Beyond the cliches in Colombia
Nathaniel Smith finds a warm welcome in this diverse, proud nation.
How long can one notorious figure, from one regrettable and tragic era, remain synonymous with a whole country?
Drug lord Juan Pablo Escobar, and the white powder central to his empire, is an enduring symbol of Colombia to many foreigners.
This devastating era in Colombia’s history undoubtedly survives today, albeit to an ever-diminishing extent. Superficially, to an outsider, it rears its head through Escobar-themed street tours, which glamorise Escobar’s career of criminality, and cheap-thrill party tourists found in the nation’s hostels.
Colombians are reminded of it in a way that is far more real. Colombian friends described to me repeated failed visa applications, brash airport interrogations and the slew of inevitable and demeaning questions when they mention their birthplace.
But Colombia is making significant and heartening strides away from its past.
Its economy is now one of the fastest-developing in South America. There has been a marked improvement in national security. Ongoing peace talks in Cuba between the Government and the country’s most powerful guerilla militia should soon end a 50-year war.
A village's mountain bar and pool, Colombia. Picture: Nathaniel Smith
Genuine hope is abundant.
Once the one-dimensional and outdated viewpoint of Colombia is extinguished, a fascinating and immensely diverse nation remains.
Colombia is now a travel gem off South America’s ragged “Gringo Trail” and a nation embarking on a golden age of tourism.
I arrived in Colombia because it was the cheapest available ticket to South America. My intention was to learn Spanish there for two weeks before heading downwards through the continent’s more renowned and rightfully beloved travel destinations.
But Colombia captivated me and I stayed for more than four months. Colombia’s absorbing culture led me to a journalism internship covering the nation’s current affairs and a job writing about its often-overlooked cuisine.
I stayed with a local family and then with Colombian friends, giving me a unique vantage point on Colombian society.
But I won’t lie. My hand clutched my wallet and my eyes flickered nervously as I walked through downtown Bogota to find my hostel on that first day.
The first few hours in any city will have you this way, never mind when you’re in a country once considered one of the world’s most dangerous. The grimy street art, thin alleys and grey Bogota weather amplified my unease.
A bustling Colombian village street during an annual festival of fire. Picture: Nathaniel Smith
As the days went on, however, this clenched, nervous hand gravitated from my pocket to the friendly, outstretched local ones; sometimes they held the national liquor aguardiente, sometimes they invited me to dance salsa and other times they were merely making acquaintance.
Colombians revealed themselves as passionate, curious and amiable. Take the time to learn a little of the language — anything from botched phrases to a working understanding — and you will be rewarded immensely. Or learn a few of their national footballers, at the very least.
This openness to outsiders was shown in the infinite shots of local liquor offered to me (“No” is not a recognised answer when aguardiente is involved), in the countless curious locals asking me “Where are you from ... what do you think of Colombia”, and the women humouring me with failed late-night salsa dancing lessons.
My “Colombian family” in Medellin took me in as a genuine son, gleefully and proudly sharing their life with me. They acknowledged lingering effects of the nation’s troubled past and possessed a palpable shame about it. These feelings manifested in a proud desire not only to welcome me with open arms but to prove that their city — once Escobar’s headquarters and then unfathomable as a tourist destination — was a safe and beautiful city of warm, charitable people.
They succeeded.
December embodies the Colombian spirit. The month revolves around family, the celebration of life and the Catholic religion. Some families will meet every day of the month, drinking and dancing as if they hadn’t seen each other for a year. One family street party involved a live band, a pot of stew capable of feeding a village, close to 60 family members and drinks being tossed around like a game of pass the parcel.
Palm trees in the coffee region of Colombia. Picture: Nathaniel Smith
Colombia is one of the world’s most biodiverse countries, equipped with a Caribbean coast, Amazonian jungle and a mountainous coffee zone — all home to endless species of plants and animals. The difference in lifestyle and geography between these regions is striking.
The cool, hazy lifestyle of the sunny Caribbean coast is vastly different to the clinical, modern attitudes of grey-weathered economic hub Bogota.
The scattered colonial villages of the coffee region, nuzzled among green mountains and plantations, remain frozen in time when compared with the lively, innovative Medellin.
The Jurassic Park-esque Tayrona National Park offers wildlife-rich mountains metres from stunning beaches lined with palm trees. Then there is the Amazon, one of the world’s truly unique regions. This provides something for everyone and distinct holidays within a holiday.
What struck me most about Colombia was that despite the country’s past and the often-overt poverty, Colombians seem to be very happy people.
They live with passion and pride, which stand triumphant in the face of their challenges.
Colombia does exhibit the inevitable growing pains of a rapidly transforming country.
It is attempting to open up to the world while clinging to its traditional cultural and religious roots — a testing and sometimes divisive prospect.
But it is, in my experience, a truly rewarding and exhilarating travel destination with an incredible amount to offer.
