"Hallucinatory-that’s just the way everyday life is, in Colombia. All the time, you say to yourself, did I just see that?”

 

 

We just returned from a fantastic 12 day, fast moving journey from Bogota to Zipaquira to the coffee triangle, to the Cocora Valley to the villages of Salento and Filandia through the Andes to the metropolis of Medellin, to the village of Guatope to the Caribbean coastal city of Cartagena.

 

 All went extremely well!  The amount of time we spent educating ourselves, planning, preparing, and organizing paid off with a flawless execution of travel through one of the most beautiful countries in the world.

 

Colombia is considered the second most biodiverse country in the world (following Brazil).  It was not surprising that, Paulina Vega from Colombia was selected as Miss Universe. We met so many beautiful and intelligent Colombian women that would turn heads anywhere.  The country was bubbling with pride. 

The Colombian people were all very kind, and they always had a smile on their faces for us.

 

Colombia is responsible for more than 60% of the world’s emeralds and I bought Gerry a nice set of earrings to go with the emerald ring she got in Rio a few years ago.

 

We really enjoyed the climate due to its location close to the equator. Over 12% of the land in Colombia is dedicated to National Parks.  We spent a day hiking and hanging out at the magnificent Parque Nacional Natural Los Nevado. And did I mention coffee?? To kill for!!!

 

Colombia’s spanish is considered to be the “clearest” in the world and I spoke almost nothing but spanish the whole trip. There was very little english.

 

Medellin was once known as the most dangerous city in the world, now is a thriving progressive metropolis and the fashion capitol of Latin America. We felt entirely safe the whole trip, in fact safer than here in the United States.

 

In Bogota I worked out at one of the nicest gyms I have ever gone to. It seems that everyone in Bogota is into cycling, running, walking or skating. 

We loved the food, particularly the salchicha (sausage) and fish. The beer wasn’t half bad either. And we fell in love with the chubby! Fernando Botero’s work is nothing short of splendid.