An irrelevant aside...

[BobG]

Well, having been home for about 3 weeks now, reading through the thread again has brought home how much I like Colombia. With this disgusting weather here, tbh, I wish I was back there. It's funny really. I was glad to return home after 2 months in Colombia but now I'm here...

I'm still wondering about Algeria now. There are 2 things there I fancy seeing. The first is simply desert -  always had a thing for 'em. A journey to the Ahagger Mountains would be some trip. The other is the most isolated tree in the world - just outside Tamanrasset. I really fancy seeing that... It'd be more exciting than the Rovers atm. Lol.

BobG

[SydneyRover]

Hey Bob a good news story from Columbia ...........

''Juan Guillermo Garcés had a brush with death while burning jungle for cattle pasture – now he runs a nature reserve in Colombia where more than 100 new species have been discovered''

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jan/22/colombia-wildlife-paradise-rancher-turned-reforester-aoe

[BobG]

Thank you Sydney. I liked that. But I suspect he's fighting a losing battle. Colombia's population has risen from 39 million in 2000 to over 50 million in 2024. Colombia is a bloody big country but with a population increasing at that rate land use is increasing frighteningly quickly too. Slash and burn is too easy, too profitable....

BobG

[drfchound]

The UK isn’t a particularly big country but our population has increased from 59m in 2000 to 69m in 2024.

[idler]

Did you see the skaters and bladers in Medellin Bob.? On YouTube their raw runs are frightening. I wonder how many end up dead or injured?

[BobG]

UK <17%
Colombia >28%

.I don't see any relevance at all in comparing the UK with Colombia. How much jungle is there in the UK? How much of a social safety net is there in Colombia? It's a stupid comparison. The figures prove my point anyway.

I haven't seen those skaters Idler - except on TV when Guy Martin tried it. I don't know the figures but I'd expect a fair few maimings and worse happen. Stopping it happening would be very hard though. Medellin, like most Colombian cities, sits in a valley surrounded by mountains. Shut down one route and they'd all just go somewhere else. It's Andes country. As an aside, the route into the city from the airport is something else! Amazing engineering.

BobG

[Bentley Bullet]

Colombia has a population density of 125 people per square mile.

The UK has a population density of 745 people per square mile.

[BobG]

So what?

You forgot about little things like mountains did you BB? They're called the Andes.  Look 'em up. Forgot about something called jungle too did you?  Forgot about rice paddy too? Very land intensive that.

Stop trying to compare a tropical and mountainous country with a temperate and substantially flat one. It makes you look foolish.

BobG

[Bentley Bullet]

The most populated area of Colombia is the capital city of Bogotá, which had an estimated population of 7.93 million in 2024.

London is the most populated area in the United Kingdom. In 2023, the population of London was estimated to be 9.65 million people.

Bogotá is slightly larger than London in terms of surface area, but London has a larger population.

[BobG]

So what? Just what are you trying to prove? Are you ignorant of how slash and burn works? Do you not comprehend the difference in financial and educational status of the UK and Colombia? Can you not see how that impacts everything - including land use? And, of course you clearly have no idea at all what a difference in population growth of more than 11 percentage points means. Ignoramus.

BobG

[Bentley Bullet]

I'm trying to prove the fact that the UK is a much smaller country with a population increasing at a frightening rate also. 13.8% since 2000, and growing.

.... And that's just counting them we know about.

[Iberian Red]

Thanks for an entertaining thread Bob.

Word of advice tho,don't ever,ever tell a Venezuelan that arepas is a Columbian dish.
You'll be a dead man if you do.

[SydneyRover]

Hey Bob another for you, La Guajira desert Colombia. It was only a quick mention in a prog' for processed food so I don't know much about it. Worth a look maybe.

[BobG]

Thank you Iberian. Yes. You are spot on. Lol. My confusion probably came from my friend over there holding a Colombian passport and living there - so I assume Colombian, but in reality hales from San Cristóbal, Venezuela, over the border from Cucuta. Daft actually. I probably know more Venezuelans than I do Colombians. Lol. A Colombian is painting my house right now. A staggeringly hard worker too. I think it's typical. He's good for practising my Spanish too. 

And thank you Bristol. I've heard of la Guajira but tbh I don't know much about it. If I go back I shall do some research. Ta!

BobG

[SydneyRover]

It's been a while Bob, a good news story out of Colombia.

''The enchanted car park: how a ruined multistorey became a garden paradise loved by lizards and dog-walkers''

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2025/jul/02/parque-prado-multi-storey-car-park-garden-paradise-colombia

[BobG]

Thank you Sydney. I didn't know of this.

Without any doubt whatsoever Medellin is one of the great cities of the world. What makes it so is imagination. Imagination and hard work. This is another example. I am not a person who likes cities. I prefer the peace and quiet of the countryside. But Medellin is one of the very few exceptions that proves the rule. I would be more than happy to live there full time. And unlike  most other nice cities, I could afford to live there too.  An Englishman with average income would enjoy a rather nice lifestyle.

BobG