This Is Non Your Parents’ Colombia
Posted: 3/14/2019 | March 14th, 2019
Colombia’s troubled past times – cartels, paramilitaries, poverty, petty offense — casts a long shadow that however reaches to today. The province is however viewed past times many equally a house where danger lurks closed to every corner.*
Having grown upward hearing stories of Colombian drug lords, kidnappings, murders, too muggings, these ghosts haunted the dorsum of my heed equally prepared to see the country.
Was the province going to go safe? Should I select my electronics?
The stories too images nosotros grow upward amongst don’t larn out us easily. They slide to the recesses of our heed too hold off there, create to outpouring dorsum to the forefront too whisper fearfulness into our ears.
Even though I knew otherwise, the one-time icon of Colombia — born of decades of media b0mardment — however circled closed to me equally I touched downward inward Medellin.
It apace evaporated ane time aspect upward amongst reality.
Colombian history is but that. History.
Yes, at that spot are however many problems hither inward Colombia: the drug merchandise is however strong, paramilitaries however exist, too petty offense is a major problem. The murder rate, though falling dramatically over the concluding decade, was however 11,781 inward 2017 too petty offense too armed robbery are however a regular occurrence amongst 2018 seeing over 200,000 armed robberies inward the country.
Locals oftentimes suggested non going out to sure areas at nighttime too beingness extra careful amongst my stuff. There are however issues amongst the paramilitaries (there was a b0ming land I was at that spot past times the National Liberation Army, a radical paramilitary group). Income inequality is high. Poverty is rife. About 29% of the population lives below the poverty line.
Colombia is non perfect. It’s however growing, it’s however developing, too it however is trying to cast off the long shadow of its troubled past.
But the big cartel days are over, too most paramilitaries demand keep entered peace agreements amongst the government. Major crimes are decreasing each year. Kidnapping has decreased past times 92% since the cartel years too homicides demand keep dropped past times closed to 50% over the past times ii decades.
Poverty is decreasing equally well. Since 2002, when the regime started tracking poverty statistics, the poverty charge per unit of measurement inward the province has dropped from almost 50% to 29% — and it’s however dropping past times closed to 3% each year. On hand of that, their gross domestic product per capita has increased almost five-fold since 1980.
Slowly but surely, things are improving.
Tourism from closed to the globe is on the rise, equally well, amongst tourism doubling since 2010.
Foreigners are moving at that spot inward droves (Colombia gets a novel immigrant every eighteen minutes). The province is a hub for digital nomads too tech companies similar WeWork, Facebook, too Google. It’s making big strides, to a greater extent than oftentimes than non dispelling visitors’ previous preconceptions.
Danger doesn’t lurk closed to every corner the means it used. Republic of Colombia is a province on the motility too people are eagerly wanting to shed its past.
This is non our parent’s Colombia.
The province constantly blew away all my expectations. (Even my dad, who was sure I was going to larn kidnapped, commented afterward seeing my photos that it wasn’t anything similar he idea it was.)
The people were curious, friendly, warm, too helpful. I had some corking conversations amongst students too Uber drivers (I bonded amongst ane over classical music too some other over our usual honey of the mass The 5 Love Languages). Colombians I met inward Cartagena took me out too treated me similar nosotros had been friends forever. I had countless other positive encounters amongst people who seemed to a greater extent than oftentimes than non happy to demonstrate their province to visitors.
The infrastructure rivaled what you lot consider inward the advanced countries of Europe. Seriously, the roads, the ski-style gondolas leading into the mountains, the subways, the rapid motorcoach routes, the trams — I alone wishing the United States had such a comprehensive system.
The culinary scene — high-class gastronomy throughout, mixed amongst incredible hole-in-the-wall restaurants too ceviche too fruit smoothie street vendors — is ane of the most eclectic too cutting-edge inward the region.
And amongst lightning-fast Wi-Fi too tons of cafés, I constitute working at that spot a breeze.
Colombia is packed amongst things to produce too see, from beautiful colonial towns similar Popayan too Cartagena to vibrant cities such equally Bogotá too Medellín, from dancing inward Cali to the Lost City Trek, from the beaches of the northward to hikes inward the java region, from the desert of Tatacoa to the ruins of San Agustín.
I idea that spending half dozen weeks inward the province would let me to dig a lilliputian deeper, but fifty-fifty amongst that amount of time, I however barely scratched the surface.
Colombia is no Shangri-La.
But it’s damn close.
I give it an eleven out of 10.
It may go clichéd to order but I can’t hold off to go back. Republic of Colombia was ane of the best countries I’ve visited inward years.
I can’t verbalize highly plenty nigh it.
Book Your Trip to Colombia: Logistical Tips too Tricks
Book Your Flight
Find a inexpensive flying past times using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my ii favorite search engines because they search websites too airlines closed to the globe too therefore you lot ever know no rock is left unturned.
Book Your Accommodation
You tin strength out mass your hostel amongst Hostelworld. If you lot desire to remain somewhere other than a hostel, go Booking.com equally they consistently furnish the cheapest rates for guesthouses too inexpensive hotels. I go them all the time.
Don’t Forget Travel Insurance
Travel insurance volition protect you lot against illness, injury, theft, too cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection inward illustration anything goes wrong. I never continue a trip without it equally I’ve had to go it many times inward the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for 10 years. My favorite companies that offering the best service too value are:
- World Nomads (for everyone below 70)
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*I don’t hateful but inward the United States. Republic of Colombia has go incredibly pop amongst Dutch travelers thank you lot to a pop TV demonstrate that takes house hither but many told me that older Dutch residents however enquire “Why are you lot going to Colombia? It’s dangerous.” Old patterns expire hard…no thing where you lot are inward the world.
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