Some things I learned about the country in which I've lived for past 8 months

On 8th April last year I flew from Willemstadt to Medellín, the second major city in Colombia. It's told to have about 3.7 million habitants and it's located in Aburrá Valley, a central range of Andes. The city's recent history is closely related to the infamous drug-lord Pablo Escobar who, apparently, helped a lot to develop it in the 80's and early 90's. He used to reward people for killing policemen but also built many schools and hospitals, one time even offering to pay off the Colombian external debt. He was feared and loathed and loved at the same time.

The climate of Colombia and its flora and fauna are some of the most diverse in the world. Colombians claim to have the largest amount of plant and animal species which are not to be found anywhere else in the world, the big part of which lives/grows in the thick jungle of Amazon. There are some isolated tribes too who would certainly preferred to remain this way but, unfortunately, the trends of civilised outer world is difficult to convince and of a diametrically opposite interest.

Most of the country's area is covered with wast flatlands but these are contrasted with some serious mountains such as Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta which reaches up to almost 6000 metres making it the highest coastal mountain range in the world (forbidden to enter due to its sacredness and coca cultivation). And, of course, the Andes mountains, western, central and eastern range. Bogotá is located at its western range at the altitude of 2600 metres.

The political situation, even though it's dramatically improved in recent years (or so they say), is still a bit tense. There is still a civil war on fuelled by certain armed groups (FARC) who are disobedient to the local laws and free to operate in the areas with difficult access though tackled by one of the toughest armies in the world. Such situation may make locals a little bit cautious.

A drug business which wouldn't exist so much without the buying force of the U.S. but which is bombarded under pressure of the U.S., punishing a few unlucky people and the innocent nature is the one that the most uninterested non-Colombians would recognise.

People of Colombia, them I find generally warmer and more open-hearted, more straightforward. I think it's easy to engage with them but one might also be met with some prejudice in a way that every foreigner is a rich gringo (the history of this expression is actually quite funny; during the Mexican - American War in the 19^th century the US soldiers wore green uniforms and the Mexican ones used to shout at them “Green, go” (home, supposedly)), which I'd ignore most of the time. The negative encounters are immediately balanced by good-heartedness. For instance, after a crazy party with a Czech guy I met in Bogotá, I stopped at a small restaurant (there are many restaurants everywhere in Colombia) on my way home and had breakfast, during which I was interrogated by the restaurants owner, cook and server, who, satisfied with my limited answers in my even more limited Spanish, didn't let me pay and said that I was welcome any time I was hungry. I had difficulties disguising my emotions.

By now I think I established myself well among a few communities I happened to infiltrate, I found some good friends who helped me a lot and without who I would probably be back in Europe already. I met a lot of local climbers and mountaineers and I am trying to learn as much as possible from them; the teachers who help me with my teaching techniques and finding new students; I even have my personal doctor who didn't hesitate to come and visit me when I felt unwell and from who I learn a lot not only about health related issues; people who have their homes open for me any time I need it. Travelling really opens such doors for me, love to all those involved and those to be involved in future!

And what about food? The two main meals of the day are “desayuno” (breakfast) and “almuerzo” (lunch). There's a lot of typical stuff around and it varies from region to region. The typical full breakfast would consist of “caldo” which is a simple beef or fish broth with some potatoes and coriander plus “huevos al gusto” plus a chocolate drink with bread, it's sufficient to fill me up well and it can be as cheap as 4000 COP (2USD). Other favourite breakfast option is “tamal” which is rice, peas, a piece of chicken and a hard boiled egg all cooked inside a banana leaf. Then there are all kinds of “arepas” and “empanadas” with even more kinds of fillings. Lunch would normally have two parts, soup (usually “crema” or “sancocho”) and the main dish which is rice, meat(often grilled or “asado”), pulses of the day, a fried platano aka “patacon” and maybe a salad too. All this you can wash down with a tasty “jugo”(pronounced /hugo/) - the fresh fruit juice/smoothie or lemonade. My favourite dishes are “ajiaco” and “bandeja paisa”. In general, the local food is of rather mild flavours but of high nutritional values. People drink a lot of coffee which is usually not very strong and sweet, “aguapanela” (raw cane sugar dissolved in water, doping for the nation-representing cyclists), chocolate drink, jugo, “aromatica” but also alcoholic beverage such as beer, “aguardiente”(sugar cane distillate with an anise flavour), “chicha”(panela and corn flour fermented drink) and “guarapo”(peels of any fruit but most often of pineapple and panela fermented together). And lots of fruits you have never seen in your life. I'm well fed here.

The culture comes with music and it can be heard from many corners – salsa, merenge, regeton, vallenato and more, people love to dance and they seem to have a certain predisposition for this activity. That makes it hard for me to learn (salsa) because I feel like a trunk of hardwood tree next to them.

Another interesting observations: the ability to sell and advertise, they can be very “approachful” which is something unthinkable in Europe; punctuality is a rare phenomenon in Colombia and it took me a while to adapt.