Colombia

Location: Colombia is a country situated in the northwest of South

America, bordered to the northwest by Panama, to the east by Venezuela
and Brazil, to the south by Ecuador and Peru and it shares maritime limits
with Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Jamaica, Dominican Republic and
Haiti.
Climate: The Climate of Colombia is characterized for being tropical and
isothermal as a result of its geographical location near the Equator
presenting variations within five natural regions and depending on the
altitude, temperature, humidity, winds and rainfall.
Food: Colombia's varied cuisine is influenced by its diverse fauna and flora
as well as the cultural traditions of the ethnic groups. Some of the most
common ingredients are cereals, tubers, assorted legumes, meats and
seafood. Colombia cuisine also features a variety of tropical fruits.
Crops: The primary agricultural products of Colombia are coffee (fourthlargest producer of coffee in the world), cut flowers, bananas, rice, tobacco,
corn, sugarcane, cocoa beans etc. Many other plants are cultivated, such as
tomatoes, avocados, while rubber trees and cotton plants are used to make
cultural products.
Wildlife: Animals from jaguars to caimans to poison dart frogs all call
Colombia's jungles home. The mountains provide habitat for huge Andean
condors and rare spectacled bears, South America's only bear species.
Thousands of years ago, Colombia was nearly completely covered in jungle.
Minerals: Colombia is an important player in the world mining industry as a
producer of high quality minerals. Colombia is the largest producer of nickel
in South America, the largest producer of coal in Latin America, the second
largest producer of emeralds in the world, and it has significant reserves of
gold.

Colombia
Jobs: In Colombia, jobs are available in a wide variety of sectors. These
include the academic and research sector, which requires teachers,
professors and researchers. Colombia is rich in natural resources; therefore
there is demand of workers in the fields of mining of minerals, oil and gas.
Clothing: Dark-colored suits are usually worn by urban professionals.
Members of the lower or working classes and farmers generally wear loose
pants and skirts, known as folk clothes. Blouses that bare the shoulders,
cropped T-shirts and low-rise jeans are popular options for Columbian
women.
Tourist Attractions:
(a) Medellin is certainly one of the most beautiful cities in South America
with plenty to see and do; a superb mixture of modern, bustling city, whilst
retaining its unique heritage and beauty.
(b) Covering over 1 billion acres, the Amazon Rainforest produces around
20% of the worlds oxygen and contains half of the planets estimated
species of plants, animals and insects.
(c) Cartagena is another of Colombias popular cities which combines a
wealth of history to be found in the old walled city with modern
conveniences, 5 star luxury hotels and beautiful Caribbean beaches.
(d) Villa de Leyva's Plaza Mayor is one of the biggest town squares in South
America. At one time people were executed on this immense square, which
is now used as a gathering place for celebrations and festivals.
(e) San Agustin is a laidback little town surrounded by awesome landscapes
and the remains of a forgotten civilization. One of the most intriguing
ancient sites in Colombia, the archeological park of San Agustin is home to
more than 500 monoliths, statues, petro glyphs and sarcophagi.
Customs & Cultures: Men shake hands with direct eye contact. While
shaking hands they use the appropriate greeting for the time of day. Women
often grasp forearms rather than shaking hands. Colombians have the
mannerism of pointing to objects with their mouths. This is because pointing

Colombia
to a person or even an object with your finger can be considered rude.
Colombians like to dance a lot. It's part of their cultural ancestry.
Religion: Catholicism is the main religion in Colombia by number of
adherents, with an estimated of 75% of the national population in nominal
Catholicism. 95% of the Colombians are Roman Catholic. There are however
Jewish and Protestant minorities.
Language: The official language of Colombia is Spanish and spoken by
around 43 million people. In addition there are approximately 500,000
speakers of American Indian languages.
Interesting Facts:
1. Colombia is the only South American country with Atlantic and Pacific
coastlines. With over 300 beaches in the country, you can have your pick.
2. Colombia only has summer; because there is no winter near the equator,
it has sunlight throughout the year.
3. Colombia has the biggest salsa festival, biggest theater festival, biggest
outdoor horse parade, biggest flower parade and second biggest carnival all
over the world.
4. Colombia has most species of birds in the world; it is the habitat of more
than 1754 species of bird.
5. At 8,360ft above sea level Bogot is the highest city in the world with a
population greater than 3 million.
6. The National Anthem is played on the radio at 6am and 6pm.
7. Colombia produces 60% of the world's most expensive Emeralds.
8. Colombia is part of the Ring of Fire, a group of countries on the Pacific
Ocean prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
9. Colombia is the world's largest cocaine producer and accounted for 43%
of global coca cultivation in 2009.
10. Colombia produced 410 metric tons of cocaine in 2010, which is about
twice the weight of a blue whale.

Colombia
Currency: The Colombian peso has been the currency of Colombia since
1837 when it replaced the old Real. Its currency code is COP and it is also
informally abbreviated as COL$. However, the official peso symbol is $.
Music: The music of Colombia is an expression of Colombian culture, which
contains diverse music genres, both traditional and modern. The diversity in
musical expressions found in Colombia can be seen as the result of a
mixture of African, native Indigenous, and European influences, as well as
more modern American.
Art: Colombian art has 3000 years of history and covers a wide range of
media and styles ranging from Spanish Baroque devotional painting to
Quimbaya gold craftwork to the lyrical Americanism". Perhaps the most
internationally acclaimed Colombian artist is painter and sculptor Fernando
Botero.
Architecture: Colombia's architectural heritage includes Spanish colonial
architecture including Catholic churches. In the postmodern architecture era
a wave of innovate and striking building signed. Colombian cultural heritage
includes indigenous, European, Indian and African influences.
History: Little is known about the various Indian tribes who inhabited
Colombia before the Spanish arrived. In 1510 Spaniards founded Darien, the
first permanent European settlement on the American mainland. With the
growth of the Spanish empire in the New World, a new territorial division
was created in 1717, and Bogot became the capital of its own viceroyalty,
the Virreinato de la Nueva Granada. It comprised the territories of what are
today Colombia, Panama, Ecuador and Venezuela. Colombia is named after
Christopher Columbus, even though he never set foot on Colombian soil. It
was Alonso de Ojeda, one of Columbus' companions on his second voyage,
who was the first European to set foot on the land in 1499.