{"id":11290,"date":"2020-10-25T10:53:50","date_gmt":"2020-10-25T15:53:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/seecolombia.travel\/blog\/?p=11290"},"modified":"2021-08-23T10:52:47","modified_gmt":"2021-08-23T15:52:47","slug":"11-things-i-missed-about-colombia-while-i-was-away","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seecolombia.travel\/blog\/2020\/10\/11-things-i-missed-about-colombia-while-i-was-away\/","title":{"rendered":"11 Things I Missed About Colombia While I Was Away"},"content":{"rendered":"

Since I\u2019ve been living in Colombia, I\u2019ve always wondered what things about Colombia I would miss if I ever had the misfortune to have to leave this country<\/strong>. Heading back home for a short trip, I wasn\u2019t really expecting to miss that much. How wrong I was. Colombia has obviously got deeper under my skin than I had ever imagined<\/strong> and I started to miss, well, basically everything. Here are the main things I missed about living and travelling in Colombia:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

1.Things coming in weird packaging<\/h2>\n

Perhaps an odd one to start with, but what\u2019s wrong with alcohol in a box and milk in a bag<\/strong>?<\/p>\n

2. Lack of vomit<\/h2>\n

On a random Thursday night in a normal quiet pub in London, I walked into the bathroom to be greeted<\/p>\n

\"Colombia<\/a>
A la Orden!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

by the lovely sight of a man spewing his guts out into the toilet. Sure, Colombians drink a lot<\/strong>, they get drunk on aguardiente<\/a>, sometimes too drunk, but they don\u2019t chunder all over public spaces as often as English people.<\/p>\n

3. A la orden<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s not just that phrase, but perhaps more what it represents<\/strong>. Landing in Madrid from Bogota I was happily going through passport control and I greeted the nice man behind the counter with a friendly \u201cbuenas tardes\u201d. Not only did he not respond, he didn\u2019t even look up at me<\/strong>. So I arrived in England hoping to find some of that well-known British politeness, only to realise that it doesn\u2019t even hold a candle to the friendly and polite people<\/strong> you\u2019ll find in almost any Colombian shop, restaurant or anywhere really.<\/p>\n

4. Colombian beer<\/h2>\n
\"Poker<\/a>
A fridge full of amigos…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Shock, horror! How many angry Brits and Europeans are going to have a go at me for this? In fact, I am quite the hypocrite as I have previously spent a large amount of time complaining about how Colombian beer is nothing compared to a proper pint in an English pub. In terms of quality, this is still undoubtedly true, but I have also now come to realise the great benefit of a good old can of Poker<\/strong> \u2013 you can drink almost infinite amounts of it without getting a big, full, uncomfortable belly. Or drunk. I guess water will do that.<\/p>\n

5. Speaking Spanish<\/h2>\n

Simple as that. I enjoy speaking Spanish.<\/p>\n

6. Domicilios<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s 4 am in Bogota on a Wednesday morning. I want a packet of crisps and a lighter. I\u2019m out of luck right? Wrong! In Bogota, it appears that you can order anything you want at any time of the day or night<\/strong> and it will arrive at your door in the hands of a smiling Colombian. London\u2019s supposed to be a 24-hour city, so why did I get kicked out of a pub at 11 pm on a Friday? By a rude and aggressive bouncer who actually physically pushed me out of the door.<\/p>\n

7. Busetas<\/h2>\n

Whoah, easy now tiger, I think you\u2019re just getting overly nostalgic, let\u2019s tone it down a bit. No no, not so, I<\/p>\n

\"Bus<\/a>
A trusty buseta zipping through the streets of Bogota<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

love Colombian busetas and I\u2019m not ashamed of that.<\/strong> Picture this \u2013 you are at a friend\u2019s house in London (or pretty much any city in the world) and it\u2019s time to go home. You ask your buddy the best way to get home. He directs you to three different bus stops, in different directions, each about a 10-minute walk from his house. Two of them go near your house (although still a fair walk). You have to choose one. You choose the wrong one and end up waiting half an hour in the rain and the cold. Not ideal. Now let\u2019s jump to Bogota. You want to go home. You make a short walk to any vaguely main road<\/strong>, wait for a couple of minutes and hail down a bus that\u2019s going near your house, wherever you want, and then get off right in front of your door. Who says Bogota\u2019s public transport system needs improving?<\/strong> Well, me, and many millions of others, but I still like the busetas\u2026<\/p>\n

8. After parties<\/h2>\n

I can hardly remember one night out in Colombia which hasn\u2019t ended with leaving the club and having to choose between a couple of after parties at random houses or after hours clubs.<\/strong> I\u2019m going to be honest here, it\u2019s not as if I always jump at these opportunities (after a night of guaro, salsa and a bit more guaro, there is little that appeals to me more than passing out fully-clothed on my bed), but I like to know that they are at least there\u2026<\/p>\n

9. The music<\/h2>\n
\"Salsa<\/a>
Our much-loved buddy Paul Fowler cutting some awesome shapes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This came as a surprise even to me. I should clarify that I didn\u2019t specifically miss reggaeton<\/a>, salsa, cumbia, vallenato, or any other Colombian music genre. That would be weird. But what I did miss is the culture that surrounds them<\/strong>, the dancing, the joy, the general spirit of fun times and no worries. I\u2019d take that over repetitive electronica, generic pop or dreary acoustica any night of the week.<\/p>\n

10. Mountains<\/h2>\n

They’re everywhere. And they’re huge.<\/p>\n

11. And the obvious one \u2013 the people<\/h2>\n

We\u2019ve spoken a lot about how Colombians are the greatest people on earth<\/a>. So being without them for a couple of weeks is something that I hope not to have to do that often.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I\u2019ve even shocked myself at how many things I genuinely missed in such a short space of time. I could honestly keep on going<\/strong> but I think you get the picture. I love Colombia<\/strong>. I love its quirks and so do many thousands of foreigners living here. If and when the sad day ever comes when I have to leave my adopted home, I know it is these things that will make leaving so very hard.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Since I\u2019ve been living in Colombia, I\u2019ve always wondered what things about Colombia I would miss if I ever had the misfortune to have to leave this country. Heading back home for a short trip, I wasn\u2019t really expecting to miss that much. How wrong I was. Colombia has obviously got deeper under my skin […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":88891,"featured_media":10433,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[35,626,4,66,393,392,1632,73,76,49],"tags":[58,356,2891],"yoast_head":"\n11 Things I Missed About Colombia While I Was Away - Colombia Travel Blog by See Colombia Travel<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/seecolombia.travel\/blog\/2020\/10\/11-things-i-missed-about-colombia-while-i-was-away\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"11 Things I Missed About Colombia While I Was Away\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Since I\u2019ve been living in Colombia, I\u2019ve always wondered what things about Colombia I would miss if I ever had the misfortune to have to leave this country. 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