Celebrating all things Colombian! 🇨🇴
¡Qué más parce!
July 20th is Colombian Independence Day, which means this week we are celebrating all things Colombian!
There are many reasons Colombia is close to our hearts here at Shoot My Travel. First, our co-founders, Valerie, Camilo and Andres, hail from this diverse Latin American country. Next, many of our amazing team members are also of Colombian descent. And finally, in early 2020, our CEO, Valerie, was named one of the first women entrepreneur ambassadors to her home country. As she shared in an interview, “With Shoot My Travel we have traveled the world with the Colombian flag on our shoulders, bringing services to more than 500 cities in 106 countries.”
And while we won’t go into a long history lesson on the origin of the day (though it’s worth checking out), we do want to mark the occasion with a special Colombian-themed post.
¡Empecemos!
Extraordinary biodiversity
Let’s start with the very country itself, a natural wonderland colored by emeralds mined from the mountains, over 2,000 species of birds, and its national flower, the orchid.
Colombia is second only to Brazil as the most biodiverse country in the world. In the world! One of our local photographers, Alfonso, who is based in Cali, Colombia and specializes in travel and adventure photography, said on a recent IG Live: “The biodiversity that we have here in Colombia is amazing. You can find mountains around the country, the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, and all different kinds of weather. It gives you as a tourist an incredible experience.”
Whatever landscape you can imagine, Colombia has it. White sandy beaches on islands like the Rosarios, San Andres, and Providencia, snow-capped mountains in the Andes, and lush rainforests of the Amazon. There is the stunning landscape of Tatacoa Desert and the rainbow colored waterways of the Parque Nacional Natural Sierra de La Macarena.
Tayrona National Park offers swamps, cloud forests, and scrublands, along with beautiful beaches and unique archaeological sites. The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta is the world’s highest coastal mountain range. And that’s just two of the 60+ national parks found throughout Colombia.
Cultural richness
Colombia’s cultural heritage goes back to the indigenous tribes of the Muisca, Quimbaya and Tairona, as well as the Spanish colonists who arrived in 1499. You can see evidence of both throughout the country in archaeological sites, stone sculptures, colonial architecture, and cathedrals.
When speaking about Colombian culture you might hear the roar of soccer stadiums and the bells of churches. You might envision the sombrero vueltiao, a traditional hat made from caña flecha, or the Christmas decorations that go up on December 7th and don’t come down until after the New Year. And you’ll most definitely hear the sound of music.
What kind of music? Perhaps some vallenato, the popular folk music from Colombia’s Caribbean region, and of course, salsa! People travel from all over the world to Colombia to learn and study this sultry dance. In fact, Cali, just Southwest of Bogotá, is considered the salsa capital of the world with more than 200 academies and over 40 salsa clubs. The city has even developed its own style that’s known for its fast paced, intricate footwork and impressive lifts.
But it is the people of today that make Colombia the cultural center we continue to celebrate. As Alfonso also mentions, there is not just biodiversity, there is a diversity of people and smiles that will greet you throughout the country. Who are the Colombians of today? As we’ve seen from our own founders, they are individuals with intrepid spirits, treasuring both tradition and innovation. They are mothers and fathers, entrepreneurs and artists, daughters and sons, scientists and journalists. They are people who treasure their culture, work hard to achieve their dreams, and are looking straight ahead to the future.
Gastronomic experiences
Colombia may be best known for its rich coffee culture, which is definitely something to celebrate, but with 32 departments each offering their own unique gastronomic experiences, there’s so much more to Colombia’s culinary identity.
Let’s pause to just marvel at the variety of exotic fruits available in Colombia. There’s cherimoya (custard apples), maracuya (passion fruit), chontaduro (peach palm fruit) and lulo, which we can only describe as like an orange but with green insides! The juice of these and many other fruits have resulted in a popular jugo, or juice, tradition, served with most meals.
And for something a little stronger than fruit juice and coffee, there’s guaro, a clear, sweet liquor made from distilled sugar cane juices.
As for foods, where do we start?!
Bandeja paisa - a meal of beans, white rice, chicharrón, carne en polvo, chorizo, fried egg, ripe plantain, avocado and arepa
Arepa - fried cornmeal cakes
Queso con bocadillo - cheese and guava paste
Ajiaco - chicken and potato soup served with rice and corn
Sancocho - a broth based soup with vegetables, yucca and meat distinct to Cali
Tamales - similar to Mexican tamales but wrapped in a plantain leaf
Fritanga - a meal of a variety of meats with corn, arepas, and plantain
Pandebono - a traditional bread made from corn starch, yucca, and cheese
Oblea - a dessert of two wafers sandwiching all manner of sweet fillings
And that’s just scratching the surface!
And for the truly adventurous, be sure to try hormigas culonas, or fried ants, a delicacy inherited from the pre-Colombian cultures, said to taste like peanuts. You’ll never just think of coffee after truly immersing yourself in the varied gastronomy of Colombia!
Eclectic cities
Colombia has become a safe and popular destination for travelers of all kinds, with major cities actively welcoming the LGBTQ community. Here is a short list of towns that are worth a visit.
Barranquilla
Located on the sea and the hometown of Colombian pop star, Shakira, it is best known for its annual four-day carnival that celebrates Colombian culture and folklore.
Bogotá
Colombia’s capital and one of South America’s largest cities with everything from museums to gardens, cafes to nightclubs, it also boasts South America’s largest network of bicycle routes...almost 200 miles!
Cali
A hidden gem located in the mountains, it is the self-proclaimed salsa capital of the world, also offering some of the world’s best kitesurfing at nearby Lake Calima (thanks for the tip, Alfonso!).
Cartagena
Once a heavily fortified city of the 16th century, Cartagena is still one of the most sought after Caribbean ports, now enjoyed for its colorful old town, colonial architecture, and highrise hotels.
Medellín
A modern city nestled in a valley in the Andes, it blossoms with a 12-day flower festival every August, while nearby is the resort of Guatape, with its beautiful lakes and climbable rock, El Peñón, offering stunning views.
Popayan
Called Ciudad Blanca, or White city, for its white-washed colonial cities, it is known for religious processions, nightlife, and relaxing pace of life.
San Augustín
A small town in the Andes near San Augstín Archaeological Park where you can see over 500 monoliths and other stone carvings from a pre-Incan civilization, some dating back almost 2,000 years.
Celebrate with us!
While many of us are ready to hop on the next flight to this amazing country, that may not be possible just yet. No worries! We can still celebrate Colombia without leaving home.
Put on some salsa music or stream some Vallenato, try your hand at cooking Colombian delicacies (check out My Colombian Recipes), download a book by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and watch one of the many amazing films that have come out of Colombia, like Strategy of the Snail or Embrace of the Serpent (available on Amazon Prime).
Then settle in and start planning your trip. Head over to our Destinations page where you can see all our local Colombian photographers, including Alfonso, located in five different cities. Book one of our summer packages now and use it when you can finally book that flight!
¡Feliz día de la independencia de Colombia! 🇨🇴