{"id":8239,"date":"2024-09-10T10:00:39","date_gmt":"2024-09-10T08:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.streetpepper.de\/worldtravel\/?p=8239"},"modified":"2024-09-11T22:58:55","modified_gmt":"2024-09-11T20:58:55","slug":"mompox","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.streetpepper.de\/worldtravel\/2024\/09\/10\/mompox\/","title":{"rendered":"Mompox"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Maybe you know the feeling too. You’ve traveled far, you’ve seen a desert or two, you’ve managed to survive in megacities, you’ve swum under the 99th waterfall, and how many sunsets it was last week on the beach, I don’t know. In short, you’ve seen it all and no sleepy little town can surprise you anymore. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or is it possible?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I mean, I really thought I had completed the travel puzzle. Then I stumble across Mompox. Yes, that’s right, Mompox. No, it’s not a new superfood that you can buy in the health food store and it’s not the first anti-wrinkle cream that really helps. It’s a small colonial town in the middle of Colombia. And, oh man, this town really got me!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Imagine you’re on a boat floating leisurely down the brown Magdalena River along with small and larger islands of water hyacinths also floating down the river. On the left you see nothing but lush jungle, on the right… well, jungle too. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

But then, out of nowhere, it appears: Santa Cruz de Mompox.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Okay, we didn’t come here by boat, but on our bicycles. But the boat simply sounds more romantic.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

This city is like a well-kept secret. Maybe it’s because it’s not that easy to get there. There are only a few buses. That doesn’t make it so attractive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As soon as we arrive, time seems to slow down. And once again I ask myself why we Germans always have to optimize our time.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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The residents chat through the ornate iron grilles that adorn almost every house window (they are a sign of wealth and status). And older men and women sit in front of their houses on old wooden chairs – seemingly for hours – and are happy to say \u201cBuenas Dias\u201d every time I pass by.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They are sweeping and working everywhere. Under a tree (the streets are lined with these cooling trees) in front of a house, pedicures are being done and neighbors walking by immediately join in the conversation. Children play tag and a house is being built somewhere, but there’s time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When it gets too hot around midday, the residents disappear into their houses and wait the rest of the day, swinging in their rocking chairs with open windows and fans, for the cooler evening. Then they come out again, sit outside their houses and enjoy another \u201cBuenas Tardes\u201d. Life on the streets is back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The people here in Mompox seem content and happy.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Yes, it’s the people who make this place so special. Otherwise it would just be another place with pretty houses, caf\u00e9s and restaurants by a river. You can hear Spanish music coming from the houses everywhere and somehow it almost makes you want to dance. What a serenity. This city is so relaxed. Time seems to slow down here – almost like a slow-motion turtle race. You no longer drink your coffee, you celebrate it. And the heat? Let’s put it this way: after India, this is a warm bath. You’re sweating, so what? They all do. Shirts and T-shirts that are soaking wet cool you down again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mompox has so much charm<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

And even before I realize all this, I realize that this city has enchanted me with its charm. Who would have thought that? Certainly not me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the end of my stay in Mompox, I ask myself how it was possible that I had never heard of a city like this before. Maybe it’s just that sometimes all it takes is a small, unassuming place to remind us that the best is often where you least expect it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But that’s the beauty of traveling – you think you’ve seen it all, and then Mompox comes along and overturns all your assumptions. So, next time you’re thinking about where to go on your trip, remember this little place. And take a few extra memory cards for your camera. You’ll need them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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