I didn’t expect to fall in love with Colombia the way I did. Although there were some negative and unenjoyable parts, as with anywhere, the people, the food and the scenery outweighed everything else. Ryan and I brainstormed our top 10 favorite things about our time in Colombia, and they are as follows:
1. Giant Avocados
Need I say more? I love avocados in all shapes and sizes, and was especially pleased with the giant, fresh avocados in Colombia. We had avocado nearly everyday in Colombia; from slices with eggs, to homemade guac, it was all pretty amazing. There is nothing better than a perfectly ripe avocado!
2. Anything plantaine
I had read that plaintaines, which are like large, less flavourful bananas, were quite popular in Colombia, but I never expected to enjoy them the way I did. We had them flattened and fried with lunch, in the form of chips on the streets, as well as on all of our bus rides, and we enjoyed the large, fried plantaines, called patacones. I think it’s fair to say that I have had my fair share of anything and everything plaintaine over the last month. I highly recommend this local food to anyone who is or is planning to travel Colombia.
3. Coffee and coffee shops
One of the best parts of the last month has been the countless hours spent sipping lattes, iced lattes, and granizados (a distant cousin of the iced capp). Although the coffee itself was pretty awesome, Ryan and I really enjoyed coffee shop hopping in each new city we entered, and wasting our days away simply doing nothing but drinking coffee. I can’t really think of a better way to kick off our extended vacation!
4. Fresh Fruit
Pineapple, papaya, mango, dragonfruit, apples, bananas, coconut… All fresh, local, and sold for very cheap on the street. We’ve enjoyed countless desserts of fresh fruits, and many of our meals were coupled with a fresh fruit juice or smoothie. Santa Marta was one of our favorite locations for the fruit, and we immediately befriended Lulo because their smoothies were so delicious.
5. Graffiti in Bogota
The graffiti in Bogota was absolutely unbelieveable. The images were everywhere, they were massive, and they were incredibely well done; however, what I like the most about the graffiti in Bogota is that the artists are hired to create these murals, and all of them have a powerful meaning and signficance to the city and it’s history.
6. The beaches
Coming from Canada, the warm weather of northern Colombia was happily invited. We had incredible beach days at Playa Grande in Taganga, and then again at Playa Blanca in the Islas de Rosario. The water was warm and a beautiful turquoise blue colour, the sand was a crisp white, and the sun was shining. I don’t think I could have asked for much more.
7. Medellin
I absolutely fell in love with this city, and even after extending our stay, we still weren’t ready to leave. The city is bustling and modern, and located in a beautiful valley that is priveledge to what they call the “eternal spring”, meaning it is always temperate. The city is generally mid-twenties during the day, occcasionally has a brief rainstorm in the late afternoon, and then cools down to the perfect temperature at night. It is just enough that you get a break from he heat of the day, but isn’t quite cool enough to need pants and a jacket.
8. Touring a coffee plantation
Touring the Plantation House in Salento was a very neat experience. It was cool to see the farm, and to learn about the process of making coffee. It is crazy to me just how much work goes into a single cup of coffee, especially at a local, organic coffee farm. On top of the process itself, the scenery in zona cafeteria is jaw dropping, and makes for the perfect backdrop while sipping coffee.
9. Valle de Cocora
Despite my sprained ankle, this was one of the most scenic places I have ever been. Big blue sky, lush green grass, and palm trees towering over us. This was definitely a view not to be missed, and definitely a scenic highlight on our trip so far!
10. Botero
Who doesn’t love a picture, painting, or statue of all things fat? We were introduced to Botero in Bogota, and his work followed us through Colombia. In Medellin, there is a Botero Plaza where there are numerous sculptures of fat men, women, and horses. Perhaps Botero didn’t intend for his work to be amusing, but Ryan and I got a good laugh out of it.
Additionally, learning spanish has been a big part of the last month. Ryan and I have spent quite a few hours trying to learn spanish, in hopes of being able to hold a consistent conversation by the time we are finished our trip. The learning has been slow, but it has also been quite rewarding to learn something new and to see our progress. I often feel as though I’m missing out on some great conversation with interesting people because of the language barrier, and it has felt good to begin to break down these walls.
Adios, Colombia – you’ve been swell!
My Love Affair with Travel 