Colombia is passion. When going to Colombia you run the risk of never
wanting to leave. Horror. For those who fear this risk (or any risk
whatsoever), a trip or maybe even a home in Columbia, Maryland seems a
better option. It has no passion and Colombia-lovers may want to get
the hell out of there. But things aren’t always as they seem.
Colombia has 44 million people, a lot of mountains and jungle, eternal snow and eternal heat, which may be a bit too much to deal with. Luckily, Columbia, MD has nothing of it all. It’s located just outside Baltimore and is no older than 41 years, which is younger than Colombia’s internal conflict. The suburban town has about 100,000 inhabitants.
“Columbia is a planned community with 10 villages and a People Tree. The People Tree is a symbol of the community spirit of Columbia. Columbia has 5300 acres of permanent open space, including 144 tot lots, 225 pedestrian bridges, the 40-acre Symphony Woods, 3 lakes, 19 ponds and natural open space areas, interlaced with more than 83 miles of pathways for walking, biking, and jogging. There is also a vast network or plazas, picnic areas, public areas, tennis courts (one is a Tennis Bubble), and two parcourse fitness trails.” website columbiamaryland.com explains.
It sounds quite appealing to those who do not like guerrillas, eating arepas, drinking aguapanela and listening to salsa or cumbia. Actually, it’s safe to say you won’t encounter any guerrilla, arepa, aguapanela or danceable music in the municipality of Columbia.
Don’t think Columbia, Maryland is safe though. On Thursday November 20, 2008 alone, three bank robbers tried robbing a local bank and one of them got killed, a pizza delivery boy was assaulted and robbed of the pizza he was attempting to deliver, a 16-year old boy was robbed of his cash, unknown ‘ladrones’ stole a handrail from an unsecured house under construction and an attempt to enter an abandoned house failed. The burglars did however seriously damage the lock, just enough for the one locksmith to feed his family.
Crime in Colombian capital Bogotá may not be any better, but the Bogotá police does have a special squad helping tourists, which is something the Columbia community doesn’t have.
Colombia never was planned the way it has become, it has grown and is still growing. Columbia, 41 years after its development still has a lot to improve.