VISITING COLOMBIA

First of all, you will be pleasantly surprised when you arrive here. Maybe even shocked, because Colombia is unlike anything you have seen on the news or in movies. Instead of a Third World country, Colombia is a calm, very peaceful, extremely beautiful, and astonishingly modern place. Its popular President, Alvaro Uribe, now in his second term, has made tremendous progress in making Colombia one of Latin America's showplaces, and as its economy continues to boom with new high rise construction underway in every city.

You will likely arrive, at the city's newly renovated airport, in Bogota , a vast metropolis of over 8 million people. Medellin , Cali , Cartegena and Pereira also boast direct flights from the USA , and to arrive in any of them does not require a visa.

All you need is your US Passport.

Throughout Colombia the people are very friendly and helpful, and although very few speak English they genuinely like Americans. Coming here, in fact, feels like discovering an entirely unpublicized paradise, an impression bolstered by the fact that, due to a lovely mixture of Spanish and indigenous heritages, Colombians are very attractive people. Especially the women, who are very conscious of their appearance, and whatever their economic status, always dress beautifully. Miss Colombia is almost always in the finalists for Miss Universe.

Hotels here are clean and inexpensive, but compared to the best the US has to offer, operate on a more basic level, with personal attention more than making up for the lack of grand gallerias. Both roads and city streets are very good and in most cities Colombia's amazingly cheap taxis will take you almost anywhere for a couple of dollars.

The restaurants are good and inexpensive, with service in restaurants, hotels and shops almost always being far superior to other countries. At times, you just need to be patient, for these people are not in a hurry. If you simply slow yourself down a notch or two your trip will be much more enjoyable and you will find that you are inevitably very well treated.

Colombia is a big place with truly unbelievable geography. The coast line is typical Caribbean . Central Colombia encompasses 3 major mountain ranges with some of the most spectacular scenery anywhere in the world, while the southern part of the country holds the largest portion of the vast Amazon Basin outside Brazil . Like the US , Colombia has two oceans with more than 1,000 miles of both Caribbean and Pacific coast line. Being located at such a geographical crossroads, has left Colombia with a long, spectacular history, with the culture of colonial Spain still evident in its architecture, language, customs and religion. The region continues to produce some of the finest gold and emeralds in the world.

In its wild places, Colombia is an ecological paradise, having recently become a sort of Mecca for eco tourism focused on the perhaps greatest variety of birds and other wildlife in all the Americas . Colombia is famous for its enormous variety of flowers, and its rich volcanic soil produces what is so unquestionably the finest coffee in the world that even those who have never appreciated coffee are hooked after a half dozen cups. The locally produced chocolate is equally outstanding.

Along the Caribbean coast, Cartegena is a fascinating mixture of modern Miami Beach combined with old San Juan and pre-Castro Havana . Its wonderful old city located entirely within a colonial Spanish fort is filled with shops, restaurants and hotels. Take a daytrip to Rosario , an offshore island, for swimming and snorkeling in transparent turquoise water. Santa Marta , not far away, offers incredible site seeing, at a pair of radically differing National Parks. Tayrona with its sparkling clear waters on the ocean, and Sierra Nevada with a mountain peak of 21,000 feet , one of the highest peaks in the world, define the incredible, almost unknown to outsiders, diversity that is Colombia .

And that is not even including the anomaly of San Andes, an island off the coast of Panama that nevertheless belongs to Colombia , whose crystal clear waters is protected by a barrier reef and its waters are famous for their 7 distinctly different shades of blue. There is no fishing inside the reef so the fish have no fear of humans, making for outstanding diving and snorkeling.

Finally, in an entirely different setting Central Colombia 's famed Coffee Zone, is a mountainous region known for its mild climate, spectacular scenery and BEAUTIFUL WOMEN . The center of this region is MANIZALES . Set at 7,000 feet elevation, this lovely city of 450,000 people is known as the safest place in SouthAmerica . It is home to 7 universities and Colombia 's finest law and medical schools, yet life here is inexpensive. Restaurants, hotels, shopping, and taxis are cheap, making it perhaps Colombia 's best travel value.