Hannibal Calle, 94 years old, sits outside his house every afternoon and loves to tell his stories of his time with Garcia Marquez. I wish I could understand more Spanish as I'm sure his stories were fascinating!
A hundred stories...
Magdalena Bolano, Garcia Marquez's old nanny, and her son, welcomed me into their modest little townhouse. Their faces tell a hundred stories.
Cien años de soledad
If every country held a poll for the most popular writer, Gabriel Garcia Marquez would apparently top them in more countries that than anyone else (Gerald Martin, biographer of Marquez). That makes him the worlds most popular writer. He was born and bred in the much overlooked, wonderful little village of Aracataca, in Northern Colombia.
The local library, Aracataca - a literature lovers dream.
Town life in the Amazon
It's not all trees and mosquito's. Football is a huge part of Colombian culture - if it's not being played in the football field (every village we visited in the Amazon had one) it's being watched in the local bar with a cerveza... by the men at least.
Expert weavers
Refuge from the wilderness...
Bed time stories from the tribal chief...
The Jamie Oliver's of Colombia...
It's a hot sweaty job... but they quietly get on with their work.
The big cheese...
The big man himself... watching over proceedings.
The fishmongers... behind the scenes
A friendly chat with the big boss allowed us access to the behind the scenes at Leticia's main fishery. I'm amazed there are any fish left... they just kept on coming...
Fruit man
I thought I'd start with a very traditional portrait. This was taken on an early morning wander around Leticia, a fantastic town on the border of Colombian, Brazil and Peru, surrounded by Amazonian rainforest. The yellows, reds and oranges splattered across the market stalls are enough to brighten up anyone's day.