My Colombian vacation was the highlight of my winter break. I was really nervous about the trip before leaving for the country because of the warnings to Americans telling them not to go to the country. It is often rated one of the most dangerous places for Americans to visit. There are often stories about kidnappings for ransom and terrorist bombings that take place in even the major cities. However, in the past few years Colombia has gotten a lot safer due to new political reforms and compromise with the guerillas, Colombia’s violent revolutionary group. My father needed to reassure me…multiple times…about how the guerrillas are being contained in only certain areas of the country where they were given land. The locations that we would be staying, Bogotá and Armenia, were not anywhere near to where the guerillas are situated. Even after beginning to get over my fear of going to Colombia, I still had to do the a lot of traveling to get to our family's farm!
[Go to Top]Once arriving in Colombia, after a full-day of traveling, my family stayed one night in the capital city of Bogota, Colombia. The weather there was sunny and warm. Then, the next day we drove six hours on a two lane, extremely curvy road that brought us up and down two mountains. It took us eight hours to reach my father's hometown of Armenia, Colombia. My father, stepmother, two sisters, and I stayed on my father's farm in this town for almost two weeks. We mostly hung outside in the 80oF weather. There was a pool to swim in where I tanned often and the caretaker of the farm would cook us traditional Colombian meals. These meals consisted of arepas, corn, beef or chicken, tomatoes, and potatoes. To drink there was usually water, coffee, tropical juices, and hot chocolate. We also took small road trips to nearby little cuidades or cities. There were often gorgeous views from on top of mountains, along with small shops where we could by souvenirs . In the se cities there were often groups of people playing soccer and people watching the streets from their balconies. On one of the last days my family took a trip to the amusement park called El Parque del Cafe. It is a park that is dedicated to the Quindio region of Colombia, or the coffee region. My family's farm that is located in this region was once a working coffee bean farm. At the park, I got to ride a roller coaster and see a show filled with traditional Colombian dancing. The costumes were beautiful and the show was performed so well that my stepmom and her sister were both brought to tears.
[Go to Top]My favorite part about being in Colombia was getting to spend time with my Colombian family. Since my father and stepmom were both born in Colombia, I have a lot of relatives to get to see when I go there. I do not get to see them often since the trip is both expensive and a lot of traveling. I got to see my Tia Olga, Tio Cesar, Tio Juan, his girlfriend Anita, my dad, my stepmom Clari, her sister Cata, my sister Sienna, and my cousin Maria Adelida. There were so many other friends of the family that I got to visit with and there were so many other family members that I wish I could have seen. I love going to COlombia because my family there is so welcoming and even though I cannot speak spanish fluently they always try to help me gain more knowledge with the language. I miss them all so badly and I cannot wait to go back to Colombia to see them!!!
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