Colombia

Colombia is an ethnically diverse country at the intersection of Central America and South America. Its inhabitants have roots in indigenous peoples, Spanish colonists, Africans brought as slaves, and immigrants from Europe and the Middle East over the past century. Colombia has rainforest, grassland, and coasts on both the Atlantic and the Pacific. Regional identities are very important.

Bogotí has great museums, including the Museo del Oro. The Museo Botero is a collection of the whimsical paintings and sculptures of renowned native son Fernando Botero, with some Ernst, Dali, Picasso, Chagall, and Renoir thrown in for good measure. Clubs, bars, and restaurants are strong in the capital. You can see a convent on the highest hill in Cartagena, the biggest Spanish military fortress in any former colony, and the isolated community of the Tayronas in the Ciudad Perdida. You can also take a coffee plantation tour in a place like Manizales several hours from Medellin.

Some common foods in Colombia include sancocho de gallina (a chicken, plantain, corn, yucca, and coriander soup), tamales, and fish dishes. Changua, featuring milk with eggs, is a typical breakfast soup of the central Andes. The tropical climate in certain regions yields exotic fruits like dragonfruit, purple mangosteen, papaya, guava, lulo, the blackberry-like mora, noni, passionfruit, and more. Organic foods are becoming more popular, but most other produce you’ll find around Colombia tends to also be fresh. You can find Colombian, South American, Italian, Middle Eastern, and American eateries catering to health-conscious consumers in most places. In addition, there are a few Japanese restaurants, juice bars, and raw food establishments in the capital, and many more natural foods stores than elsewhere.