2021 Travel the World - Week 45

I started a 50-week series in 2019 that I called Travel the World. Each week of the series I visited a randomly-selected country, sharing bits of information about that country. I then chose one tidbit of information about that week's country as inspiration for a card. As I explored those 50 countries in 2019, I knew I would continue on until I've visited every one of the 195 countries in the world, so I continued the series in 2020 and here I am in 2021, the third year of traveling the world. 

As I mentioned in my blog a few weeks ago, I decided to cut back through the end of this year in order to regroup and catch up after losing my mom in November which also required a lot of time out-of-state. This is my last Travel the World card of 2021. I'll do the last 50 countries next year.

This week's country is...

Colombia

A country in South America, Colombia is home to over 50 million inhabitants. 

Colombia is the 25th largest country in the world.

Colombia shares land borders with five countries: Panama, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, and Venezuela.

Colombia is the only country in South America that has coastlines on both the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.

Colombia is famous for the mountain range that runs through it, the Andes. The Andes is the longest continental mountain range in the world, and has the second-highest peak in the world.

Colombia is named after the legendary Italian explorer, navigator, and colonizer – Christopher Columbus.

The official language of Colombia is Spanish. All Colombians speak Spanish except for certain populations that live in the Amazonian basin. That’s a higher percentage than Spain itself.

At 8,360 feet above sea level, Colombia's capital city Bogota is one of the highest major cities of the world.

The people of Colombia love to dance. The golden rule of Colombia: If you hear music, start moving.

It is mandatory for radio and public television in Colombia to play the national anthem every day at 6 am and 6 pm.

Cano Cristales – the “River of Five Colors” or the “Liquid Rainbow”, is a river in Colombia located in the Serrania de la Macarena province of Meta. This river’s bed changes color between yellow, green, blue, black, and especially red, beginning the end of July and through November.

Colombia has the most endemic species of anywhere in the world. The country isn’t just diverse in its animal and plant life. It’s unique. Over 9,100 species can ONLY be found in Colombia. From the Cotton-Top Tamarin to the Amazonian River dolphins there are many interesting animals that don’t exist outside the countries borders.

Age is an important factor in Colombia. The older you grow, the more powerful your voice becomes. Elders are deeply respected and revered in this tropical nation.

Colombia, with 18 national holidays, came second in the “countries with the most national holidays” list. In case you are wondering who could top that, it’s India.

Colombia has 60 National Parks that cover over 10% of the country.

One out of every five butterfly species is found in Colombia.

Colombia is the world’s leading source of emeralds. 

Columbia is the world's second highest exporter of flowers.

Colombia is also home to more than 4,000 species of orchids.

Bandeja Paisa is a meaty masterpiece of Colombia. Most often served for breakfast this pile of ground beef, chicharrones, avocado, rice, beans, plantain, fried egg, arepa, and chorizo can be a gut buster. But it’s Colombia on a plate.

Columbia has more than 30 different varieties of exotic fruits.

Colombia is home to some of the best coffee in the world, which is known for its quality and flavor.

Colombia is the third largest exporter of coffee in the world after Brazil and Vietnam.

Coffee is gulped down like water. While Colombian kids are given a nice coffee milkshake, they grow up to go pure black.

Drinking coffee in Colombia is a cheesy affair. For an unknown, weird reason, people put blocks of salty cheese into their coffee when they are finished drinking it, and eat the mushy blobs of coffee soaked cheese.

Colombia's national tree is the wax palm, which is the world's tallest palm tree - it can live for over 100 years and grow up to 200ft tall.

It’s a big deal when a girl turns 15 in Colombia. But for a boy, it’s a regular birthday.

Here are some gifting manners in Colombia: For a casual visit, bring a fruit or chocolate. For something elegant, bring imported alcohol. And for a girl’s 15th birthday, only gold.

In Colombian culture, flowers as a gift should only be sent in advance (roses are well liked), while making sure not to include lilies and marigolds, no matter how much of a discount you get. They are only reserved for funerals. 

Upon meeting and departing it is considered to be courteous to shake both hands. A man should also wait for a woman to extend her hand.

The traditional national sport of Colombia is called Tejo, a team sport that involves launching objects at a target which contain gunpowder and explode on impact. 

Colombia has South America's longest bicycle route,  but it’s no beginner path. It’s also known for being one of the toughest climbs on earth for cyclists. 

My inspiration for this week's card is based on this fact about Colombia... Loro, Colombia experiences the most annual rainfall of anywhere in the world. On average this rural town drowns in about 43 feet of rainfall every year.

Here's the inside:

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Stamp Set: Flourishes April Showers stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and colored with Copic Markers

Paper: Neenah 110# Solar White, Recollections Black, and SU Mint Macaron CS and DP from my scrap file

Dies: MFT Stitched Rectangles

Embellishments: Paper Studio Mini Brads