This is a lightly edited transcription of a hand-written journal I kept while adopting my son in Colombia back in 1993.
Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3, if you missed them.
26 de Julio
Took a trip today to the Instituto Geográfico to buy some maps. I thought that it would be pretty straightforward—browse through topographical, geological, and thematic maps, select a few, and pay the cashier. I wonder if Franz Kafka spent any time in Colombia as a young man. One of the many armed guards directed me to a window where only two maps of Bogotá and its environs were on display. I asked in broken Spanish where I could go to see some maps and was answered with a curt NO. I thought fine, I'll just take copies of those two but, no, you just get a receipt and stand in a second line to pay and get your receipt stamped, a third line to exchange your receipt for a computer printout, and back to the first line to pick up your maps. A quick look at some of the other faces showed that it wasn’t just this gringo who was frustrated. One of the other line junkies told me that there’s no way to browse, you have to look it up in their one catalog (no copies are available for purchase) for what you want and order it by number. The catalog was scribbled in, erased, stamped, folded, and mutilated. The National University is right next door. I pity the geography majors.
Miguel has, on top of everything else, come down with chicken pox.
Today’s exchange rate was 795.5
27 de Julio
Three American couples have checked into the hotel in the last two days. It’s very strange to hear so much English.
Cars are very expensive in Colombia; compacts are more than $20,000 due to steep taxes. Because of the combination of high taxes (which encourages repairs) and a lack of road salt, cars last forever. It’s not uncommon to see Packards and DeSotos. There are also makes of cars here that are virtually unknown in the States. The Renault 4 series is popular here. It’s a tiny car that’s not exported to the United States. I’ve also seen Russian Ladas and Romanian Dacias.
28 de Julio
Nate’s chicken pox are starting to scab over, hopefully he’s passed the worst of it. Mary and I aren’t getting much sleep.
29 de Julio
It turns out that of all the imports into South America, Colombia accounts for 60% of the total {{I wrote this in 1993, but now I find it hard to believe; Brazil has a much larger economy}}. Lots of drug money pours into the construction that seems to go on everywhere. The government pays lip service to combatting drugs and makes some arrests, but they know which side their bread is buttered on. An underdeveloped country is understandably willing to look the other way if the country’s standard of living and infrastructure can be improved due to money sloshing around.
30 de Julio
Miguel had a follow-up test for his kidneys today; we’ll get the results early next week.
We had a wine tasting party with Pat, Liz, Nathan, and April {{other people there to adopt}} this afternoon. The staff here got good laughs at a bunch of semi-inebriated norteamericanos.
31 de Julio
I’m a bit surprised that Colombians treat Americans so well, sometimes to the point of showing them deference. Whenever I’m in a bank exchanging travelers checks for pesos, I see Colombians having their bags searched. I’m never searched. It’s obvious to all concerned that this 6'4" Caucasian is from somewhere else. If I were Colombian, I’d feel insulted that foreigners receive different treatment than I did.
1 de Agosto
Saw a very small car today, not much bigger than a large motorcycle. It was a Zastava.
The Syrian ambassador’s house is just a few blocks from our hotel. It’s built like a fortress.
2 de Agosto
Nate is much improved; we were able to take him shopping with us today. Having a baby in quarantine gives the parents a case of cabin fever, we have not been able to both leave the hotel at the same time for several days now. Bought a great atlas of Colombia that I’ll be pouring over for years. Today’s exchange rate was 798.
3 de Agosto
Colombia is clearly a mid-income developing country - it’s not dirt poor like Haiti but it hasn’t had the economic “take off” like the mini-dragons of Asia. I wouldn’t be surprised if it makes a great leap in the next ten or fifteen years. Economic development is everywhere, in the form of new buildings, an expanding electrical grid, and plenty of money sloshing around. The drug money’s part of it, but there’s also been an oil boom going on here for the last couple of years. Another advantage that Colombia has over many other developing countries is that it isn’t cursed with “primary city” disease. Many developing countries have one huge city (five or ten times as large as the next biggest city) that draws in the vast majority of rural migrants and much of the available capital. Colombia does have the huge Santa Fe de Bogotá, but it also has thriving second-tier cities like Medellin, Cali, and Barranquilla. This country is going places.
The American State Department has had Colombia essentially blacklisted for several years. I called the State Department before coming here and got a recorded message advising against travel to Colombia that went on and on about how dangerous it is. While it’s true that parts of Colombia are dangerous, the same could be said of the United States. I wouldn’t walk through the barrios of southern Bogotá at two in the morning, but I also wouldn’t walk through East St. Louis at two in the afternoon.
image: Pixabay