The non-narcos Colombia I know
A few months ago, Ry and I took my in-laws and sister to my favorite place on earth: Armenia, Colombia. Armenia is part of the Quindío department and it’s one of the most important coffee producers of the country. The rolling hills are home to its people, who are famous for their hospitality. And a great bonus: the weather is always around 75 degrees Fahrenheit. My kind of paradise.
A little background
If you know me, odds are you know I was born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia. I’m very proud and thankful of where I come from, it has shaped who I am in many ways. Colombia’s story is one of reinvention and overcoming obstacles. I remember growing up in the “reign” of Pablo Escobar. Even though my family didn’t directly feel the effects of the conflict, I remember how insecure the city was and the horrible news we’d get on the TV every night. I remember the day he was killed.
The typical response I get when people find out I’m from Colombia has something to do with drugs. And after living in country tore down by drugs and corruption, those “funny comments” only frustrated and irritated me to no end. Comments went from “is your dad a drug lord” to “you must know where to buy the best cocaine.” Earlier on, my best response was to fight generalizations with more generalizations by using the law of supply and demand. I’d simply state “if you Americans didn’t demand so many drugs here, Colombia’s drug issues wouldn’t exist.” Yikes. Not sure that helped, but it would shut people up and that was enough for me then.
However, in 2006, I had the opportunity to host a group of women from North America and Europe for a month in Bogotá. I took them all over the city and then we went with friends to Santa Marta by bus (15 hours). And this changed it all for me: if I wanted people to know about Colombia, a snarky remark about drug demand wasn’t going to cut it, I simply had to show them. So now, one of my passions in life is to show people just that, the beauty, diversity, and creativity of a country that has suffered much but also has overcome a lot. The non-Narcos perspective, if I may, is quite different and gorgeous and hopeful. And to drive my point home even more, Lonely Planet named Colombia as the #2 destination among the top 10 places to travel in 2017.
Back to Armenia, Colombia
When I was in High School my friend invited me to travel with her family to the coffee region and I absolutely fell in love with it. This place, in my opinion, is a great gateway for any foreigner that wants to experience Colombian culture. Although it’d be silly not to point out that the diversity in the country is off the charts. Armenia is only a small glimpse.
Taking people to Colombia feels like a calling to me, so when my in-laws decided to visit I planned out our time there. Soon enough, we arrived for the most relaxing and breathtaking time. Every morning we started breakfast with fruit directly from trees in the property. The rest of the meals were true to Colombian culture: low on vegetables and full of meat and carbs [much to the dismay of my super healthy MIL]. We enjoyed coffee that was harvested on the property, and without any cream [because it simply doesn’t exist in Colombia]. The beautiful scenery was the perfect backdrop for the place we were staying in. We took naps in hammocks while parakeets and hummingbirds roamed around the balcony. We visited all the little towns in the area and then did some shopping.
So here are but a few of the many, many pictures we took there:
Horseback riding through the Cocora Valley
The colorful and colonial streets of Salento
A corner of Salento, with it’s flag
Ry and I with the Cocora Valley behind us – home of the tallest palm trees in the world
Reinaldo teaching us about coffee harvesting
The coffee pulper on the grounds and that is used to process all the coffee on the property
If you ever feel like going, please please let me know. There are a couple of trips in the works for next year:
- Coffee lovers: tour the grounds and learn about the process of growing and exporting coffee
- Unplugging in paradise: No wifi or phones here, just surround yourself with nature and explore the area
- Adventure abroad: Hiking, rafting, repelling, and maybe even hangliding and caving.
Curious to know more about it? Subscribe below for more updates and details or shoot me an email at pao@thecolibriproject.com
I’ll leave you with a video of a trip I did when I first took Ry to see Colombia. We visited Villa de Leyva and Armenia.
