{"id":3175,"date":"2012-03-09T13:06:41","date_gmt":"2012-03-09T18:06:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/seecolombia.travel\/blog\/?p=3175"},"modified":"2016-05-12T17:00:47","modified_gmt":"2016-05-12T22:00:47","slug":"bustin-5-cliches-about-colombia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seecolombia.travel\/blog\/2012\/03\/bustin-5-cliches-about-colombia\/","title":{"rendered":"Colombia Top 5: Bustin’ 5 Cliches About Colombia"},"content":{"rendered":"

People say believe half of what you see and none of what you hear. Nonetheless, it’s hard to help being confused; what you hear on the grapevine can be pretty convincing, especially if that’s all you hear.<\/p>\n

Such is the case with Colombia. For many what they see in Hollywood movies, or what they hear from friends (who have invariably never been) informs much of what they believe to be true about the country. On many accounts people’s perceptions are misguided or relics of Colombia’s admittedly troubled history, or in many cases just cliches that come from misinformation.<\/p>\n

Some of these cliches are troubling, some laughable. We’ve selected 5 of our top cliches about Colombia and brought our perceptions to bear on them.<\/p>\n

Cliche # 1 – Y’all gonna get robbed!<\/h2>\n
\"No<\/a>
No Robbery, Please (Credit:\u00a0Arenamontanus)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It’s pointless and counter productive to recount all the stories of people visiting Colombia and not <\/em>getting robbed, but then getting robbed elsewhere (my favorite though is a guy who lived in Colombia 20 years, went to SWITZERLAND for 2 weeks and got robbed twice, eat THAT <\/strong>Mr. Stereotype!), since there are countless stories of people getting robbed anywhere, and as a traveler it’s prudent to exercise caution wherever you visit. Colombia, however, isn’t a haven for crime like some people think. Its big cities are more or less like any other big cities in the world, and if you’re put off travel to Colombia<\/a> because of safety, you might want to reconsider traveling at all.<\/p>\n

Cliche # 2 – Everybody on drugs!<\/h2>\n
\"The<\/a>
The legal alternative? (Credit:\u00a0Eric Mill)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

No point denying it – Colombia is one of the world’s biggest cocaine producers. Does that make the country a bunch of drug-addled losers, crumpled up in the streets looking for a hit? Absolutely not. The overwhelming majority of drugs produced by Latin American countries are consumed by Europeans, North Americans and Charlie Sheen. Colombians are in general staunchly anti-drugs, having seen the effects of what production in their country has done.<\/p>\n

Cliche # 3 – Colombian women are\u00a0real<\/em>\u00a0women! Ain’t none of that feminism stuff that ruined Country X<\/em>!<\/h2>\n
\"Feminism\"<\/a>
Feminism (credit:\u00a0juliejordanscott)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I’ve seen this kind of talk rallied around on the good old interweb far too often. Firstly, obviously we have to take issue with the idea that feminism produces ‘unreal’ women, but with regard to Colombia this idea produces a patronizing and offensive attitude to Colombian women. It’s true that Colombians are all in all a good looking nation, but they’re not all looking for a visa. They are really, really nice <\/em>though. You should try talking to one.<\/p>\n

Cliche # 4 – Weather’s tropical!<\/h2>\n
\"Bogota's<\/a>
Bogota’s ominous clouds (credit markfirthphotography.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I wish. It’s true that in many places in Colombia it is very, very hot. Travel to Cartagena<\/a> and you’ll enjoy a good mix of tropical rain and beautiful sunshine. But Bogota? Bogota is rainy, cloudy and not all that warm. Medellin? Medellin<\/a> is called ‘The City of Eternal Spring’, which if you read between the lines suggests that it’s nice and warm, but also rains a lot. You’ll get your fair share of sun on a Colombian vacation, but the weather is unpredictable to say the very least.<\/p>\n

Cliche # 5 – Colombian people are super nice!<\/h2>\n
\"Fun<\/a>
Fun in Colombia (Credit: La Villa – for the fun and the photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Some cliches are true.<\/p>\n

Paul<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

People say believe half of what you see and none of what you hear. Nonetheless, it’s hard to help being confused; what you hear on the grapevine can be pretty convincing, especially if that’s all you hear. Such is the case with Colombia. 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