The other day I was trying to figure out how many countries I had been to in my lifetime. Mind you, I love to travel and I have "ants in my pants." I have to move every few months or I feel like I am dying! I have counted 47 so far. My goal before I die is to hit 80. My latest adventure was to Colombia. I have so many great friends from there and I wanted to be part of an international project which will change the world. It sounds far fetched but I really believe in it. We work with bright youth to give them an opportunity for greatness. I visited Cartagena, Santa Marta, Bucaramanga and Bogota. The first few days I was a beach bum in Cartagena and Santa Marta. Cartagena's colonial walled city and fortress were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984 along with Lima. I spend lots of time just walking around enjoying the city. There are not a lot of tourists in Colombia as you can imagine and that's a shame. Their political turmoil and civil conflicts have lasted decades but in the past 7 years under the leadership of a very popular president Alfonso Uribe, Colombians are now feeling free to walk around and enjoy their country. Interestingly enough, there are very few popular leaders in the world. Why did this man succeed? He focused on security and keeping democracy intact. He became even more popular after the rescue mission of Ingrid Betancourt, 3 American hostages and several military and police personnel. It does help the US gives the Colombian government quite a bit of funds for the war on drugs, but that is another story.
I say if he can keep up the security, more tourists should come here. Yes, I had to overpay some so called tourist packages but for the most part I felt safe and secure. I believe because they don't get too many international tourists, the vendors are a bit abnoxious and testy but I just wore my ipod and always looked ahead!
As a journalist nothing was more interesting than participating in an unprecedented march in Cartagena. The demonstration was to celebrate the release of hostages (a long term painful problem for Colombians) and a cry for peace and justice. I felt I was engaged in an event which made history. Millions of Colombians took to the streets to protest. I wish we would do more of that here, but I guess we take our democracy for granted sometimes.
Living Smart continues its run. We are airing season 4 again. This week Barbara Elliott talks about compassion and why it is important to care for other, SMARTLY..The week after that green architect LaVerne Williams reminds us how to save money at home by thinking green and focusing on sustainability. In October we'll launch a new News Analysis show.
This trip made me very grateful to be an American. We have so many blessings. I understand the economy is bad and I worry but we are not even close to what so many people around the world experience. We have to just "tighten our belts," many have no belts to tighten.
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