's really interesting because you can actually understand how confused she felt, how troubled she was, and how hard she had to fight. She manages to combine some very serious scientific findings with her personal experience in her book without any trouble, and you can live her journey with her thanks to her exquisite way of writing.

Kafka On The Shore – Haruki Murakami

I actually read this one a while ago, but it was amazing how easily Murakami can mix the real world with a fantastic realm, where dogs talk and fish rain from the skies. I got easily lost in this book, thanks to Murakami's way of describing Japan's landscapes –both real and unreal at the same time––and his way of surprising you with every chapter you read. You definitely won't get bored with this one!

Coincidence – J.W. Ironmonger

I read this book in around three days. Ironmonger somehow manages to get you so into this book that you just can't stop reading. It's a sort of love story, but your heart is constantly skipping a beat. It's full of surprises. I loved it!

A Thousand Splendid Suns – Khaled Hosseini

While reading this book, I felt like I was taken to Pakistan. If I said you couldn't stop reading coincidence, this one is even worse––I read it overnight! I cried several times, only to break up into laughter afterwards. I felt love, pain, hatred, and love again––all in one night! This might be one of the best books I've read in my entire life!

The Interestings – Meg Wolitzer

I'm currently working on this one––so I can't actually tell you what it was like to read the whole book––but until now, it has been a perfect book for summer, especially if you went to summer camps during your childhood! More than anything, it has made me laugh, and remember of what life in a cabin is like. It also reminds me––for some reason?––what feeling an outsider in your teens feels like. And friends. All those friends you meet for just some weeks every year but that feel even closer than your brothers and sisters!

Happy reading!

Photography: Laura Beltran-Rubio

Summer Nostalgia

Every time I feel the summer coming, I can't help but fly back to 2011, when I worked at a summer camp for the season. Those 10 weeks at camp were probably the hardest moments I've had in my life––working with horses, children, and adults with disabilities is definitely not an easy job! But those 10 weeks have also been the most nourishing weeks I've ever had, and I would definitely not be who I am today if I hadn't lived them.

Not only I learned to teach young, inexperienced riders how to ride, and even jump their first fences, but I also learned some basics of horseback riding for persons with disabilities. I learned about myself and about God––even if I tried very hard not to be influenced by the religious atmosphere of the camp. I learned about love, about giving to others, and about friendship.

I sometimes regret not staying in closer contact with the people I met at camp. I guess I could still write to them and maybe even schedule a Skype meeting––and I might probably do so, before more time flies away without staying in touch with them––but I regret I haven't had the chance to talk more in the past few years with all these wonderful people.

But at least I know all the memories I collected with them will be forever in my heart. All the beautiful Maine landscapes. The sunrises and sunsets, the beach, the morning sound of the waves hitting the land. Fireflies on the way to the horsefield at night. The Sisterhood, Pants and Liz. Our mother Betty. An unpronounceable name reduced to PJ. Storytelling in the woods. The semi-savage, bipolar horses, the kids that rode them, and Sue's "I did it" every time she hopped on a horse. Crazy people. Midsummer fest. Fairy lights. Escaping to Boston and chilling on a rooftop. Feeling like Portland is the biggest city on Earth. Tie-dye. Wishing for beer, eating the biggest pad thai to ever exist, and playing with miniature sand. Wednesday Barbecue. Arts and crafts, baby showers. Ice cream. Running in the rain back to camp from Old Orchard Beach. Being left by the train, running to Saco, and being left again. Getting our nails done. Irish fairy dust. Irish people always have their feet cold. Piano man. Lilies and broken lilies...

...I just realised I could go on forever, but I guess I'll leave it here. Here's to you, beautiful Oceanwood, to your children, to a place I know I can call home, and to all the friends I made there! I hope I can visit you again soon!

Love,

Photography: Laura Beltran-Rubio – Natalie Souness