colombia

Colombia

Introduction

Colombia in the north west of South America is an equatorial country with an immense diversity of geography. It borders Panama, Venezuela, Brazil, Peru and Ecuador, and the Pacific and Caribbean. The region of the Caribbean extends a thousand miles and has rainforest mountains in the foothills of the 6000 metre snow covered Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. There are plains and swamps in Magdalena, Cesar and Sucre regions, jungle in the Gulf of Uraba. In the Gulf of Morrosquillo there are marvellous beaches of dazzling white sand.

Geography

Most of the population live in the Andean regions. The Colombian Massif consists of three mountain chains crossing the country from south to north. It has peaks over 5000 metres and great highland plains and deep valleys. There are fertile areas where the population are engaged in generating a wide variety of produce. However there are also deserts, marshes and forests where only the appropriate species of the animal kingdom reside living off the fauna and flora.

Economy

The Colombian economy is moving away from previous over regulation towards a free market. State-owned industries have been privatised, foreign investment encouraged, and security in the country improved. All this has given a boost to economic growth leading to a reduction in unemployment and poverty. However in the last two to three years Colombia has suffered like most economies. President Uribe has tried even harder to attract foreign investment and reduce dependance on the US and Venezuela. China is now the second largest export market, but generally business is anxious about on-going global uncertainty.

Colombian coffee

The rich flavours of Colombian coffee have an excellent reputation throughout the world. There are two main growing areas in the country. The central region in Medillin, Armenia and Manizales produce heavy coffees with rich flavours and good acidity. In the mountainous region of Bogota and Bucaramanga tend to be less acidic but still have lovely rich flavours. Colombia accounts for 12% of world output, beaten only by Brasil and Vietnam.

Pre-Hispanic history

In the southern region of the Colombian Andes, in San Agustin, there are volcanic stone monoliths which portray gods and warriors from way back in history. You can also visit a network of subterranean burial chambers in Tierradentro. In the Caribbean coastal area in the Tayrona National Park, it is possible to climb up stone slab steps to the ruins of a Tayronan settlement called Pueblito. Their culture was quite advanced long before the Spanish intrusion of the area.

There were many quite advanced indian cultures long before the Spanish invasion of the region. Fortunately many items of their civilisation have been recovered, such as statues, gold and ceramic artefacts, and evidence of roads and towns.