colombia, colombia.

colombia has always been a place that brings up thoughts of danger and drug wars. a place that only reporters and world leaders dare to venture (hyperbole, LC). it is understandable why one should think it terribly bad judgement to travel there. but as usual, i went against that better judgement and took the risk of visiting colombia.

and although we ran into one or two situations*, i am very glad i took the risk. beyond the surface of cocoa fields and violent crime, colombia is a vibrant country with so many hidden treasures. crowded streets lined by brightly colored buildings, intricate, ancient architecture, rich tradition, and some of the most beautiful countryside i've ever seen.

we crossed the border on a sunday afternoon, and decided to stay in ipiales, the first town across the border to avoid travelling at night. the town was sleepy on sunday afternoon, but we managed to find some dinner and hostel, seedy as it may be. the next morning, we strolled around impiales, dipping into lots of tiendas and using all of our brainpower to convert pesos to dollars.

it wasn't long before we noticed a certain picture that kept reappearing. it was painted on the wall of our hostal and photos of it hung in restaurants. as we checked out of the hostal, we asked the manager about it. he said it was a church about 15 minutes away by taxi. no question where our next stop would be.

the cab pulls into what seemed like a little parking lot for the town. all we could see were descending cobblestone streens lined by little panaderias and textile shops. the cab drier pointed down, and motioned us to walk down the path to the church. raindrops fell as we walked to the secret church that spanned a beautiful ravine.

the church had amazing intricate details - you will have to look at the pictures to see what i mean, which are coming soon. we continued to hike to the other side of the church. olga, danielle's host mom, was a little misguided and thought we were supposed to catch our taxi on the other side. it was a mistake - about a 45 mintue detour - but for me, a welcome one, as i enjoyed exploring a little more of the countryside.

las lajas cathedral

next, we headed to pasto, a town about two more hours into colombia. pasto is larger and much more bustling than ipiales. we checked into a much nicer hotel - $30,000 pesos a night per person, which comes out to about $18 dollars a person. a welcome change from our $6 run-down, mold-infested hostal from the night before.

we spent a day in pasto mainly shopping. kind of an odd thing to do in colombia, but the peso is weak, and there were some great deals. our favorite store we found was sicily... check it out.

although our stay was short, and we didn't really see the "best" parts of colombia, it was evident the country has a lot more to offer than cocaine. it is a beautiful place and one of the largest manufacuturers in south america... made me think about how political unrest, violence, poverty have such a strong effect on a society. the governement there is making progress, but still has a long way to go. a good reminder of what makes the world better, and what terminally cripples it... spurs more thought on how i want to use my life on earth for good.

i am glad to have had the opportunity to go to colombia, and i am even more thankful for the lord's provision while we were there - how he watches over us in our naivety.


and one last thing. we were happy to get back to quito, where we felt safe and comfortable. where, for the first time, felt like home.



"though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not." -- ralph waldo emerson



*another story, for another time.