On Colombia

When I was 19, I worked at the Driskill Hotel as the Night Manager. One of the late-shift room service waiters was a guy from the Middle East named Mahmoud. He was going to UT, and the rumor was that he was a minor prince whose family was making him work as a character-building exercise. Mahmoud was tall and attractive with fun stories to tell.

One night, he suggested that we fly to Cartagena the next weekend to party with some associates of his. It was never clear to me who those associates were, but he assured me that it would be an unforgettable experience. Being the responsible (and poor) person that I was, I declined the invitation and suffered regretfully through the tales he told upon his return.

So, Colombia has been on my mind for forty years. What was I missing, and when would I find out? An invitation to a wedding finally provided me with the impetus to go. I booked three nights in Cartagena before flying to Medellin for the ceremonies.

I read One Hundred Years of Solitude in my twenties while living in Hawaii (my roommate’s girlfriend left it on the back of the toilet) and have since enjoyed every major work of Gabriel García Márquez. In preparation for the trip, I reread Love in the Time of Cholera. The novel served as my roadmap for touring Cartagena. The old city is incredible, and during my walks, I replaced the mental images I had created while reading the book with new images of the real places the characters walked. The Santa Clara hotel is in a renovated convent with a crypt under the bar. It fits perfectly into the city and is an excellent base for touring.

Medellin’s tagline is “The City of Eternal Spring” and for the two days I was there it lived up to its billing. A mile high and surrounded by mountains, the city is visually impressive. Home to 4 million people in the metro area, the place hums with excitement. It feels like the entire country is booming. The wedding was held at a beautiful old church in a small town in the mountains and was a multicultural and multigenerational experience I will never forget. I came home with dozens of new friends and an open invitation to return.

Mahmoud was onto something way back when. I should have gone to Colombia with him then rather than wait forty years. You shouldn’t wait either. Go see this fascinating country and get to know these incredible people. I can’t wait to return for a longer visit.