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The Mompós Project: A Story of Love, Hotels and Madness in Colombia
"A rollicking and whimsical account of life in a riverside colonial town that is one of the true wonders of Colombia, a place so beguiling that, to quote Gabo, it might never have existed at all. Richard McColl knows Mompos from the inside, tracing its history and ongoing dramas and follies with humour and empathy, not to mention the clarity of a jaguar's eye, which sees the world with the precision of an X-ray."
Wade Davis, author of "One River" and "Magdalena, River of Dreams."
"Full of humour and radiating the warmth of his fascination, this book celebrates the timeless character of the indomitable Brit wherever his adventures take him."
The Latin American Review of Books.
When British foreign correspondent Richard McColl purchased, on a whim, a ruined colonial building in the rural Colombian town of Mompós, he imagined a lifestyle of relaxation, with idle afternoons reading the works of Gabriel García Márquez, writing glib observations and enjoying the hypnotic momentum of a Caribbean tropical narrative, swaying in a hammock and the promise of an ice cold beer never far away. He was mistaken.
His first restoration yields a hostel, which later becomes a hotel and then spirals into further projects including the restoration of three more colonial houses, experiencing challenges that make him reconsider his upbringing, education and outlook on how he fits into his adopted homeland. With two hotels in Mompós, he experiences the joy of new friendships and a despair over the predictability of guests.
With a journalist's eye for a story, McColl navigates the history of Mompós and how its society is a microcosm of today's Colombia, with its feudal system still very much in place, inherent prejudices, stigma surrounding the politics, the people and the past, all coming to the fore.
And yet, whilst combatting fierce opposition to his in-roads into the community, facing up to ghostly tales, witchcraft and an unwelcome brush with rightwing paramilitaries, he and his Colombian wife Alba and her extended momposina family, make a successes of the businesses and grace the pages of both the international and national press.
This work of non-fiction is overall a love story for a village and its population that, in spite of the soporific temperatures, extend a welcome yet syrupy embrace to an outsider. Reading this will not reveal a tale of a fish out of water or the unoriginal and well-covered narrative of an Englishman abroad, but more an exploration of identity and belonging in Colombia's garciamarquian heartlands.
Every hotelier has tales to tell, but who more so than a writer, better versed in relating the salty minutiae of Colombia's peace process, narco-subs and the cocaine trade, sharing honest insights into life in Colombia, anecdotes of creatively planned infidelities, cowardly and corrupt politicians, curiosities and happenings that are at first peculiar and then become part of the day-to-day experience in Mompós.
This book is a prismed look at modern-day Colombia through the lens of Mompós and should be read by anyone wishing to visit the country and explore its idiosyncrasies.
Reviews!"He tells his tale in The Mompós Project with the disposition of a natural raconteur, and you can just picture him sipping beers and entertaining guests on the steamy balcony of his Casa Amarilla hotel as you make your way effortlessly through his book."
Gavin O'Toole
The Latin American Review of Books www.latamrob.
Wade Davis, author of "One River" and "Magdalena, River of Dreams."
"Full of humour and radiating the warmth of his fascination, this book celebrates the timeless character of the indomitable Brit wherever his adventures take him."
The Latin American Review of Books.
When British foreign correspondent Richard McColl purchased, on a whim, a ruined colonial building in the rural Colombian town of Mompós, he imagined a lifestyle of relaxation, with idle afternoons reading the works of Gabriel García Márquez, writing glib observations and enjoying the hypnotic momentum of a Caribbean tropical narrative, swaying in a hammock and the promise of an ice cold beer never far away. He was mistaken.
His first restoration yields a hostel, which later becomes a hotel and then spirals into further projects including the restoration of three more colonial houses, experiencing challenges that make him reconsider his upbringing, education and outlook on how he fits into his adopted homeland. With two hotels in Mompós, he experiences the joy of new friendships and a despair over the predictability of guests.
With a journalist's eye for a story, McColl navigates the history of Mompós and how its society is a microcosm of today's Colombia, with its feudal system still very much in place, inherent prejudices, stigma surrounding the politics, the people and the past, all coming to the fore.
And yet, whilst combatting fierce opposition to his in-roads into the community, facing up to ghostly tales, witchcraft and an unwelcome brush with rightwing paramilitaries, he and his Colombian wife Alba and her extended momposina family, make a successes of the businesses and grace the pages of both the international and national press.
This work of non-fiction is overall a love story for a village and its population that, in spite of the soporific temperatures, extend a welcome yet syrupy embrace to an outsider. Reading this will not reveal a tale of a fish out of water or the unoriginal and well-covered narrative of an Englishman abroad, but more an exploration of identity and belonging in Colombia's garciamarquian heartlands.
Every hotelier has tales to tell, but who more so than a writer, better versed in relating the salty minutiae of Colombia's peace process, narco-subs and the cocaine trade, sharing honest insights into life in Colombia, anecdotes of creatively planned infidelities, cowardly and corrupt politicians, curiosities and happenings that are at first peculiar and then become part of the day-to-day experience in Mompós.
This book is a prismed look at modern-day Colombia through the lens of Mompós and should be read by anyone wishing to visit the country and explore its idiosyncrasies.
Reviews!"He tells his tale in The Mompós Project with the disposition of a natural raconteur, and you can just picture him sipping beers and entertaining guests on the steamy balcony of his Casa Amarilla hotel as you make your way effortlessly through his book."
Gavin O'Toole
The Latin American Review of Books www.latamrob.
300 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 10, 2025
6 people are currently reading
4 people want to read
About the author
Richard McColl
6 books14 followersRichard McColl holds a PhD in Ciencias Sociales y Humanas from the Javeriana University in Bogota, additionally his studies have included Conflict Resolution with an emphasis on Colombia, journalism, international relations and the humanities.
He has been located in Colombia for 18 years working as a foreign correspondent, political analyst and hotelier.
He has been located in Colombia for 18 years working as a foreign correspondent, political analyst and hotelier.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 7, 2025
An engaging and insightful memoir sees journalist Richard McColl chronicle his journey to hotelier in the remote Colombian outpost of Mompós. McColl captures the beauty, absurdity, and challenges of life in a town steeped in tradition, inequality, and magical realism.
By weaving together personal anecdotes with observations on Colombian culture and history—with cameos from presidents, ambassadors, historical figures, and the good, the bad, and the ugly of hotel guests—we uncover the character, not only of the author and his hotel, but Mompós itself.
My personal highlights were the stories of hidden treasure in the walls, the colourful local characters, and intriguing historical figures that could perhaps warrant their own story.
With a journalist’s eye and storyteller’s flair, this is far from a typical expat tale. What we find is a richly layered portrait of Mompós—and Colombia as a whole—seen through the lens of lived experience, making it essential reading for anyone interested in modern Colombia.
By weaving together personal anecdotes with observations on Colombian culture and history—with cameos from presidents, ambassadors, historical figures, and the good, the bad, and the ugly of hotel guests—we uncover the character, not only of the author and his hotel, but Mompós itself.
My personal highlights were the stories of hidden treasure in the walls, the colourful local characters, and intriguing historical figures that could perhaps warrant their own story.
With a journalist’s eye and storyteller’s flair, this is far from a typical expat tale. What we find is a richly layered portrait of Mompós—and Colombia as a whole—seen through the lens of lived experience, making it essential reading for anyone interested in modern Colombia.
October 16, 2025
For a fellow immigrant to Colombia I found this to be a wonderful romp!
April 17, 2025
The Mompós Project offers a priceless window into small-town life in Colombia, weaving a compelling narrative about the contemporary history of this war-torn and enchanting nation in the process. In a tale of Fawlty Towers transplanted from Torquay to the swamps of the Magdalena, Richard McColl regales us with anecdotes of hapless backpackers, lonely paramours, stubborn locals and flashy parochial elites that will be all-too-familiar to anyone who has lived in Latin America. Bitingly funny, and written with a big heart and keen eye for Colombia's many idiosyncrasies, this book makes for great escapism for anyone who wants to live the hallucinatory Macondo dream without betting the house on a hotel of their own.
May 2, 2025
As a fellow Brit living in Colombia, I perhaps understand Richard's experiences more than most, but it's one thing to live and work in Bogotá, Colombia's capital city, and another to integrate into one of the country's oldest-surviving and most beautiful colonial towns, Mompós (or Mompóx as it is also referred). And while there are many things familiar to me, there is plenty that is new, such as the degree to which family history and tradition plays a role in status—often, it seems, to the town's detriment—as well as the power magic and belief holds over the day-to-day running of things. "The Mompós Project" is a love letter to the town Richard has made his home, warts and all, and largely reads as a well-organised collection of stories and personal anecdotes about life in a small town that possesses so much proud history while also coming to terms with its declining political and economical importance (although, the latter is slowly being turned around thanks to people like Richard investing in restoring its rich and vibrant buildings, as well as Colombia's growing tourism industry). The main focus of the book is fun stories about neighbours and guests, from the jealous locals who try to place curses on Richard's hotels to the young Colombian woman who drugged her future mother-in-law so she could pursue an affair with an Englishman. But no book of Richard's would be complete without some attempt to discuss the wider political and historical context, which he does with characteristic eloquence, ease, and honesty. If you're a foreigner who has moved to Colombia, you're considering it, or you are curious about what life is really like here, then do yourself a favour and buy this book!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews