Colombia In My Veins

There aren’t enough words to describe the beauty and uniqueness of Colombia. It is truly a magical place. When you explore this beautiful country you can’t help but understand why it is the land that inspired a whole new genre of literature during the 20th century–Magical Realism.

It’s landscapes are so majestic that you’d think they could only exist in fairytales, yet there you are, looking at them with your own two eyes. The Andes run through this land without shame. They are proud and full exuberance. The wax palm tress–the tallest palm trees in the world–can be found reaching for the sky in these same mountains along the region known as the coffee axis. The caribbean and pacific coasts are beach bum heaven. Its rivers are wide and numerous. The jungles are dense and parts still untouched. The land is so rich it gives emeralds, gold, fruits, and the best coffee in the world. It’s cities are definitely a clash and blend between colonial modern and sometimes indigenous traces.

My family is originally from this wondrous place and I had the amazing blessing to live there for the first 8 years of my life. Those short 8 years in Colombia formed me in ways that I will never let go of. The land engrained itself in my heart and soul. The scents, music, and vibrancy of this land runs through my veins. I have spent well over half of my life outside of Colombia, but I can’t deny that my cultural identity will always be first Colombian. Shakira put it perfectly, “I am trying to make my accent so it won’t bother anyone, but I am not going to drive myself crazy trying to pretend I am an American girl when I am from Colombia.”

This last December/January Oscar and I spent three weeks in our beautiful motherland. We started in Bucaramanga (where he is from), we spent a day in Barichara, we also visited the Chicamocha Canyon, we spent an evening in Girón, made our way to the coffee axis, and lastly we went spent some days in beautiful Bogotá (where I spent much of my childhood). To read about the amazing food to be had in Colombia read my post called Taste of Colombia.

It was absolutely sensational to explore gorgeous Colombia with Oscar. So without further ado I will let the photographs give you a fractional taste of what we experienced.