Travel Colombia
I was told that you could just see the drug money in Bogota because of its great avenues, buildings and high-end boutiques. We´re all afraid of Colombia travel and there is obviously some validity to that since it has heavily armed rebels and paramilitary forces as well as drug gangs. We have all read about the kidnappings of visitors. I am hear to say that Colombia is changing quickly and I believe it is mostly a very safe country to visit. I understand there are some remote areas where drugs are grown/processed which are still not safe, but the majority of this beautiful country is safe. I met a lot of experienced visitors and I did not hear any terrifying incidences of late.
Bogota is a nice city, but I think it is a stretch to say that it was built on drug money. I saw nothing other than a modern city built over hundreds of years in a country that has always had resources and therefore wealth. While Cali and Medillin sound scary due to their pre-2000s connections to extravagent drug lords, I understand they are wonderful places to visit. And the diversity of the different nature zones makes for the highest flora and flauna counts per kilometer than anywhere else on the planet including the Amazon. Hey, a great amount of Colombia is the Amazon basin! And this wildlife still exists even with the War on Drugs dumping nasty chemicals from the air daily. There are over 1900 different bird species here – more than any other country.
Cartagena has always been safe. Well, except when the British, led by Drake and Vernon, and pirates used to attack. I met up with Mark here. Mark is a fellow RTW traveler who I met in Mexico. We decided that they must have kept Cartagena free of violence so all sides would have a nice place to take their families on vacation. This is the most beautiful colonial city that I have found and a lot of that beauty is due to the old walls that surround it as well as the Caribbean ocean that it sits next to. The city has a million residents although the vast majority live in the newer, Miami-like area separate from the central historical area contained in the walls. Cartagena is very safe.
I am really happy that I came to Colombia. The city people are very friendly, educated and world-savvy. The women are the most beautiful that I have seen so far in Latin America, too. While Bogota is mainly Latino, Cartagena has the Caribbean black influences as well. I have enjoyed the best food of this trip in Cartagena. I am disappointed that I did not allocate all of my Bacu time to Colombia and I am thinking of getting back here after Brazil because I have not seen any of the countryside including the wildlife and the indigenous populations. If that does not happen, Colombia will certainly be high on my list of places to visit in the future. I say, consider Colombia as a primo destination because it isn´t what it used to be and it is a whole let better than you have been told in the past.
Tags: colombia, south america, Travel
vagabondrick
Rick: I too sure am glad that you went to Columbia and got to see beyond the well puclicized drug war stuff. Way to Go – Kathy