The Flavor of the Colombian Life

There are few countries in the world where you could find so much beauty: the beaches of the white sand, mountains with the snowy peaks, evergreen tropical forests, precious archeological sites, vast and lively cities and cute Indian villages somewhere in the jungle. All of this you can find in Colombia.

It is South American country located between two oceans. South coast is swashed by the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, while the west coast by the Pacific Ocean.

Not only gold...

You shouldn’t bypass the Colombian capital Bogotá while traveling. And it would be hard if you wanted, because all the international flights are coming from here. Bogotá having more than six million people is at altitude of 2640 meters above the sea level in the shelter of Andes.

The list of things you could see in Colombia doesn’t end quickly. At first you could notice the modern Colombian Trade Center with lots of skyscrapers and vastness of suited office workers rushing in the streets after work or in a lunch time, later your eyes might lock on the Spanish colonial downtown with Palace of High Court, square with hundreds of pigeons and the Church of Maria del Carmen painted in brown and white. But of course that is only a few wonderful things that you can see in this country.

While visiting Bogotá you should definitely take a look at one of the most important museums of gold in the world (Museo del Oro), which has plenty of Colombian Indian’s gold, silver and emeralds of the pre-colonial period in its collection.

The most impressive room is the last one, where people are only let in small groups like to the large strongbox. Sturdy doors are shut by the security workers, light are turned off and you are allowed to have a glance at huge heritage of the Indian culture.

Flowers, dances, whoops

The second largest city in Colombia – Medellin and the entire nearby region (Antioquia) belonging to it is considered as the city of the most beautiful women and the eternal spring, because of its climate. It attracts dozens of people to the unique fair and also festival „Feria de las Flores” in August. During the parade mostly the local florists (silleteros) continuing the tradition of their ancients, demonstrate their massive flower compositions, garlands and various symbols or emblems made only from flowers.

The other Colombian city - Cali is famous for its salsa dances and energy. But the coastal residents are considered as the best dancers. You can see how they move their hips looking at Shakira, who came from Colombian and Caribbean coastal city Barranquilla.

34 km from Santa Marta there is the National Natural Park of Tayrona. A park with many beautiful beaches where you could admire gorgeous coral reefs near to the shore. The legendary „Lost City“(Ciudad Perdida) which once was a prosperous Indian city, is also here. It can only be reached on foot, patiently climbing trough the mountains and crawling in the hand made tunnels for the entire day. The paths to this village were made in the certain manner, so that the Tayrona’s Indians could hear the advancing enemies.

Those who are looking for the impressive view, should definitely visit San Augustin located in the southern part of the country, between the mountains, sierras and canyons. It is a unique archeological zone, added to the list of UNESCO’s heritage. Here the local people many years before worshipped the nature and death as the symbols of eternity and conversion. These massive stone cult sculptures are dated back to II cent. BC.

Different traditional meal in different regions

Colombia – a vast country with specific food for each region. The whole magazine won’t be enough to write about each region.

One of the first interesting meals that you can meet in Colombia is (empanada) - a pie stuffed with meat and cooked on oil. Usually Colombian people put a few drops of peppery sauce or kibbled garlic, onion, tomatoes, etc. while eating.

The region whose capital is Medellin can be proud of its modern metro and of the meal called “Paisa Flag” (Bandeja Paisa: paisa – person, who comes from this region), because it has many “colors” of the taste, just like the flag. It consists of porky flank roasted in the oil till it gets crunchy and is also cut in many great stripes, so that the cooked flank would be later easily broken into pieces.

Boiled rice, beans, minced meat cooked only on vapor in the arid manner (it might remind of sand for the unseasoned eaters), weenie sausages (chicharrons), or blood-pudding (morsilla) stuffed with rice, unfamiliar spices and blood, are also very popular dishes around the country.

Various dishes of meat and fish find their place in the Colombian cuisine. Though their taste isn’t elaborate or somewhere different if compared to the taste common for all of us, only the garnish differs. You may get rice, potatoes, parched potatoes, or sometimes spaghetti with the roast. Vegetables with the roast include: various salads, cabbages, red beetroots, haricots and somehow green, unripe tomatoes. It is common to eat griddlecakes made from minced corn called “arepa” instead of the bread in Colombia. The simplest griddlecakes are ate almost with any local how meals, often salt less, without any additions. However, the also are various griddlecakes of cheese, chocolate and other. All kinds of these semi manufactures could be found in the supermarkets. The Colombian people roast these griddlecakes before eating, so they get even more tastier. Let’s talk now a little about seafood. The coastal resorts of the Caribbean like Cartagena with San Felipe fortress and Santa Marta with its ‘valenato’ music played in the beaches (people who want to dance can pay them and have a dancefloor on the beach) and the entire coastal zone is the place, where many fish and seafood is eaten.

You can cheaply get a fresh juice of various fruits in every resort. The fruits of deep consistence here are mixed with fragmented ice pieces or milk. A refreshing cocktail is made in that way.

The only exotic thing – roasted ants

The only truly exotic dish, which perhaps we shouldn’t even call a dish at all, was ants roasted in the pan. However, not all Colombians had tried it themselves, even when having the opportunity. The bellies of the mother ants are roasted in butter. It could be eaten alone, or you could try them mixed with the rice. It may seem to you like the rasins ;) The taste recalls not more than dried fruits in the oven, when they crisp in the mouth.

(Un)daintiness and restaurants

The most popular restaurants, treated as good doesn’t stand of from the others. Usually people choose restaurants, which are located in the big supermarkets or entertainment centers. Its popularity is represented by almost never-ending queues of people outside the restaurant doors. The interior of it is usually unsophisticated, unless it has ancient like interior representing the place. One of the most popular restaurant chains in Colombia, which is worth to visit is – „Crepes and Waffles“. They provide excellent quality food, however a little more French than local.

There are plenty places similar to snack bars in the Colombian cities with dismal signboards, tables with aluminum trotters and counters set out like in the shortened garage. The food is cheap, quality – of housewife’s diligent hands, it is interesting to come by just because of the exotic. There are many such cook shops on the wayside villages, where intercity buses usually stop to let passengers have the dinner.

Most of the people do not resolve hitting the road with the car or bus and prefer to fly to the famous coastal beaches, because it is thought that it is unsafe in the roads and you may be assaulted by the terrorist guerilla factions. In truth, during the year that I spent in Colombia, though I traveled much on the bus, however I have never encountered any danger. And you won’t be able to admire that beautiful landscape, intermitting with the level of mountains and plains through the window of the plane. The turns of the steep mountains are exchanged by the trench of river in the foothills of the road, that’s so wonderful…

Street pedlars

In every city of this emotional South American country you can meet pedlars, selling parduodan?i? užkandžius. Here you can buy corn ears grilled on hot coal and daubed with butter and salt, some traditional and already mentioned dishes and to refresh with unripe mango lobules on a hot day, which are sold in the plastic tumblers. The lobules can be flavored with citrus juice and covered with salt.

From the national fast-food the most original is – nowhere seen – Colombian hotdog, sold in the streets with the other adapted „McDonald’s“meals. Apart from the sausage, vegetables and grained potato chips are added to the loaf and then a couple of quail eggs are spiked to it with the pin and lastly the customer can flavor its sizeable hotdog with ketchup, mustard or any other sweet-and-sour sauce.

It is not unusual that fruits and vegetables are sold in the streets, but the Colombian street sellers put the fruits straight on the paving, mostly without any mat. Papayas, mangos, oranges, mandarins, guavas, banana, coconuts, melons and many other tropical and particularly expensive fruits in the Europe and other fruits like apples, pears and plums which don’t grow in Colombia and are mainly imported from Chile.

Sometimes you can hear not only the machine selling ice-creams, singing the same easily recognizable melody, but also the pedlar repeating the same words through the speaker and pushing fairly big cart loaded with fruits and vegetables: „Papayas papayas papayas, mangos mangos mangos..!“.

And if you are in a hurry and don’t have time to go to the shop for bread before returning home, you can get it just at the crossroad, while the red traffic-light is shining. The street sellers will offer you breakfast loafs, while the others will wash dusty windows of your car or sell you a chewing gum.

And of course that is not all that you can see or feel in the sunny Colombia. It would be best to see it for yourselves. So pack your luggage and let’s fly away :)