What comes to mind about Colombia?

Written by Ángela Hernández

Edited by Jewel

Imagen: Colombia Magia Salvaje

So about Colombia, most people would know about our coffee, Shakira, maybe our soccer team, cocaine and the civil war we have been in for years. The people who follow this account also know about the Wayuu mochilas and the Wayuu tribe. What else comes to our minds about Colombia?

Colombia is a country located to the north west of South America, so we have coasts in both the North (Caribbean) and West side of the country (Pacific Ocean). Our region is also one of the most biodiverse areas in the world. We have thousands of bird species and amphibians, and it is a paradise for bird watchers. Flora and fauna, change so much within the different regions of the country. And we are not only diverse in our flora and fauna, we are also diverse in our people having more than 89 indigenous groups. We have all climate altitudinal zones, which range from sea level across both of our ocean coasts (Pacific and Atlantic) to Glacial.

Colombia is known for cocaine in the media, what not many people know is that the coca leaf, the plant which the substance comes from is actually a sacred plant to many indigenous groups. Coca leaves, even though treated as an "illegal" plant are base for infusions, medicine, creams, food and ceremonies that is prepared by indigenous people.

We are a country rich in fruits, there is so much variety and we include them in all sorts of dishes. Uchuvas (cape gooseberry), granadillas, maracuyá, maracúa, gulupa, agraz, are just some of the local ones that I personally love. We are the second exporter of Panela, the sugar cane non refined product that is full of healing properties; I mainly use it for energy and after training. It recovers the salts lost while exercising.

We have amazing sports people in areas like cycling, soccer, weightlifting, high jump, sprinting, and tennis. We have great singers, and we often joke that there is a Colombian in every corner of the world. We also have a super strong fashion hub in Medellin, and one of the longest exclusive cycling street network in the world with 500 Km in Bogota.

We are also one of the happiest countries in the world. For several years we have ranked in the top 3 of the happiest countries in the world according to different indexes.

These are some of the things that come to mind about Colombia.

I would like for you to hear Jay's perspective as a foreigner on what he has learnt about Colombia.

It’s been pretty cool when we’ve talked about it