“It’s been a long time since my family and I have been around the National Park. A few of the sons from previous landowners still come and have coffee at my spot. My family arrived before 1969, before the inauguration of the National Park. Some of them, like me, arrived transporting goods and materials on mules.

During that time, my uncle had a little shack near the beach selling arepas and fresh catch of the day. I helped him on my days off. When the government started buying the land, most business owners had to look elsewhere to continue doing their work, but somehow, they let my uncle stay! When he passed away and his business shut down 30 years ago, the organization asked me if I wanted to continue serving the great food my uncle had and I gladly accepted.

I hope my son is excited to inherit this opportunity to cook great Colombian food for tourists worldwide and learn from other cultures. We can’t all travel the world, but we can always find ways to understand different cultures. Everyone finds a different way, but for me, serving food and engaging in short, interesting conversations with people from around the world, is my way of traveling and sharing.”