Hey, Annabel. Which was the first country you visited in Latin America? What were your impressions?
Colombia blew me away from the moment I arrived. Despite being a huge city, Bogotá had some of the friendliest people I’d ever met, who always have time for a catch up over coffee. As one of the most biodiverse countries in the world, the landscapes were phenomenal. I particularly loved the otherworldly deserts of Tatacoa, Lago de Tota (a serene lake high up in the mountains of Boyocá) and the dreamlike high-altitude páramo.
Tell us about a recent adventure of yours. What did a typical day look like?
Since the beginning of 2022, I’ve been living and working in Mexico. As well as travel writing, I work as a tattoo artist and have been dropping into studios across the country as a guest artist. In Mérida I had the chance to work in a women’s tattoo collective called La Cueva, while in Mexico City I was welcomed into the beautiful studio of Alacrania, a safe space run by incredibly talented drag queens. Days in my current home of Oaxaca are centred around food; popping to a local market for fresh tropical fruits, grabbing a quesadilla filled with Oaxacan cheese and pumpkin flowers, seeking out the best spots for mole (a typical chocolate and chile sauce).