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Memories of El Muelle
Jan. 21st, 2008 11:11 pmWhen I was...shit...when I was a child, my family in Barranquilla would always go to Puerto, just outside of the town. As the name says, it means port. "El Muelle" is a mile long pier built a looong time ago. Trains would roll out to the end of the pier, and deliver goods to South America, as well as send off exports around the world. It was quite the busy port town.
Over the years, planes, other train routes, and changing economies turned the town from a bustling port town to a rundown village of dirt roads. Various relatives of mine lived there from time to time, and over the years, it has redeveloped into a "beach suburb" with condos et al. Kind of like East Palo Alto is turning into a gentrified neighbor of Palo Alto.
As a kid, though, one would find a bunch of day resorts along the beach. One pays a fee, and you can play in the sand, have your goods kept in a safe place, and have any food or beer brought to you on the beach anytime. They're quite common down there. In spite of all that, everyone would always go to El Muelle. We'd walk along the entire length, jumping into the ocean at various points, body surf on waves mere feet from the pier, and all that sort of unsafe ocean fun.
Almost 10 years ago, my family laid my grandmother to rest at the edge of that pier. My dad and I pour her ashes into the ocean, with a school of Dolphin showing as soon as all the ashes poured out of the urn.
I haven't been back since.
If it hasn't been demolished, it sure needs to be at this point. It's quite unsafe. Nevertheless, el muelle holds some strong memories from my childhood.
I miss "home."
Over the years, planes, other train routes, and changing economies turned the town from a bustling port town to a rundown village of dirt roads. Various relatives of mine lived there from time to time, and over the years, it has redeveloped into a "beach suburb" with condos et al. Kind of like East Palo Alto is turning into a gentrified neighbor of Palo Alto.
As a kid, though, one would find a bunch of day resorts along the beach. One pays a fee, and you can play in the sand, have your goods kept in a safe place, and have any food or beer brought to you on the beach anytime. They're quite common down there. In spite of all that, everyone would always go to El Muelle. We'd walk along the entire length, jumping into the ocean at various points, body surf on waves mere feet from the pier, and all that sort of unsafe ocean fun.
Almost 10 years ago, my family laid my grandmother to rest at the edge of that pier. My dad and I pour her ashes into the ocean, with a school of Dolphin showing as soon as all the ashes poured out of the urn.
I haven't been back since.
If it hasn't been demolished, it sure needs to be at this point. It's quite unsafe. Nevertheless, el muelle holds some strong memories from my childhood.
I miss "home."
