Colombia

Colombia was to be our first destination in South America. Before we could start our journey through Colombia, we were of course eagerly awaiting the arrival of our camper. We would be happy when this chapter finally was successfully completed.

Colombia combines all the highlights of the South American continent, from the Amazon rainforest to the Caribbean coast, from colonial cities and villages to the peaks of the Andes. After the many sweaty months in Central America, we were looking forward to the mountains and their moderate temperatures.  Interesting cities such as Medellin and Calí and an incredible variety of animals awaited us. It is the country with the second largest biodiversity in the world, after Brazil, which is ten times larger. 20% of all bird species live in Columbia, here it is ranking #1 in the world. Colombia is the world’s leading source of emeralds, 70-90% of the world’s emeralds come from here. It is also the third largest exporter of coffee in the world after Brazil and Vietnam. The country is named after Christopher Columbus. As a Spanish colony it achieved its independence in 1819.  

For a long time, Colombia was considered an unsafe country to travel to and was known worldwide for drug wars and the FARC’s fight against the Colombian government. In September 2016, the FARC and the government signed a peace treaty to end their decades-long armed conflict. Over 50 years of bloody conflict, at least 260,000 dead, more than 80,000 missing and seven million internally displaced persons have left a deep mark. Slowly but surely, Colombia is unfolding its potential. Thanks to the massive deployment of police and military forces, the country is no longer sinking into chaos after decades of peace negotiations. The infrastructure has improved enormously and visitor numbers are rising.  So we too could look forward to safe travel through this huge and diverse country.