Come closer my friend, for I have something to share with you that we don't necessarily want the rest of the world to know...
Colombia is I-N-C-R-E-D-I-B-L-E.
*hands down*
The best kept secret of South America.
Where
to start?! The gasp-worthy countryside? The wicked rumbas (parties)?
The "ambiente caliente"? The masses of photo-worthy faces? The daunting
size of the avocados and mangos? The smells wafting from the bakeries?
The alleys full of flowers tumbling over amazing architecture? The
breed of backpacker? The sweaty salsa discoteques? And the people! The
people! The people!
Let me give you two of a dozen examples...
--
I walk into a hotel in Popayan and inquire as to if a room is
available. The young woman smiles and informs me that the entire town
is booked because of a conference. The first drops of the afternoon
monsoon start to splatter in the garden in the center plaza of the
hotel. "Ni una cama?" (Not one bed?) I plead. The smile never leaves
the face of the girl as she replies, "No problem. You can sleep in the
bed of mi papi. He's out of town for the weekend. Okay? Follow me."
--
I wander out of the rain and into a building in Cali and ask the
receptionist where I can find a map of the city. She shakes her head
and tells me she hasn't any idea. A young girl approaches me and says,
"Come with me. I'll drive you to the tourist office. And here's my
card. Call me tonight and I'll show you around all of Cali, okay?!"
I have never, in all my travels, met such a warm and welcoming people as the Colombians.
The
backpackers too are of a whole other breed; Uniquely united in a dare
to challenge the rumor of danger, they've each surrendered their
security at the border in exchange for a romp where only those that
take their life less seriously can wander. In the last two nights, I
was the only American at tables with representatives from Serbia,
Slovenia, Denmark, Czech Republic, Israel, Colombia, Thailand, Holland,
Norway, Australia, France, England, Belgium and Zimbabwe. And not a
pair of zip-off pants in the whole bunch.
And Colombia is easy
on the backpacker budget as well -- although the value of dollar has
dropped dramatically in the last week (ranging from 3000 to 2000 pesos
in exchange for US1$). My taxi driver informs me that the drop is due
to the US presidential elections. He then tells me that he should be
able to vote for my president because, "...what happens in your country
probably actually affects me more than it does you." I nod my head in
absolute agreement.
And the cities!!! There aren't enough pretty adjectives in the dictionary so I'll just let you see for yourself...
