The Authentic Colombia

It is a curious thing the power that a word can draw to itself. Colombia is considered by many to be taboo, a "traveler's pariah" in the words of a lonely planet guidebook writer who never came here. Go tell your Mom and Dad you are thinking about going to Colombia, and hope they are as composed and respectful to these plans as my parents, even if, at the same time, they would rather like me to not be here and have faithfully pursued all avenues available to them in order to try and encourage me to abandon these plans (I know you guys had the best intentions, and love you both dearly for it. You are, however, very much misinformed about this country). In fact, most of you all are. What can you expect though, when all we ever hear about are about the country's blights selectively told by our media? Accordingly, Colombia remains in our minds a forbidden land. But forbiddeness brings mystery, and mystery just begs to be searched out. Add to that the testimonies from heaps of travelers who had passed through the country and a handful of Colombians themselves, ALL of which gave NOT ONE negative report about Colombia, and you know the basis for my excitement and determination to visit. Throw out the word Colombia, and many will think of a country where nearly every person is a member of a guerrilla group or drug cartel, where a traveler is guarunteed to either be gunned down by the next Pablo Escobar or take a detour of undetermined length on a FARC-led jungle trek (others may just recall that omnipresent colombian cowboy and his horse, who miraculously appeared in the oddest of places whenever awakening strangers the world over found themselves in need of some coffee). I have known none of these things, nor have any of my fellow traveler's with worried parents back home.

I hope, as I put down my adventures I have had throughout Colombia, that I can give you a new perspective of this country and its people: an authentic view. Rather than listening to the abounding rumors of a country better left to itself, which originate from those who have never come, I hope you will take the view of a traveler who has actually passed through its countryside, eaten its food, slept in its towns, and interacted with its people. And even if you never venture to this amazing place or come to love it and its people as I have, maybe you will come away with a truer view of Colombia than you held before.