Coffee in Columbia
Hasan Mahmood
As a child, I always dreamt of going abroad and visiting different places around the globe. Whenever I used to see a plane flying over the sky, I thought about one day being in one. My first flight opportunity came when I was about to finish my college education. I flew from Sylhet to Dhaka to attend the ISSB test for recruitment in the Army. Up until today, I didn’t forget the thrill and joy that I experienced during that 45 minutes in the sky.
There’s a saying that if you work on your dreams by putting your heart, soul, and mind into it, it will never go in vain. It proved true for me on the 10th of October 1994, a Friday, when I flew for the first time on an international flight from Dhaka to London by British Airways. My final destination was Montreal, Canada. This was a life-changing journey for me. After flying across the oceans, I arrived in Montreal on the evening of 11th October. That was the first step in making this country my permanent residence and also marked the beginning of many flights.
Over the years, I traveled to many countries like Turkey, England, France, Netherlands, Switzerland, and many cities in the USA and Canada. Travelling to Europe and Asia was phenomenal but one continent, much closer to home, was missed. It was my elder daughter who introduced this idea to our minds after she visited Chili for two weeks. Choosing a place from South America was a little difficult for us. Popular countries like Brazil and Peru proved to be too far and expensive. After some thought we set our minds on Colombia, a country famous for its natural beauty. However, considering the dreadful history of drug-related crimes in Columbia we were very fearful.
Finally, we put aside all our fears and booked our tickets for a 5-hour flight to Bogota, Columbia for a 5-day trip. The Bogota airport was nicely decorated with modern sculptures and was comparable to any other world-class airport. My daughter Tapti had already booked a place for our stay. We called an Uber to take us to the place. However, our Uber driver was stopped by a police officer not too far from the airport as we didn’t know that Uber is not allowed legally at the airport in Bogota. We got a little scared when the police also checked our passports. After questioning the Uber driver for a long time, they finally permitted the driver to drive us. As we were being driven through the city my mind became occupied with many fears, after all this was an infamous country with a high crime rate. I didn’t share any of that with my wife and daughters as I didn’t want to ruin their trips.
It all changed quickly and our hearts leaped up with joy as soon as we reached the place where we were going to stay for the next 5 days. It was on the 21st floor of the tallest building located in the core of Bogota’s downtown. Thanks to my older daughter for her lovely choice and good taste. To make things smoother, we had already planned what we would do and see during our stay in Bogota. The first place that we picked to see was Monserrate, an amazing mountain in the heart of Bogota which also held a historically famous church with eye-catching architecture. From there one could enjoy a panoramic view of the city. For a few long moments, we were stunned by the beauty of the mountainous city.
Our next stop was in a poor neighborhood not too far from the city. We went with a local tourist guide. We were warned by many not to go to the outskirts of the city all by ourselves. In Bogota, there is a big contrast between the rich and poor, like many places in the world and it was quite visible. The neighborhood was located in the mountains, and the inhabitants did their regular commute through the modern rope rail car that was installed a few years back. All four of us took the rope car to reach that neighborhood. There was an American tourist with us. We walked around the place and talked to a few local people. It was hard to believe how people have made their homes on top of the mountains. There were signs of poverty everywhere. After spending half a day, we came back to the city with the thought that we were fortunate to live in Canada.
The third stop was to an Art Gallery and National Museum. There was a fee for the art gallery but the entrance to the museum was free on that particular day of the week. My knowledge of art is very poor but art is something to feel and not think about. We all had tears in our eyes while watching some of the unique artwork at that gallery. At the entrance, there were some paintings related to Venezuelans and the torture and agony they go through. Venezuela is the neighboring country of Columbia. We all got emotional while walking around the art gallery.
Our fourth stop was to a big fruit market. We looked around the fruit market and tried the tasty non-GMO fruits at a very cheap price. We also didn’t miss stopping by a Coffee shop to try the famous Colombian coffee. The coffee there is unforgettable.
Finally, the day came to leave Bogota after 5 days of incredible experience. I could see mixed reactions on all of our four faces when we arrived at the airport to depart for Toronto. Firstly, we cleared our luggage and collected our boarding passes after a long wait and a big lineup in front of the Air Canada counter. There was still an hour’s wait time in the airport before we could board the plane. I grabbed a tea and sat on a couch in the airport lounge and asked myself what have I learned from this journey?
- Don’t always go by what others say. We had extreme fear before traveling to Colombia but our stay in Bogota was very safe like any other city people travel to. Our skin color is very similar to South Americans; therefore, we blended in and didn’t feel like outsiders. The people were very nice and friendly to us. There was nothing to complain about. The beauty of Bogota is comparable to any beautiful and advanced city in the world. Strategically, it’s the Hub of South America for business.
- Don’t ignore street food. They are amazing in taste and cheap in price.
- Poverty is a worldwide phenomenon, not only in Africa or Asia as the media portrays.
- It would have been advantageous to know Spanish a little. We couldn’t find many people who could speak English in Colombia.
- This is the only place where we couldn’t find a South Asian community or people. This was a big surprise to us.
Overall, we should all remember – traveling is an investment that broadens our horizons and makes us aware of parallel realities on the globe.