Since I first lived in Costa Rica, and had a friend named Colombia from Colombia, I have had a keen interest in visiting this country of contradictions. Growing up all I knew of Colombia was drug wars, violence, Escobar and his hippos. This was not a place to travel solo, but in recent years the government has made great strides to secure peace with revolutionaries, minimize crime, and protect its democratic institution. So here are ten interesting facts that you may not have heard about this small but mighty country:
Colombia was originally called the Republic of New Granada from Spanish explorers and then Granadine Confederation then the United States of Colombia to finally in 1886 Republic of Colombia and is the only country named after explorer Christopher Colombus. It is pronounced "Col-o-mbia" not "Col-u-mbia"
It is the second most biodiverse country in the world, only after Brazil which is ten times its size. It has the highest number of species by are in the world by area (over 9,100 species).
It is mandatory for public radio and television stations to play the national anthem at 6am and 6pm.
The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta is the world's highest coastal mountain range at 13,000m (which I will be visiting)
Colombia is the world's third-largest coffee producer after Brazil and Vietnam.
1/3 of the country is the Amazon rainforest.
The national dish is called Bandeja Paisa featuring grilled steak or ground beef, chorizo sausage, crispy pork belly, rice, red beans, plantains, avocado, a fried egg and arepa (cornmeal cake)
Colombia has a coastline on both the Pacific and the Caribbean Sea.
Colombia has produced some major talent, including Shakira and Nobel laureate Gabriel Gracia Marquez the author of One Hundred Years of Solitude.
and last but not least...even though drug lords are not ruling the streets, Colombia is still the largest producer of cocaine in the world.
I’m so excited to explore my first South American country…stay tuned.
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