I spent quite a bit of time in that country and it was an amazing place

there were a few things that surprised me about it:

•  I expected the place to be as macho as Poland or Greece, with the men sitting and drinking coffee and the women doing all the work but that wasn't the case at all.  Later, I learned that Colombians were once considered to be great workers in the USA, until the narcotics over-shadowed that reputation.

•  there are guns everywhere.  Even the traffic police in Bogota carry Uzis on their belts.  Every shop has an armed guard that stands outside the shop with a rifle ready to use.  This means that on a commercial street with shops on both sides, all you see are these armed men with their rifles.

•  there are army posts all over, sand-bagged with soldiers at the ready behind machine guns.  this can be quite disconcerting for someone who isn't used to it.

•  people spend the whole day walking their cows in the cities because they are landless.

•  don't ever drive in Colombia unless you have piloted in Formula 1

•  the Colombians are the kindest, most hospitable people you will ever meet.