In the background the famed Vallenato accordionist, Alfredo Gutierrez was hammering out a tune with his foot whilst held aloft on the shoulders of five of his band members.

...

“As they sailed down to the coast the river had grown more vast and solemn, like a swamp with no beginning or end, and the heat was so dense you could touch it with your hands.”

Gabriel Garcia Marquez – The General in His Labyrinth.

...

Gushing, unstoppable and intrinsically linked to the creation of this country, the Rio Magdalena, Colombia’s most famous river essentially divides the country in half and makes for a varied itinerary along a course cut through its Andean spine. I guess if I could I would pen my fluvial inspired version and compilation of stories in homage to Kerouac’s “On the Road”. 

Coffee in place, good Colombian coffee, tipo exportacion, on my desk, I settle down to write a journal entry. Hopefully there’ll be no interruptions here in Mompós. And why should there be in this sleepy town that has captivated my imagination since 2007. Everything about Mompós is literary and almost as beckoning me to put pen to paper.