When we flew into Panama from Bogotá, approaching from the Pacific Ocean, I was surprised to see we were heading northeast past Panama City and within minutes ended up almost over the Caribbean – Panama is a very narrow ‘bridge’ between South and North America. The eastern part we were flying over was mostly forests, …
Author Archives: Mellamadness 2
26 April 2026 Glorious Cultivarte
Two weeks of living in the most beautiful environment, doing volunteer work on a farm called Cultivarte, 20min by local colectivo from Anapoima, Colombia. Eyal and Natalia have spent about 15 years planning, and 10 years implementing and fulfilling their dream of creating a space where they can live and propagate their healthy, natural and …
15 April 2026 Pests and perks
Gnats have been having a field day on me here in Colombia – the welts keep itching long after, and every new bite causes the old ones to itch again. I’m slowly becoming immune, and have bought some ointment which helps for a few hours. Other than that, I am surprisingly healthy, strong and fit, …
6 April 2026 A bump in the road
The flight to Colombia was via Santiago, and crossing the Andes in daylight was spectacular, even though it was summer. Being in Chile filled me with nostalgia, and I promptly ordered a pisco sour at one of the bars and sent a WApp to a family I had stayed with in Cochran, Chile, 6 years …
23 March 2026 Montevideo
I had a very relaxed and interesting week in Montevideo, a city that epitomises the Uruguay approach to life. I’ll mainly post pictures, they depict what I experienced, but I cannot refrain from telling a story or two. The first one is about my arrival. The bus ride gave me the opportunity to re-establish my …
19 March 2026 Working
Truthfully? A tough experience last week, on different levels. And also a very enriching one, on different levels. I am reading An Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda, and I was struck by the following: “All thoughts vibrate eternally in the cosmos. … Thoughts are universally and not individually rooted; a truth cannot be created, …
14 March 2026 Contrast
Working and travelling are contrasting activities. Travelling to me is about exploring, discovering, being attentive, walking, and sometimes interacting. It is mostly personal, invigorating and exciting. Working, on the other hand, means becoming involved, being open to forming relationships, sharing living- and life-spaces, learning about the culture and accepting that people do things differently. It …
3 March 2026 Wild and weary
Inspiration has returned, in the form of an elderly couple who decided to pick up a hitchiker on a boring, lonely, desolate and windswept road. Estela and Roberto, real angels, who then proceeded to take me with them on their yearly round-trip of the area north of La Paloma, where I’m now staying. What happened …
26 Febr 2026 A Glimpse into History
There are two companies that have ferries going from Buenos Aires to Colonia del Sacramento, crossing the Rio de la Plata in just over two and a half hours. The one is the Buquebus, and the other the Colonia Express. I chose the latter as Mati had said it is slightly cheaper. An uneventful crossing, …
23 Febr 2026 Back to BA
It was so easy to go back to Buenos Aires, the route to ‘my’ apartment familiar to both me and Suerte, and a warm welcome by Mati, my Airbnb host. Just a quick stop en route at the shop where I’d bought Suerte, to return the ring that I had found on the farm. There …
Mella Madness 