Have you ever heard of the Autocomplete Interview? It’s a popular YouTube interview series by WIRED (a well-known technology magazine) in which celebrities answer the web’s most asked question about themselves (check out my favorite one here starring Ice Cube). You know how Google fills in your search as you type? Well, it can be fun to start questions and see what the world is asking about things. So I thought I’d have a go at answering the world’s most asked questions about Colombia. Why is Colombia…? What is Colombia…? Where is Colombia…? So let’s see what people are asking about Colombia and whether we can answer the world’s questions right here in one convenient bite-size morsel. So here’s the Google Colombia Autocomplete Challenge…
Why is Colombia…?
Why is Colombia famous for coffee? Why is Colombian coffee the best?
We can answer 2 questions in 1 here! Both are quite easy, and questions we’ve answered in depth before (‘8 Reasons Why We Love Colombian Coffee’), but we’ll have a concise go here. Colombia is famous for it’s coffee for several reasons: it’s the third largest producer of coffee on earth, the coffee made here is 100% Arabica and all picked by hand, meaning the quality is almost second-to-none, the iconic Juan Valdez originates from here (check him out in the movie Bruce Almighty), and the Colombian Coffee Region is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Add to that the incredible taste and diversity of flavors, due to Colombia’s geographical quirks, and you can easily see why Colombia is famous for it’s coffee, and why Colombian coffee is the best!
Why is Colombia famous?
Sadly there are some pretty negative reasons as to why Colombia is famous around the world? Years of civil war with guerrilla groups like the FARC, conflicts with high-profile drug lords like Pablo Escobar, and seemingly never-ending violence made for some pretty lurid global headlines up until around 2008. Since then, however, Colombia has taken great strides in improving it’s international image – now, for many people, Colombia is famous for coffee, amazing music, biodiversity, stunning landscapes, and for being No. 2 in Lonely Planet’s ‘best countries to visit in 2017’ list. Sadly, TV shows like Narcos are thrusting Colombia back into people’s minds for some less than savory reasons, but these days there’s a lot more to say when people ask you: “Why is Colombia famous?”
Why is Colombia important?
I’d like to think that this search was conducted entirely by future geopolitical science students, all trying to learn more about Colombia’s global importance, but I imagine many people are just asking why they should care. Well, there are lots of reasons. Here are just a few: it’s the 2nd most biodiverse country on earth, holding more species of birds, amphibians and butterflies than any other country; it’s in the process of making historical forward strides in putting an end to the longest civil war in the Western Hemisphere; it’s fast becoming one of the most talked-about travel destinations on the planet; it’s full of diverse cultures, internationally recognized UNESCO and protected sites. And those are just the reasons I can think of off the top of my head! Why is Colombia important? That’s why!
Where is Colombia…?
Where is Colombia? Where is Colombia located? Where is Colombia located on the map?Where is Colombia on a map?
Luckily for my typing fingers (just the 2 index ones since you asked) all of the questions that pop up when you start typing “Where is Colombia…” are basically the same question. So I’ll answer all 4 here. Colombia is located in the Americas, and is the most northern country in South America, connecting by land to Panama (a former province of Colombia). It is thus the only South American country with both Caribbean and Pacific coastlines, and contains 32 provinces, or departments are they are known here. It is bordered by 5 countries: Panama, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil and Venezuela. The coordinates of Colombia (so you can find it on the map) are as follows: maximum longitude = -66.870; minimum longitude = -81.730; maximum latitude = 13.390; minimum latitude = -4.230. Questions answered!
What is Colombia…?
What is Colombia known for?
Many things, some positive, some negative. The positives: coffee, travel, diversity, birds and wildlife, friendly people, excellent music, beautiful landscapes, Shakira, Sofia Vergara, Falcao, James Rodriguez, Juanes…The negatives: violence, drugs, Escobar. These last few are things we’ve been working hard here at the Colombia Travel Blog to dispel; problems undoubtedly remain, but many of the extremely negative things that people think of when they think of Colombia are no longer as much of an issue as they once were. Nowadays I meet as many young people who say: “I hear Colombia is amazing!” as I meet people who just think of the bad things. But, there you do: that’s what Colombia is known for.
What is Colombia?
Colombia is a country in South America with a population of about 48 million people. It’s not a North American university.
What is Colombian coffee?
It’s like regular coffee, only awesomer (N.B. not a real word).
What is Colombian currency?
The Colombian currency is the Colombian Peso (often abbreviated to C.O.P.) and the official symbol of the peso is ‘$’. The peso has been Colombia’s currency since 1810, when it replaced the real. Here’s a full blog post explaining the banknotes of Colombia (note: the 1.000 COP bill is being replaced by a coin, and they’re introducing an horrendously impractical 100.000 COP bill this year). At the moment 1.000 COP is worth about $0.33 and £0.27. A key point when explaining Colombian currency is this: no one ever seems to have change, so carry around lot’s of small bills and coins!
Who is Colombia…?
Who is Colombia’s President? Who is Colombian President?
Another 2-for-1 question. The current Colombian President is Juan Manuel Santos. He was recently awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to secure peace with the FARC, although his approval ratings at home are the worst a Colombian president has had in a long time. His family are part of the Bogota ‘elite’ and were owners of El Tiempo newspaper for many years. He is the 32nd President of Colombia, and worked under the administrations of 3 previous Colombian presidents.
Who is Colombia?
Not really a syntactically relevant question this one…This might be a precursor to the question: “Who is Colombia named after?” The answer to this questions would be Christopher Columbus, whose named is spelled Cristobal Colon in Spanish, hence ‘Colombia’ not ‘Columbia.’
Who is Colombia playing today?
Today? No one. Upcoming games: Chile and Argentina in mid-November. Crucial World Cup Qualifiers, those! I’m guessing this question jumped into the top Google searches for Colombia after their stellar World Cup performance at Brazil 2014…
Is Colombia…?
Is Colombia a country?
No, I mean yes…dammit, yes! Colombia is a country! Columbia is not.
Is Colombia in South America?
Yes, yes it is.
Is Colombia safe? Is Colombia safe to travel?
This is a tough one to answer in a small amount of space. The short answer is that Colombia is safe to travel in the main tourist areas if you are sensible and take care of yourself. You are really no more likely to encounter danger here when you travel than in any developing country, and crime rates are lower than in many countries which people assume are safer. Is Colombia safe? Not completely, and not for a lot of Colombians living in more isolated areas, which are still affected by paramilitary groups and guerrillas. If you travel in Colombia and keep your head screwed on then you are very likely not to meet with any trouble.
How is Colombia…?
How is Colombia now?
Getting better, on the whole. Whilst the issues Colombia faces are far from over, the bad days of the ’90s and early ’00s are past it seems. The peace deal with the FARC might not have been ratified, but there is cautious optimism that a new deal can be pushed through. It’s also, as you saw above, much safer to travel here these days.
How is Colombia divided?
Open to interpretation this one. On geographical lines, Colombia is divided by 3 ranges of the Andes and 2 major rivers, the Magdalena and Cauca. To the east of these ranges are the vast eastern plains, and to the west the dense jungles of the Pacific coast region. Politically, Colombia is pretty divided too: the current and previous presidents, Santos and Uribe, are hardly the best of friends, and there are clear economic divides between the countryside and the cities, as well as a noticeable class divide across the board.
How is Colombia doing in the Olympics?
Pretty late this one, but they put in their best ever performance, thank you very much!
Colombia is…?
Colombia is in which continent?
South America. Shortest answer yet: boom!
Colombian islands?
Yep, there are loads! We’ve got a list of the top 8 islands in Colombia for you to read as well.
Columbia Israel
This one just comes up with the address of a Columbia Sportswear store in Israel. Moving on…
Colombia is in which country?
Colombia. Done.
Chris
