Things I Like About Colombia

Joel Dullroy
Nov 5 · 3 min read

Toasted Cacao Beans
It’s crunchy chocolate without the sugar. Why can’t I buy these everywhere? Only slightly less delicious is cacao fruit, with sweet and slippery white flesh.

You’re supposed to spit out the beans. Or save them and toast them. Three of us ate this one down to the shell.

Public Cable Cars
Gondolas are integrated into the public transport systems of several cities in South America. They float high above the shanty towns on the steep hillsides. The sounds of barking dogs, shouting children and honking cars echo skyward.
Medellin has five metrocable lines and is adding more. They are the most cost-effective public transport city for the landscape. The downside is they can’t operate during storms – and tremendous storms hit every afternoon like clockwork during the rainy season.
By the way, hometown Berlin may soon also have a public gondola. The city is considering integrating the cable car line at Gaerten der Welt into the transport network.

Civility
An unemployed Venezuelan squeezes onto the Bogota bus, a tray around his neck with cheap sweets. “Buenos dias,” he says, and everyone within earshot respectfully replies: “Buenos dias.”
He goes on to pitch his goods, describing the unique deliciousness of each treat in his box, pointing out his favourites. He makes no sales, but thanks everyone for their attention.

Micheladas
It’s beer in a margarita glass. The salty rim was always my favourite part of the cocktail.

Dinosaur-Sized Avocados
Only with such enormous pods of green gold can you make an avocado burger.

Replace the bread with the two halves of a monster aguacate and pretend it’s healthy. These massive avos don’t travel well. Their thin skin softens easily, which is probably why they aren‘t exported. But they are so big you still get plenty of unbruised flesh despite a bit of damage.

On the downside, my friend Martin in Salamina tells me all the land around his town is being acquired by a big avacado farming corporation. He fears they will flood the waterways with pesticides. Why do we always have to love everything to death?

Hot Chocolate with Cheese
Colombian cheese is soft, white and mostly unsalted. They add it to everything. The first time I was served chocolate con queso, I ate the rectangle of cheese separately by mistake. I did it properly the second time, drowning the cheese in the hot liquid.

Ice Cream with Cheese
Take a bowl of fruit, grate a handful of soft mild cheese on top, and add a few scoops of vanilla ice cream. I ate this before I remembered to photograph it, sorry. Guess I’ll have to order it again.

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