Aaron and Anne-Sophie

I know we don’t blog very often anymore, especially with Facebook to update our travel status, but there are so many interesting things about Colombia that cannot only be shown through photos or one liners. I was going to wait until we got back, but I’m stuck somewhere in Bogota in the rain without any umbrella and the taxis all occupied, so I need something to do. As some of you may know, I’ve been traveling in Colombia for over a week now, and Anne-Sophie is coming tonight and we’ll continue to the north of Colombia and then to Venezuela returning January 4th. Sorry to all the friends and family for missing Christmas and New Years.

So . . . let’s start off with most people’s immediate impression of Colombia. They either think drugs or beauty paegant queens. Perhaps they think of Colombia’s violence and it being the kidnapping capital of the world. All of those are still true depending where you go, and like most countries I’ve visited, the country is much more complicated than how it’s portrayed in the media, if it’s portrayed at all. For the most part I’ve avoided the above. I didn’t go to Medillin and Cali, the beauty paegant contestant capitals and plastic surgery capitals of Colombia. I heard even the manequins to display clothes have been altered to the shape of Colombian women’s busts. I didn’t come with a human rights delegation to explore the many political economic troubles fueling Colombia’s violence and how the US, the Colombian government, and multi-national corporations tolerate and sometimes initiate the violence through right wing paramilitaries and not only the left wing guerillas. I did visit one human rights group and I’ll talk about the politics later. I came mostly to enjoy the culture and history of Colombia and ultimately relax. Anne-Sophie continues to work hard for her international development firm, and I just finished 15 weeks with 6th graders and will be looking for teaching positions when I get back. And that’s the main reason why most travelers end up in Colombia. In the backpacker hostels, you meet people traveling the whole continent or just a few weeks like me, but almost all of them are in transition. They’ve quit their job or finished school. They’re looking for something and some have found it in Colombia.

So if you want to find yourself in Colombia, things in most of the tourist attractions are safe. Avoid certain parts of towns like in many countries and avoid certain rural areas. You’ll find wonderful natural sites, history, and friendly people. I first went to Zona Cafeterra, where another of Colombia’s famous products is grown, (besides cocaine) coffee. The route through the lush green Andes is beautiful enough for one to ignore the vomiting child next to you. Why do I always get one of those in my bus? In this area we find the modern Juan Valdezes. They’re called the Texans of Colombia; they eat a lot of meat and wear cowboy hats. In order to relax I went to find some natural hot springs nestled in front of a waterfall.

After a weekend in Bogota, the more sophisticated and cold capìtal, to see some of old ESL students, I headed to San Agustin. Once a haven for guerillas, it now makes a living with its archaeological wonders. It’s small town, and after only 2 days, I felt I already could recongnize everyone. There I found some other travelers to do some tours, because San Agustin is full of pre-Colombian statues and relics from tribes that lived there thousands of years ago and disapeared before the Spanish took over. It’s still a mystery what the statues mean exactly, since they didn’t leave behind any writing. It’s sort of a mixture of other Native American beliefs, with ideas of reincarnation, Egpytian burial rituals, and deity worship mixed in. Human assumed roles of animals, which can be seen in the statues and gold jewelry (Colombia Album). They also used drugs to enhance their religious visions. There may have been human sacrifice as well.

Colombia is a country of contrasts. Everywhere there Christmas lights and nativity scenes. They’re very Catholic. At the same time, there’s the superficial material side, with girls with low cut jeans and shirts, but in many cases it’s the best way to move up in the machismo driven society. There’s the fiery side. I must of seen at least half a dozen disputes on the street. There’s love telenovela style. Every restaurant seems to have soap operas going on, and listening to a woman talk on her cell phone to her boyfriend or family member, they sound like they’re in soap opera with constant “mi amor,” and other such cheesy talk (at least cheesy for many Americans). In Bogota, similarly, there’s the poor and historical part of town, and then there’s the modern rich side of town that is just like any nice town in the US. There’s an extreme amount of security all the places I went to, sort of like Israel with check points, ID checks, and bag checks, but at the same time there’s an extreme amount of insecurity for those on the margins, such as the indigenous, Afro-Colombian, and peasant communities, who are caught in between the conflict and desires of the rich and fanatical leftists. Israelis love traveling here by the way. You’ll find some tourist places with Hebrew and businesses started by Israelis. And like Israel and the US for that matter, all that money spent on military also leaves Colombia’s infrastructure and other services lacking, with no real solutions to the very real conflicts that they choose to try sweep under the rug or remove with harsh violence.

Well the rain has stopped, so I better get going. Good thing we’re headed to the Caribbean coast. Hasta luego!