1. It’s just a massive jungle.
Sure, Colombia gets the Amazon, the best biodiverse jungle on Earth. But Colombia is likewise so much more than that. Just consider Los Llanos. This grassland plain covers vast expanses of land in eastern Colombia which is you will find rope-swinging cowboys who herd cattle, tell mysterious folk stories, and do other cool cowboy stuff.
Then there’s Guajira Desert from the northeast of the country. Colombia even has snow. Los Nevados National Park, in the midst of the Colombian Andes, has the largest relief of your coastal mountains worldwide, with strong alpine peaks and ice-climbing opportunities. There’s hot springs, marble caves, multi-colored rivers, two oceans, islands, a 2000-meter-deep canyon, mud volcanoes, modernized cities…I reckon that you possibly can mention that Colombia is a reasonably diverse “jungle.”
2. Tourists might be kidnapped.
“Basically bring a camera, will I often be a walking target for kidnappers?” That’s that of a friend inquired about before visiting Colombia not too long ago. I assured him that he or she along with his Sony NEX-3 would not be a target to get a potential kidnappers. Once considered the world-kidnapping capital, Colombia is significantly safer of computer was a decade ago. Statistics prove that in 2019 there were a reported 292 installments of kidnapping — a 92% fall from 2000. Also consider that most kidnappings are against human rights workers and oil workers, not Johnny-tourist types.
3. We all love Shakira.
When I had been in Buenos Aires, I often began conversations with fellow soccer fans with, “That Lionel Messi. Hell of a player isn’t he!” Most would shrug their shoulders and just say, “He’s no Maradona.” The problem is that unlike Maradona, Messi never spent his soccer youth as part of his native Argentina — a choice which resulted in a bitter taste in the mouths of numerous Argentinians. They see Messi as a great player, but a fantastic European player, not a true Argentine legend.
The same can be stated for Shakira. You would reckon that this international superstar singer is revered in her native country. However, this is not true. Learn about, like Messi, her decision to leave out her native country caused many Colombians to doubt her patriotism. To make matters worse, she once sang an inappropriate words to your Colombian national anthem…something music idol Juanes would not do.
4. It’s ‘Columbia’, not ‘Colombia’.
Don’t believe all you read inside press, on the telly news networks, or on Twitter. For years folk have been misspelling Colombia’s name. And take it from me, the locals here hate it. In reality, irritation with this faux pas hit such heights that your advertising and marketing campaign was started recently called “It’s Colombia, NOT Columbia.” Its remit is to oust perpetrators of your crime to make an example of them.
Those getting heads hanging in shame include Starbucks, NBC Weather, UK newspaper The Metro, as well as the normally factually-flawless Paris Hilton. As being a believer in using law within your own hands, I’d choose to name and shame Wales Online with regard to their article “Catherine Zeta Jones to relax and play Columbian Drug Queen in Film,” published in October 2019. No less than this publication used the proper vowel seven out from eleven times during the article…
5. It’s brimming with gun-slinging drug dealers on top of cocaine.
When going to a country, the majority of us love to keep to the local customs. In England you drink pints of beer at work. In Scotland you savor a few of the finest whiskey on the earth, along with Colombia you snort cocaine. Yet while England’s penchant for public houses and Scotland’s for scotch use a certain ring of truth, Colombia’s dependence on white party powder just isn\’t.
Yes, its cultivated in and trafficked from Colombia, but consumption among residents can be quite lacking in comparison to europe. Nearly the tea-swilling English plan to snort more, though the Scots were named as being the biggest cocaine users on earth using a UN Drug Report. Colombia, meanwhile, appears way documented on your list, behind both US additionally, the prim and proper Swiss.
6. You will need to travel everywhere with a bus.
While traveling on buses in a great many South American countries may be the smartest choice due to expensive flights, Colombia differs. Admittedly, some journeys are worthy of a pelvis-thumping bus journey, especially around the coffee region where dramatic valleys and deep green mountainsides alllow for perfect photo opportunities. Except for those who’d like to go to their destination from a reasonable time, local airlines (especially budget option Viva Colombia) offer cheap deals that are often less than buses.
7. When Colombians are certainly not taking cocaine, they’re swigging coffee.
Colombia may produce a bucket load of coffee, nevertheless they tend not to get at the top of their very own supply. Despite working long hours, most Colombians don’t trust in a cupful of Joe to the morning hours pick-me-up. That’s not to say they don’t drink coffee, they only don’t drink it into the extent you would think of the country that grows among the better beans on earth.
The fact is that the majority Colombian espresso beans are exported to the US and coffee-crazed Countries in europe. Studies into coffee consumption show that Colombians drink less coffee per capita versus US and most European nations — particularly the Nordic countries. The phenomenon twists even more bizarrely if you think about that Colombia also imports coffee, mainly from Peru and Ecuador, due to less expensive costs.
8. Everyone understands Pablo Escobar.
I once asked a group of Colombian friends to mention five issues you must not enlighten a Colombian in the party. On top of everyone’s list was, “Don’t find out if I\’m sure Pablo Escobar.” The drug lord who once terrorized areas along with drug cartel cronies was gunned down in 1993, plus the nation has spent over twenty years seeking to forget him. Tourists wishing to hear stories of his drug-trafficking antics will probably be left disappointed. People who persist with unwanted questions could possibly be ignored, insulted, or perhaps in the even worst scenario, told to emerge from Colombia and not return.
