Bourdain in Colombia

Anthony Bourdain, who hosts the show No Reservations on the Travel Channel, just did an amazing show from Colombia. The first part shows the local food and culture in Cartagena. Then the crew drove from Cartagena to Medellin for the second part of the show, which included a traditional cookout in a very poor neighborhood.

Here's part of the commentary from his blog highlighting the positive changes in the country:

So, imagine my surprise to hear--again and again--expressions of optimism, hope, good feelings, and a general belief that things were going pretty well--in Colombia. In Medellin, no less, not too long ago the murder capital of the world! In expensive restaurants frequented by the well to do, the kind of people whose cars are bulletproofed, who travel with armed drivers--and later-- in what was the toughest, poorest barrio in the city, I heard the same thing. That the government seemed to be doing a pretty damn good job, that things were getting better and better, that the future looked bright--and that it was very good thing to be Colombian, and from Medellin in particular.

In a world where the bad guys seem to win with a relentless regularity, and where even the presumed good guys appear, usually, to be their own worst enemies, it's really gratifying to see things get so dramatically better somewhere--especially a place where at one time, it really and truly looked hopeless. It is inspiring, when you've gotten used to the notion that some problems probably won't ever be fixed in your lifetime, to see some of the very worst kind of seemingly insurmountable problems so quickly and effectively improve. When you see a real change in the conditions and in the human hearts of a place where just a few short years ago, one neighbor couldn't walk twenty yards over without risking death from another, where drug cartels recruited their murderous young footsoldiers by the hundreds, where even the police feared to tread--it makes one hopeful again--about the whole world.

Colombia. Vacation Wonderland? Yes. Absolutely.

Like Randy wrote, if you get a chance to catch a rerun on the Travel Channel, I highly recommend it. At the very least, it's a good chance to see traditional Colombian food as well as a very improved country.