DESCRIPTION
Colombia, located in South America is the only country with coastlines on both the North Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. Surrounded by Panama, Venezuela, Brazil, Ecuador and Peru, Colombia controls the land access between Central and South America. An interesting and random fact about Columbia is that it’s named after Christopher Columbus, although he never actually set foot there. Major cities in Columbia include: Cali, Santa Marta, Popayan, Cartagena, Pereira and Bogota, which is the capital. As of July 2006 the population was just over 43.5 million. Although exceptions do exist, recently the government has increased it’s presence in the countryside and in all major tourist areas, so that even though there has been quite a bit of violence in the past, Columbia has taken actions to make it much safer, reducing the guerilla, Paramilitary or drug cartel presence. Close to the equator, Columbia really doesn’t have differentiated seasons and the climate is tropical along the coast and eastern plains, while it’s cold in the highlands with periodic droughts. The closest thing to a season is that during its so-called “winter” it sure does rain a lot. Spanish is the national language and Columbia, is known to be one of the easier dialects to understand. In case you haven’t exactly taken a Spanish class in some time, don't worry; most people speak English, especially in the major cities. The Colombian textile industry is well recognized and reputable around South America and Europe and the best place to buy either clothing or lingerie is Medellin, known for being the fashion capital of the country because you can get very high quality clothing at a very low cost. Many tourists also enjoy buying some of the beautiful Colombian emeralds and gold (18k). Arguably some of the best and most abundant coffee in the world is grown in Columbia; which is why, many Columbians use coffee for many things like wine, ice cream, soda pop, and other beverages.