 20071023 jetBlue wants to fly to Colombia
I'm excited by their announcement to fly daily between Fort Lauderdale and Bogotá, potentially making them the first low-cost American airline to fly to South America. What's especially interesting is that they selected Colombia as their first destination. I doubt they'll market the route to mainstream customers but leverage the 140,000 Colombian-Americans living in South Florida to break their way into the Latin American market. But, either way, this is good news for the adventurous traveler.I visited Colombia this past summer and realized it's an incredible country despite popular mischaracterization here. Given America's appetite for cocaine, Colombia's drug industry is still very much alive and well, but it's mostly contained to the wilderness in the southern part of the country -- although tropical, it's the equivalent to the Alaskan Wildlife Reserve here. In Bogotá, however, I experienced a modern and culturally unique city with a population the size of New York living at an elevation of ~8000ft, more than 50% higher than Denver. Its geography is majestic and its people are handsome, the wealthier classes clad in jackets and leather shoes during it's year-round autumn climate. Vast, however, are its poor neighborhoods and slums. Drug trafficking has stigmatized the country and continues to hamper overall economic development as it distracts foreign investment. Most people are relieved to hear that I always felt safe. The only reminder of danger came as the hotel valet swept cabs with a mirror attached to end of a pole, scanning the undercarriage for bombs. It was cursory and seemed more like a formality to comfort foreign visitors. Also, most street corners were occupied by baby-faced soldiers wielding rifles, which was reminiscent of National Guard units standing idly in airport terminals after 9/11. Bottomline, the place is beautiful, secure and practically tourist-free. You should visit while it's still affordable. 2
Comments:
said... "while it's still affordable"... a really good point, as these places are becoming baby boomer destinations, prices tend to go up. Example: Costa Rica, where I live. 9:43 PM Carolina said... "I visited Colombia this past summer and realized it's an incredible country despite popular mischaracterization here." I'm so glad you enjoyed your time in Colombia Zach! You're absolutely right: there's definitely a mischaracterization here in the States. When people think of Colombia, they often think there's nothing more but drugs and poverty. And although these two factors are part of the Colombian dynamic, there's so much more to the country than that. From the Andes, to the Amazon, to booming metropolis, Colombia is a country rich with resources, scenery and culture. I for one am thrilled that Jet Blue will be flying to Colombia. I will definitely make the 2 hour drive to Ft. Lauderdale to go to Colombia and visit my home. Thanks for the info! 9:34 AM Post a Comment |
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 Hi, I'm Zach. I grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana and graduated from Wake Forest. After college, I moved to Manhattan to get serious about a company I ran with friends. We sold it to Barry Diller's InterActiveCorp in 2006. I just wrapped up with a project I co-founded called Vimeo and left CV to focus on being a twenty-five year old. I have another blog called Copy and Taste, where I post about learning to cook. I live in Brooklyn now.  Del.icio.us My Flickr Me on Flickr Last.fm Linked in MySpace Netflix History Vimeo  Amir Blumenfeld Chris Bodenner Mareen Fischinger Fort Wayne Observed Nick Gray Hype Machine Jake and Amir Jakob Lodwick Oh My Rockness Jonathan Marcus Youngna Park Megan Scheminske Eliot Shepard Shorpy Signal vs. Noise Alex Soth Stereogum Ricky Van Veen Khoi Vinh Eugene Wyatt   Postal Skype SMS (via AIM) |