Word: colombia
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...shrouded by balmy mountain mists, but it's shaking off a long period of isolation to reveal a sophisticated tableau of art, architecture and action. Cartagena - the UNESCO-lauded seafront town an hour's flight north of Bogotá - used to be the only place visited by many of Colombia's 2 million annual tourists. But Bogotá's beefed-up security means that visitors are no longer bypassing the capital in a hurry to get to the beach. Travel warnings still urge caution, but for visitors taking proper safeguards, a trip to Bogotá is finally on the cards...
...befitting the hotel's origins in a pair of adjoining 19th century townhouses. In its vicinity are the Teatro Colon, tel: (57-1) 284 7420 - a gold-encrusted, neo-Italianate 135-year-old performance venue that is home to the Colombian National Symphony Orchestra - and Artesanias de Colombia, www.artesaniasdecolombia.com.co, a government-sponsored showcase for handmade masks, pottery, jewels, carpets and other Colombian handiwork...
...Goldwork, of course, is Colombia's real forte, and this is dramatically on display in the heart of Bogotá's downtown at the Museo del Oro, tel: (57-1) 343 2221. It reopened last fall following a 10-year renovation. Drenched in sunlight and sprawling over a quartet of gallery-filled floors, the Museo includes 6,500 gold and ceramic pieces - many more than 2,000 years old. (See more about Colombia...
...Back in town, the Zona Rosa remains a bastion of affluent indulgence. At Xoco Puro Chocolate, tel: (57-1) 622 0443, for instance, there are two dozen varieties of chocolates created entirely from native fruit and spices; at Club Colombia, tel: (57-1) 249 5681, smart versions of local classics such as corn empanadas or chicken-and-potato soup are served in a sprawling, renovated mansion. For postprandial diversions, check out the campy Mai Lirol Darlin, tel: (57-1) 236 5846, or the gay, electro-pop Blues Bar, tel: (57-1) 616 7126 - both are filled with well-heeled, cocktail...
...appears to be groping for the right approach to Obama, oscillating in recent weeks between acerbic criticism and conciliatory praise. When Obama said that Chávez aids Colombia's Marxist guerrilla violence (which Chávez in fact has renounced), the Venezuelan President shot back that Obama had "the same stench" as Bush. But when the U.S. Coast Guard called Venezuelan authorities last week for permission to board a Venezuelan boat involved in a cocaine bust, Chávez called it a "positive signal that never would have happened" under Bush...