I’ve always been fascinated with the cultures and cuisine of the Andes, the world’s longest range of mountains. After traveling to Peru, Argentina, and Chile it was time to explore another country of the South American Andes. Colombia was an easy choice, and with the help of dynamic guides I ate and cooked my way through Bogota, Chia, and Medellín like a champ, albeit a few well-earned pounds on the scales when I returned home.

One of my favorite things to do when visiting a new city is shop the local markets. In Bogota my Colombia Food Tours guide, Lucia took me on a tour of the Mercado de Paloquemeo in the center of the city. We began at the outdoor flower market which is the largest in Latin America. I’ve never seen so many varieties of flowers, from roses in every color to the most exotic tropical flowers grown near Bogota. An entire section of the market was devoted to carnations, as they are sold mostly for funerals and burial sites.

Inside the market were hundreds of food stalls selling fruits, vegetables, and meats from all over Colombia. Lucia and I sampled dozens of fruits, many I had never seen before. There are over 650 different varieties of passion fruit in Colombia, and I tried at least 8 of them. There are at least 10 varieties of avocado, which are made into guacamole or sliced into salads. We also nibbled on buñuelos, fried bread balls made from cassava flour, cheese and milk. Colombians like to use cheese in many of their dishes, including sweets and fruits like guava. When you order a cup of hot chocolate you get a few pieces of cheese to add to it, which really wasn’t so bad.

After our market tour, Lucia and I spent the afternoon cooking a traditional Colombian meal. We made hogao, a sauce that is a staple in every Colombian kitchen, used on nearly everything from arepas to empanadas to fried eggs. It’s made with tomatoes, scallions, garlic, and cilantro, and can be served chunky or blended (my preference). We made empanadas from corn dough stuffed with potatoes and hogao (of course). In Colombia all empanadas are fried, and the way to eat them is to take one bite then pour in some salsa, whether it’s more hogao or chile sauce or guacamole. We also made fried plantains, coconut rice, stewed sirloin in a tomato/red pepper sauce. This dish is always served with avocado salad and when we sat down to eat our feast, I poured the remainder of our hogao on everything except the coconut rice, which was the best I’d ever eaten.

I always enjoy taking a food tour in new cities, and I was thrilled with the Food Tours Colombia tour I took with the owner, Lena. We explored the historic La Candelaria district of Bogota, including the incredible street art murals as well as a tea shop called Mamba, specializing in the coca leaf. We had a tea ceremony with coca tea, coca and hibiscus tea, and macha made with ground coca and milk.

We had a traditional Bogota soup called Ajiáco in a historic restaurant, La Puerta de la Catedral. It was in a colonial building with pink walls and ornate ceilings. It was filled with local people enjoying a late lunch. The soup is made from three different varieties of potatoes, shredded chicken, corn, and an herb called guascus. It’s served with a side of rice, avocado, spicy crema, and capers to add to your soup. It was divine!

Bogota is a vibrant city of 11 million people. There are many different neighborhoods, all with different vibes. I stayed in the Zona Rosa, which is full of restaurants, bars, and trendy nightclubs. In the mornings I walked for miles, stopping at coffee shops and breakfast spots like Ajiaco La Herencia. One of my favorite spots for dinner was Osaka, a Japanese/Peruvian restaurant with incredible small plates and cocktails. Leo, voted one of the best restaurants in Latin America was another favorite. I had the “bar experience” with six courses paired with cocktails and the service was impeccable.

Bogota has at least 5,000 street art murals representing social and political images by local and international artists. In the historic Candelaria neighborhood you can walk the streets and admire nearly every building painted in vibrant colors. In the 1960s graffiti and street art was illegal, resulting in harsh penalties, but it has since become a legal way of expression and a draw for tourists.

Just 40 kilometers from Bogota in the city of Zipaquirá, is the Salt Cathedral, an architectural masterpiece built 250 meters underground in an active salt mine. It was built by the miners in the 1990s and is one of only two underground cathedrals in the world. I visited the site with no expectations of what I would see, and I was incredibly impressed. The entire structure is carved from the halite rock, and It takes about two hours to explore. There are many levels with chapels and monuments illuminated in colorful lights, and every 30 minutes they present a video light show over the main alter that is spectacular.

Following the cathedral tour, my guide, Camila took me to one of the wildest restaurants I have ever seen called Andrés Carne de Res, in the city of Chia. It seats 2,000 people and is decorated with thousands of unusual art pieces and trinkets from floor to ceiling. There was live music in one area and video music in another. Dancers went from table to table as platters of grilled meat and empanadas were passed to waiting customers. It was a visual experience I will never forget, and the food was pretty good. I learned there are locations in Bogota and Medellín also. I discovered one in the Bogota airport and had my last meal there. Fantastic! Anyone traveling to Colombia should try it once, just for the experience.

I had grown to love Bogota, but there were other cities to explore. My next destination was Medellín, a one-hour flight from Bogota. It is the second largest city in Colombia and is set in the hills and valleys of the central mountain range of the Andes. The climate is much warmer and the setting is much more tropical and lush than the big city of Bogota. I stayed at the Click Clack Hotel in the El Chicó district. It’s a beautiful hotel with four restaurants, bars, and a great music playlist. They also have a scenic rooftop pool and bar. Nearby is great shopping, restaurants, bars, and noisy nightclubs (that required the white noise on my phone while I slept).

My Medellín guide, Froilan was my companion for the 3 days I spent in the vibrant city. The first day he took me on one of five metro transportation gondolas. As we ascended up a mountain, stopping several times at various metro stops, he explained the history of the drug wars that caused Medellín to be the most violent city in the world in the 80s and 90s. Froilan passionately explained the corruption and devastation that affected millions of people in the city and surrounding areas. Thankfully, the city has recovered exceptionally well, although there are still effects of the destruction and sadness from only twenty years ago. We visited the Comuna 13, Columbia’s most violent neighborhood during the drug wars. It has transformed into an artist neighborhood with some of the most beautiful street art murals in the world. It is still over-populated, with a low socio-economic community but tourism has helped tremendously. We climbed the steep hills lined with street art, street food stalls, and souvenir stands, stopping for empanadas, beer cocktails, and cheese arepas. But the most impressive stop was at a restaurant called Berracas le la 13. It is owned by a woman named Paola who, as a single mother, opened the restaurant to train and employ other single women in the neighborhood. When we entered the restaurant there were a dozen women in colorful dresses and head scarves singing and cooking for the upcoming lunch hour. The tables were set with flowers and beads, and the backdrop of the mountains made it a perfect setting. I was so honored to meet the women who were given a chance to work and support their children in such a happy environment, and when I asked for a photo with them, they surrounded me with huge smiles and hugs.

Knowing how much I love meeting female entrepreneurs, Froilan introduced me to his friend, Marta who lives on a one-hectare farm on the outskirts of Medellin. When we arrived, Marta greeted us with hot chocolate in her open-air kitchen with a view of her garden. Marta left her corporate job 12 years ago to pursue her dream of farming. With the help of a friend she built terraces up a steep hill where she grows organic vegetables, herbs, and fruit. In her small greenhouse she grows vanilla orchids. Marta led me through the rows lush plants that she planted entirely by herself. After picking onions and tomatoes for our lunch, we put on aprons and began to cook. She put me in charge of grinding sweet corn to make into arepas while she fried pork belly and stirred a pot of beans. Within an hour were enjoy lunch and planning her visit to the US to cook with me. As we left, Marta gifted me with vanilla pods and chocolate. We both felt a deep connection as two independent women who work hard and enjoy serving others.

On my final day in Colombia Froilan took me on a 2 hour-drive to the Luna llena Coffee Farm. There, 5 brothers care for hundreds of hectors of organic farmland. They are the third generation to grow coffee, and their passion was evident as the oldest brother took us on a jungle hike through towering palm trees to the coffee hills. I strapped on a bucket and began picking coffee berries, avoiding the green ones and only picking the red ripe ones. After about 30 minutes I had gathered enough to make about 3 cups of coffee. Back at the farmhouse we were served lunch on the veranda before visiting the drying house where the coffee beans are dried in the sun before being washed and roasted. It was an intense day of hiking and learning, but I gained a huge appreciation for the patience and labor required to produce coffee. After purchasing many bags of their coffee beans, Froilan and I went back to Medellin smelling like the sweet aromas of coffee.

My experiences in Colombia will always remain in my memory, and the flavors I enjoyed in the cuisine have made a permanent impression on my menus at home. Everywhere I went, I was treated warmly and welcomed back. Hiring guides made it much easier to get around, and I had experiences that would have been difficult without them. There are many more places in Colombia to visit and I look forward to exploring many more.