Some things about Colombia that you may not know (because I didn't)​

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• Healthcare in Colombia is both high quality and affordable. The World Health Organization (WHO) ranks Colombia's healthcare system as number 22 out of the 191 countries they review. That is better than Canada, which ranks number 30, and the U.S., which ranks number 37. There are many excellent hospitals and clinics located throughout Colombia that provide both general and specialized medical services. Half of the top 43 hospitals in Latin America are in Colombia (22 out of 43). The larger cities of Bogotá, Medellín, and Bucaramanga have hospitals which have received the Joint Commission International accreditation.

• Colombia is the second most biodiverse country in the world, after only Brazil which is 10 times its size, and one of only 17 “megadiverse” countries. It has the highest amount of species by area in the world, including more species of bird than all of Europe and North America combined.

• It is mandatory for radio and public television in Colombia to play the national anthem every day at 6 am and 6 pm. And how appropriate is that! Just at sunrise and sunset. In Medellin, the sunrise variation year-around is from 5:46 AM to 6:19 AM.

• Colombia is the world’s leading source of emeralds. It is also the third-largest exporter of coffee in the world after Brazil and Vietnam.

• There are more Spanish speakers in Colombia than in any other country in South America.

• With only 2-3 weeks of vacation per year for the average Colombian worker, they were in need of some public holidays! With 18 government sanctioned holidays, most falling on Monday, the only country with more public holidays is India.

• Colombia has 102 different indigenous groups. Some were living in Colombia 14,000 years ago.

• Colombia has a coastline on both the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean.

• At 8,360 ft above sea level, Bogota is one of the highest major cities in the world. Water boils at 91.5 Celcius or 196.7 Fahrenheit.

• Colombia has 60 national parks that cover over 10% of the country.

• Colombia is more than twice the size of France or Spain and has the same length of coastline as the U.S. pacific coast. Basically, it’s a massive country. Luckily with its many public bus systems and chartered transport, it’s relatively easy to get around. It just takes some time. Get used to those long beautiful bus rides.

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Maybe-move-to-Colombia vs. I-am-moving-to-Col0mbia

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As you know from my post for March 12th, I was going to check Medellin and Bogota out to help me decide whether to move there.

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That's still true. 

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But I am now framing it differently. Barring the discovery of any deal-killers, I already have enough information to say, "I'm moving to Colombia."

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But, like a good scientist or strategist, I will still be looking for new information that may argue against that decision. Should I find sufficient contrary information, then I prepared to do an about-face and enjoy staying in Kunming, China.

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Will my flights still be good?

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If I were flying out today, the answer might be "no." Shanghai has been on a COVID lockdown for 48 hours. I'll just have to wait and see but still proceed to prepare as if my flights will be fine on April 5th.

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New luggage

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I already had the two smaller pieces of luggage. But my larger luggage was a bit tattered. So I bought a larger matching piece for my checked luggage.