All of a sudden Colombia is a scorching vacationer vacation spot. It has emerged as one of many locations the place everybody desires to go. Journey developments come and go, however why Colombia now? Partly, as a result of it’s new and contemporary. Colombia itself is just not new, in fact. It has a protracted and sophisticated historical past, which is a big a part of why it’s such a compelling vacation spot. It’s a spot the place many cultural forces have converged over centuries, then assimilating each other. All of the cultural cross-pollination makes Colombia an especially wealthy cultural panorama.
As a tourism vacation spot, nonetheless, Colombia is new. Along with unimaginable and numerous pure magnificence, there’s the capital metropolis of Bogota, with the biggest assortment of gold on the planet; Zipaquirá, with its well-known subterranean Salt Cathedral and pre-Columbian historical past; Medellin, referred to as the Metropolis of Everlasting Spring for its temperate climate, and the house of the well-known artist Fernando Botero; and the port metropolis of Cartagena on Colombia’s Caribbean coast, with its colourful colonial buildings and tropical local weather.
For many years Colombia was not on any tourism maps due to one type of battle or one other. Many of the information out of Colombia was about fights between drug cartels and the federal government. It didn’t sound like a spot to go on trip. And it actually wasn’t throughout these years.
However in 2016, the Colombian authorities negotiated a peace settlement with FARC, The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. The treaty included amnesty for members of FARC, permitting them to reassimilate and turn out to be productive members of society. The compromise put an finish to the form of back-and-forth battle that always retains refueling itself in unending cycles. Colombia discovered a method to curtail the violence and transfer ahead – and that allowed for the event of a tourism business.
Now, eight years after the settlement, tourism is blossoming. A hospitality sector has taken form. Being a tour information is now a viable profession for Colombians. It’s a good looking factor when that occurs, and you may witness an awakening. Tourism gives lifeblood to many nations; a buddy of mine referred to as it the “peace business,” and I agree. It actually does assist nations elevate themselves up.
So now Colombia is a star on the tourism map. Its distinctive options can be found for the world to partake of and be enriched by. Vacationers convey income that helps construct the financial system and tourism reaches all segments of society. For a traveler, that’s a bonus. Apart from being enriched by the expertise, you already know you might be serving to folks construct their world. Having been by means of such attempting occasions has one thing to do with the nice and cozy, soulful character with which Colombians greet you, and the spirit that floats out of the music you hear as you journey across the nation.
At present there’s a form of renaissance in Colombia. Due to the years Colombia was offstage, its tourism expertise is contemporary. As a result of Colombia was behind a veil, in a way, after I visited in 2015 I didn’t know a lot about it. However I discover that every time I arrive in a rustic, I’m flooded with associations I’ve gathered all through my life – beforehand submerged recollections. It’s as if each connection I’ve ever had with it comes dashing to entrance of thoughts, drawn by the magnetism of the place.
When that occurs, you understand you already know greater than you thought you knew. You discover your connections to the place and it begins to really feel like house. However regardless of how a lot you have got discovered about it earlier than you go, it’s all the time stunning while you get there. Nothing is ever fairly what you count on.
Colombia has a lot in widespread with different Latin American nations, however every area has its personal historical past and character. Colombia has the attract typical of Latin American nations: the intense colours, the soulful Latin music, vivacious artwork, dance and style, scrumptious meals, and pleasure of life. Nevertheless it has its personal distinctive character as nicely, based mostly on its distinctive geography, historical past and economics.
You may’t absorb all of Colombia in a single journey, however you may get a snapshot of the vary of its range. It’s the one South American nation with each Pacific and Caribbean coastlines. It has the Andes Mountains, and a big piece of the Amazon rainforest. It packages all the primary options of South America into one nation. Although the equator runs by means of Colombia, the local weather varies as a lot as its geographical options. The capital metropolis, Bogota, 29th largest metropolis on the planet in response to the UN, is on the excessive plateau of the Andes. That moderates the equatorial temperatures and makes it nearly excellent for consolation and agricultural productiveness. If you speak about Colombia, you might be speaking about a number of issues.
Colombia’s measurement was one of many surprises for me. I had underestimated it, most likely as a result of how little an element it had performed in my very own expertise. On the map, Colombia is subsequent to Brazil, which dwarfs it. However Brazil is bigger than the continental United States. California, the large state that dominates the west coast of the U.S., is simply 37 p.c of the scale of Colombia. It’s an enormous space to discover.
Its geographical options are distinctive in some ways. It’s the northwest nook, the shoulder of the South American continent simply south of Panama, the strip of land that connects North and South America. It’s the gateway. For those who journey by land from North America, while you cross into South America you might be in Colombia. It has borders with Panama, Venezuela, Brazil, Ecuador and Peru.
Regardless of how nicely you suppose you already know geography, while you have a look at a map you come across surprises. Since Colombia is on the west coast of South America, I had imagined that touring from New York would require crossing North America to the western states after which heading south. However by air Colombia is straight south of New York. It’s really nearer to New York than California is. The flight to Bogota from New York is simply about 5 and a half hours, to Cartagena it’s underneath 5 hours. However while you arrive, it’s one other continent, an unique tradition.
Traditionally, the northwest nook of South America was inhabited by indigenous ethnic teams, such because the Muisca and the Tayrona folks. It was found by the Spanish in 1499, and in 1525 Rodrigo de Bastidas based the primary European settlement within the space, Santa Marta, which is the oldest persevering with metropolis in Colombia and the second oldest in South America, after Quito, Ecuador.
Following the arrival of the Spanish, there was a collision and cultural cross-pollination of European cultures, over 100 indigenous teams and, with slavery, African cultures. These are the dominant threads that make up the ethnic tapestry of Colombia, and the muse of the trendy nation. It’s a full of life cross-cultural combine. Kinds of music are just like these of Cuba and Mexico, however with Colombia’s personal taste, with cumbia, meringue and rumba.
World-famous pop stars from Colombia embody Shakira, the volcanic singer and dancer who had a global hit with “Hips Don’t Lie,” and Sofía Vergara, who performed Gloria Delgado-Pritchett within the sitcom “Trendy Household.”
Gabriel García Márquez, the Nobel Prize-winning writer of One Hundred Years of Solitude is Colombian, although he spent a lot of his time in exile. His significance can hardly be overstated. His masterpiece is the third most translated Spanish guide, has offered greater than 50 million copies worldwide, was a favourite of presidents Clinton and Obama, and is credited by literary figures as being the guide that gave Latin America its id. The legacy of Márquez is throughout Colombia, in Bogota, Medellin and Cartagena.
Fernando Botero, the good Colombian painter and sculptor who died final September, 2023, made a mark on the world with large sculptures that seem in public areas all around the glo, together with Berlin, Paris, New York, Madrid, Seattle and Singapore.
Simón Bolívar, El Libertador, the good common who liberated six Latin American nations from Spanish rule, was born in Venezuela, however has loads of historical past in Colombia.
And that’s only a style of what awaits in expensive Colombia.
Your Humble Reporter
Colin Treadwell
