Traditionally, the top yellow half of the flag of Colombia represents not only gold but all of the wealth of the country. The blue below it represents the seas by which the country is located. The red represents the blood that was shed to gain independence for Colombia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Colombia#/media/File:Flag_of_Colombia.svg
The way I see it, the colors could represent the three major periods of Colombian history. The red representing the native Indians before the arrival of Europeans. The blue could represent the period as a Spanish colony, known as Gran Colombia and which included what is now Venezuela, Ecuador and, Panama. The gold or yellow, which is the widest band of color, representing the independent nation of Colombia. The war of Independence for Gran Colombia was led by the Venezuelan, Simon Bolivar, for whom the neighboring country of Bolivia is named.
The southern part of the western hemisphere was settled by Spain and Portugal before the northern part was settled by England and France. In the days of sailing ships Europeans from the Mediterranean, and the southern part of the continent, had the simple advantage that the wind was in their favor.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_winds#/media/File:Map_prevailing_winds_on_earth.png
Also ships could sail around the southern tip of South America, and sail up the west coast of the continent, whereas that could not be done from North America. Although today, global warming is opening up what is known as the Northwest Passage to ships.
Colombia has had two civil wars since independence, both between Liberals and Conservatives. On our visit to Mexico City, we saw that Mexico has undergone one such war. There was what was known as the "Thousand-Days War", around the beginning of the Twentieth Century. Then there was a ten-year war from 1948-1958. This was followed by a leftist insurgency, mainly taking place in the remote areas of Colombia's southeast, carried on by the group known by the acronym of FARC. This insurgency was remarkably similar in nature to one on the other side of the world, that carried on by the Naxalites in India.
The capital of Colombia today is the city of Bogota, which was founded in 1538. Although not as well-known as the Aztec, Maya and, Inca, the area had one of the great Indian civilizations, known as the Muisca.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bogot%C3%A1#/media/File:Mira_a_lo_alto.jpg
The following scenes begin in the Primary Cathedral of Colombia, which is on Bolivar Square, or Bolivar Plaza, where Colombia's government buildings are located. Remember that Simon Bolivar led the liberation of Gran Colombia.
There are multiple scenes following. To see the scenes, after the first one, you must first click the up arrow, ^, before you can move on to the next scene by clicking the right or forward arrow, >. After clicking the up arrow, you can then hide the previews of successive scenes, if you wish.
Here are some more views around central Bogota. The old part of the city is known as La Candelaria.
https://www.google.com/maps/@4.5975117,-74.0677741,3a,75y,19.7h,93.56t,1.86r/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sFQIZVA3Puid1CELuK5Wkxw!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo3.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DFQIZVA3Puid1CELuK5Wkxw%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D22.436419%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656
Here is a residential neighborhood that houses a lot of new arrivals to Bogota, known as Ciudad Bolivar.
https://www.google.com/maps/@4.5687926,-74.1473986,3a,75y,79.04h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sBDQ92zQHUFlS7dxAnzooOw!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo3.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DBDQ92zQHUFlS7dxAnzooOw%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D79.00975%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656
Colombia's second-largest city is Medellin. It was founded in the 17th Century, and could be named for the birthplace of Hernan Cortes, in Spain.
Here is a look around central Medellin, starting in Botero park.
https://www.google.com/maps/@6.2521499,-75.568503,3a,75y,8.08h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sVsoSfo9HXELKIYyo7VFmjA!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo1.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DVsoSfo9HXELKIYyo7VFmjA%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D8.029539%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656
The next largest city in Colombia is Cali. It was founded in 1536, and is the country's Pacific coast city. The following scenes begin in Cali's Plaza de Cayzedo.
https://www.google.com/maps/@3.4521013,-76.5322261,3a,75y,269.34h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s9uJXHjCLDLyN3fjO6LMdBA!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo2.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3D9uJXHjCLDLyN3fjO6LMdBA%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D269.33392%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656
In the north of Colombia, we come to the city of Monteria. There is a lot of beef farming in this part of the country.
https://www.google.com/maps/@8.7662017,-75.8735661,3a,75y,92.34h,87.2t,6.4r/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sehM4EEGN_CKG5Wr_VpnJLQ!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo1.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DehM4EEGN_CKG5Wr_VpnJLQ%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D187.5%26pitch%3D-7%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656
People are moving to cities faster than the best housing can be built for them. Here is another area of Monteria.
https://www.google.com/maps/@8.7530174,-75.8412975,3a,75y,349h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s-wEAM2hZpJ0SglrvSw9ylA!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo3.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3D-wEAM2hZpJ0SglrvSw9ylA%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D349.5%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656
Cartagena is Colombia's Caribbean coast city, that was founded in 1533. It has been the site of many battles, both from colonial days and from Colombia's war of independence. The result is that some of the best-known scenes of the old city of Cartagena are walls and fortifications and cannon. The following scenes begin in Plaza Santo Domingo.
https://www.google.com/maps/@10.42434,-75.551975,3a,75y,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1s-UXTVq8yxH-Y%2FVrpBK5zz1vI%2FAAAAAAAAVJs%2FlclwLAmgevoNJQv9l_ljUtTCKF8Xh7GVACJkC!2e4!3e11!6s%2F%2Flh3.googleusercontent.com%2F-UXTVq8yxH-Y%2FVrpBK5zz1vI%2FAAAAAAAAVJs%2FlclwLAmgevoNJQv9l_ljUtTCKF8Xh7GVACJkC%2Fw203-h100-k-no-pi0-ya170.86017-ro0-fo100%2F!7i6600!8i3300
This is Bocagrande, not far from the old city of Cartagena, where the tall hotel buildings and beaches are located.
https://www.google.com/maps/@10.4023739,-75.5563886,3a,75y,315.32h,89.27t,-1.62r/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sE6jIhYqvmRf6BfMSfXx6uA!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo2.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DE6jIhYqvmRf6BfMSfXx6uA%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D45.327408%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656
Finally, we come to the Caribbean city of Barranquilla. This was the country's most important port, and where so many immigrants entered Colombia. Let's begin our look at Barranquilla next to San Nicolas Church.
https://www.google.com/maps/@10.9802331,-74.7783271,3a,75y,11.96h,89.02t,0.54r/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s-v-VBFIy9uWdLQx7jEd3Bg!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo0.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3D-v-VBFIy9uWdLQx7jEd3Bg%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D121.17579%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656
This is a mostly-residential area not far from the center of Barranquilla.
https://www.google.com/maps/@10.9644466,-74.7972057,3a,75y,139.62h,88.7t,-1.06r/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sDxAaxb2X9GPs4Y0QW9NhNQ!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo0.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DDxAaxb2X9GPs4Y0QW9NhNQ%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D84.63711%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656
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