Fianna Fáil: A party for all seasons

@wwaycorrigan

In my latest letter to the Irish daily newspapers, I suggest that Fianna Fáil's values are very Irish in one way i.e. they're just like the country's weather — changeable but largely dull. Granted, one could say that about most Irish political parties.

The letter can be found here and here.

Fianna Fáil: Whatever you're having yourself.

Lost in los llanos, Colombia

@wwaycorrigan

[For an audio/vlog version of this story, click here.]

It was, like most things in my life have been, more by accident than design: my seven-month stint in 2025 living in los llanos, Colombia's vast plains and renowned cowboy country.

'To the horizon. And beyond!'

For most of that time, San Martín de los Llanos in the Meta department was the base. This was thanks to an invite to do a bout of house-sitting for an American native — that's a USA American, for the sticklers amongst us — a guy who I'd only befriended in December 2024.

Thanks to that, from February to early May I lived in relative comfort. In fact, it was close to my ideal: a furnished place to myself in a town with a nice vibe to it. Not far off my Goldilocks zone.

When that house-sitting stint ended, I still wasn't keen on an indefinite return to Bogotá, the place that has been my default setting in Colombia. So when I found a furnished studio-apartment (of sorts) for an agreeable 450,000 COP (about 95 euros) per month, bills included (and with the option to pay fortnightly), I took it. This led to another two-and-a-half months in San Martín.

Grand Granada

Then came an offer I couldn't refuse: a furnished room with kitchen access for 160,000 COP per month in Granada. This arose thanks to the partner of that American for whom I house sat in San Martín. It was the partner's sister who had the room. So even though I was fairly content, if not tremendously productive, in San Martín, the chance to significantly reduce my overheads appealed.

What's more, having stayed in Granada on previous occasions in 2024, returning wasn't a big deal. I knew what to expect.

Twenty kilometres south of San Martín, it's roughly twice as big as its northerly neighbour. To give Granada a one-word description, it's grand. That's the Irish grand, which means fine; not fantastic but not too terrible either. Middle of the road.

Meal deals

One area, though, where Granada rates highly, if one puts importance on value for money, is in the cheapness of eating out. This is because there are four (that I know of) restaurants that sell breakfasts and lunches for 5,000 pesos, just over one euro. Similar fare would be at least double that in Bogotá and other cities and towns.

For me, these meals are in the popular 3-Bs, bueno, bonito, barato, category. That's bueno for good, bonito for nice/pretty, and barato for cheap. That last b is undisputed, whatever about the other two, which are more subjective.

While I haven't tried the breakfasts — this is due to my version of intermittent fasting — the lunches are filling and wholesome. And, in at least one of the establishments, meals are served late into the afternoon. It's not a case of having little to nothing available after 2 pm, as often happens in other such places.

'If Granada is controlled by guerrillas, it happens on a different level to my humble comings and goings.'

The main dish usually comes with a mixture — if you ask for a mixture, that is — of beans, peas, chickpeas, pumpkin, plantain and a token salad. OK, the chicken/meat/fish portions are puny but the soup starter, often a sancocho, a type of stew with a mix of root vegetables and rough cuts of beef or chicken, is hearty. It's almost a meal in its own right.

So with such a selection for 5,000 pesos, you really couldn't buy the ingredients and cook them at home more cheaply. Trust me. I've done the experiment, not with all the same ingredients albeit. I do, however, still like to cook my own meals. This is chiefly because I enjoy cooking, I have the free time these days to do so and, in doing so, I have greater control over what I consume.

It's why for the month or so I had in the 160,000-pesos-per-month room in Granada, I ate the 5,000-peso meals no more than six times.

The town is also hard to beat for agreeably priced beer. Unhealthily so, it could be said, in that it may encourage one to drink more than desired. My tienda of choice, Doña Rosa's, sells 750 ml bottles of Tecate for 3,000 pesos with the same volume of Costeña for 3,500 pesos. It's as cheap as you'll get in the country.

Water wars

Now, while Granada might be good for keeping the costs down, it's less appealing in other aspects. And no, I'm not referring to the fact that it's said to be controlled by leftist guerrillas. If that is the case, it happens on a different level to my humble comings and goings. (For the record, San Martín and most places north of that town in Meta are in the hands of the right-wing paramilitaries, so it goes. From Granada southwards, down into Guaviare, it's largely guerrilla territory.)

One drawback is that Granada lacks an inviting natural watercourse nearby. Yes, there's the visually impressive River Ariari. But it's 6 km from the town, so a tad far to be a comfortable walking option. OK, it can be refreshing to go for a dip on reaching the river after the walk, but then one is faced with the trek back in heat regularly in excess of 30 degrees Celsius. Cycling would be a better option, if one was going to be based in the town long enough to make investing in a bike pay off, that is.

There is a smaller river that flows through the outskirts of the town, just north of the hospital. Alas, the one acceptable bathing spot it has is, unsurprisingly, very popular. It's regularly filled with screaming children and revellers blaring mindless music from portable speakers, the Colombian standard. Not only that, but its rather murky waters aren't that enticing.

The waters of San Martín's Caño Camoa, in contrast, are clearer. And the river offers a selection of more secluded bathing spots. Although, on Sundays and holidays, that seclusion tends to get smashed.

The San Martín view

Another plus point for San Martín is that it has various tranquil — as in traffic-light and with a feeling of being in nature — loop roads to wander. I didn't find anything quite as tranquil in Granada.

In addition, San Martín has a 130-step mirador, a viewing tower, to ascend, offering views of the seemingly never-ending plains to the south and east, with the alluring Andes introducing themselves to the north and west. The tower also doubles up as decent exercise, especially if one ascends and descends it a few times in a row.

'Thanks to Lejanías' proximity to both the Guape and the Andes, there's a freshness to the air that's lacking in Granada.'

On top of all this, in San Martín I was given WiFi access in La Reina, my panadería office there. I never had this privilege in the various panaderías I frequented in Granada. What's more, the friendly staff at the rustic library in San Martín had no issue in giving me the building's WiFi password. No such service came from the more modern but quite tacky library in Granada. (Only in Doña Rosa's tienda did I have WiFi in Granada, another pull factor, if one were needed, to her cheap beer.)

Whilst based in Granada, I did visit two other llanos towns, spending a few nights in both.

San Juan de Arama, 20 km south-west of Granada, has little going for it. About the best I can say is that it's fairly quiet.

A little of Lejanías does you good

Lejanías, 40 km west of Granada, at the foothills of the Andes, overlooking the broad River Guape as it flows at pace towards the plains, has much more to it. Its setting alone is satisfying. In fact, on that front, I think it's the best of the four towns mentioned here.

That it has another river nearby, a much smaller one than the Guape, where one can relax unperturbed, is a bonus. There's something about listening to the flow of water in a relatively unspoilt natural setting that puts one at ease.

Thanks to its proximity to both the Guape and the Andes, there's a freshness to the air that's lacking in Granada. Granted, Granada is far bigger and is a significant transport hub in these parts. With that, it has more people, more vehicles, more concrete and thus more pollution.

One minor negative for Lejanías is that it's a buchona-free town: the big, 750 ml beer bottles aren't available. This is the case for many small towns in Colombia that are a fair distance from their department capitals. It's a manageable inconvenience all the same. And better for my health as I have a rough beer budget that I like to stick to i.e. I measure my beer-drinking by cost rather than volume. In any case, it's not a lack of beer that's my problem these days.

No, one of my main issues right now is finding income-generating work, something for which los llanos bears little responsibility — even if I do find the hot climate unconducive to doing computer work.

Sort my income issues out and I'd have no problem taking up residence again in San Martín, Lejanías or Granada, more or less in that order of preference.

One could be in worse places than lost, in thought, in los llanos.
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Listen to The Corrigan Cast podcast here.

Facebook: Wrong Way Corrigan — The Blog & IQuiz "The Bogotá Pub Quiz".

Picking Ireland's president

@wwaycorrigan

Ireland is due to elect a new president towards the end of 2025 (the election has to take place by 11 November). Currently, there doesn't seem to be much interest in what's dubbed the Race for the Áras (Áras an Uachtaráin, Irish for the President's Residency, is, unsurprisingly, where the Irish president resides).

So, in an effort to spice things up a little, I'm suggesting a new approach to elect Ireland's next head of state, a post that is largely ceremonial. 

Details of this novel method can be found in the Letters to the Editor section of the Sunday Independent, 13 July edition. It can also be read online by scrolling down on https://m.independent.ie/opinion/letters/letters-cant-our-politicians-see-the-damage-their-anti-israel-stance-is-doing-to-our-country/a482457731.html. Or, for simplicity, see the screenshot of the letter below. 

I do want to let it be known here that I would consider running for the office should some members of the electorate wish to nominate me. You know where to find me. 

Picking Ireland's president.

'Would you like some coffee with your cow's blood?'

@wwaycorrigan

[For an audio/vlog version of this story, click here.]

It's widely believed — and probably true — that Colombia's best coffee is exported. The high-income nations that receive the bulk of this are willing — and able — to pay bigger bucks for better quality. They're also seen as more adept at transforming the product in its crude form into a quality brew. Defined in Colombia, refined abroad, so to put it.

Some Colombians are convinced that ordinary coffee consumed in the country is mixed with cattle blood.

Of course, gourmet or at least half-decent coffee is available in Colombia. Not all of what's consumed here is substandard compared to what's available in the likes of Europe and the USA. Nonetheless, much of it is pretty ordinary.

This isn't always the fault of the alleged lesser-quality coffee left behind in Colombia. A lot of the time it's down to how it's prepared. An any-old-way-will-do approach, such as the use of grecas. These metallic monsters are responsible for many crimes against drinkable coffee.

'It's a rather nauseating notion if there is a drop of truth to it.'

Also, like many things, one has to pay a good bit more than average to get a better brew. Thus, I'm regularly left with the I-can't-believe-it's-not-coffee variety. (It's similar in the dating game. Hence, I remain single. If one is reluctant to or simply can't spend big, one is usually left with little better than the dregs.)

Bloody brew

Yet, I've recently discovered that many Colombians think there's more at play in all this than just inferior coffee brewed badly.

There's a belief, which I've been quick to dismiss as an urban legend, that most mass-produced, affordable, working-class ground coffee sold here is mixed with cattle blood. This is done to add more volume to it. It's a rather nauseating notion if there is a drop of truth to it. But it must be an absurdity, mustn't it?

Well, it isn't for almost all the locals with whom I've discussed this in San Martín de los Llanos. And this is cowboy country, so cattle blood is far from alien to the place. What's more, Colombians tend to make use of all parts of an animal that's killed for consumption. Little, if anything, goes to waste. 

On top of this, there are some questionable practices in the country. What you get isn't always what you're told it is. On the other hand, some do hold dubious beliefs, such as the idea that throwing water on your face immediately after exercise will leave your facial features in a stressed state permanently (that might explain a few things for me).

Now, I'm no scientist, but I figure a quick lab test of the alleged cattle-blood coffee should tell us if it has the substance or not. (I say cattle blood as I assume that if the practice is real, it matters little if it's from a cow or a bull. Although cow's blood probably sounds slightly better for marketing purposes: 'Well, if you put cow's milk in your coffee, what's wrong with a little cow's blood?)

So, can those with the means to do so stem the flow of this ruddy rumour and test these cheaper and cheerful coffee brands for traces of bovine blood? Time to bust this myth. Or are we really being fed a load of bull? It wouldn't be the first time we've been told something is other than what it actually is.
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Listen to The Corrigan Cast podcast here.

Facebook: Wrong Way Corrigan — The Blog & IQuiz "The Bogotá Pub Quiz".

Colombia's cacophonies: motos, music and wandering salespeople

@wwaycorrigan

[For an audio/vlog version of this story, click here.]

Motorbikes and speakers. Such plagues on Colombia. They've turned what I imagine were once rather tranquil towns into hubs of headache-inducing noise.

Motorbikes: Wanted for crimes against tranquillity in Colombia.

Let's tackle speakers first — something I often wish to do literally, not just figuratively. It appears almost all bricks-and-mortar businesses, as well as private dwellings, have toddler-sized portable versions of these devilish devices, capable of beastly blasts that travel far and wide.

This intensifies in revelling zones, where each establishment competes to be heard above the other. The result is a racket that drives the sane amongst us mad after a brief exposure. Only with copious amounts of beer and/or aguardiente is this torture made more tolerable.

Unpleasant as it is to be within earshot of this music madness — a distance of a good kilometre is needed to escape the worst of it — it isn't incessant. Although it can be unpredictable. And there's always the risk of a noisy neighbour deciding at any time that those all around deserve to bask in his beats.

Moto madness

Added to this mix are the wandering salespeople who use megaphone marketing — usually in the form of a pre-recorded pitch on an endless loop — to advertise their wares to the masses. As nuisances go, though, these guys are mild.

Much less mild is the motorbike menace. In my current abode of San Martín de los Llanos, these motos, as the natives call them, start revving up from 5 am and continue until late at night. Mercifully, it's not constant; there are less active periods throughout the day. Nonetheless, when the motos make their moves, they are heard well before they are seen.

'It emits a hellish roar as if it's trying to escape Earth's gravitational pull.'

Not all motos are created equally, of course. The din from certain quieter ones is just about bearable. Alas, they are in short supply. The terrible-three worst offenders, the most ear-splitting, are the driller, the splutterer, and the rocketeer. That last type emits a hellish roar as if it's trying to escape Earth's gravitational pull, something that would no doubt send the bravest lion scampering for safety.

It must be why mongrels that otherwise are prone to chase tend to keep their distance from these moto monsters. Or the dogs may have simply got used to them by now. Indeed, it's the rarer sight of a human being walking that vexes the canines more so than the motos. That and the passing of another dog. This is the cue for a bout of barking that sends yet more noise into the Colombian air.

A site for sound

Yet, it appears most Colombians aren't too concerned about these cacophonies. They've become indifferent to this chaos, the commotion.

In fact, in my experience, many are more put out by visual pollution — see my previous post, Colombia's clothes-on-the-window bane, for more on that — than pollution of the eardrum-destroying variety.

OK, visual pollution can be, well, unsightly. It is, though, easier to avoid than noise — avert your gaze. What's more, something unsightly is much less likely to cause humans, as well as other animals, physical or mental harm.

The same cannot be said of excessive sound. It can disturb sleep, cause one to lose concentration, increase stress, bring about acoustic trauma, the list goes on. It's also more difficult to escape, unless one is locked away in a soundproof bunker. And that's not exactly a healthier alternative. Earbuds or noise-cancelling headphones, you say? They might provide occasional respite, but constantly using these things isn't good for one's hearing either.

Now, it must be said that there are towns of a more tranquil nature in Colombia. Not all suffer equally from these sound sores. The hotter, lower-lying lands are generally the worst offenders, particularly when it comes to the motorbike menace. One has a better chance of finding a more relaxed setting in the cooler, loftier Andean towns (special shout-out to Somondoco here!).

That aside, in practically all places where humans reside in Colombia, a sizeable speaker pumping out sounds is regularly within range. Tranquillity is but a brief interlude between the noise.
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Listen to The Corrigan Cast podcast here.

Facebook: Wrong Way Corrigan — The Blog & IQuiz "The Bogotá Pub Quiz".

'In Car We Thrust'

@wwaycorrigan

The letters-to-the-editor season continues. Below is a screenshot of my latest musings sent to the Irish Independent. It's also available at https://m.independent.ie/opinion/letters/letters-mark-of-a-good-student-is-growth-so-dont-let-exam-stress-stunt-your-progress/a11539009.html.

Walkers of the world, unite!  

The car is King of Transport in Ireland.

The choice is yours

@wwaycorrigan

Below is a copy of a letter I had published in the Irish Independent for Tuesday 06 May 2025.

The topic is addiction and willpower. The letter can also be found at https://m.independent.ie/opinion/letters/letters-we-must-not-forget-the-importance-of-empathy-in-keeping-ireland-healthy/a1826339086.html.

We live and die by our choices.