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El Espinal, Colombia
October 16, 2025
El Espinal, or just Espinal as it’s usually called, sits in the south-central region of Colombia, about halfway between Bogotá and Cali. The town itself has around 60,000 residents, with about 77,000 in the greater metro area. To set the geography straight: the Río Coello flows a few kilometers west of town, and the Río Magdalena a few kilometers east. Some blogs and even Wikipedia like to suggest those rivers run right through town — they don’t. What Espinal does have are two smaller streams running through it, neither celebrated nor accessible. One is even boxed in with concrete like a drainage canal. On the cultural side, Espinal has a monument to the tambora drum and is “said” to be famous for them, though in my time here I haven’t seen a single tambora or tambora-maker in the town. The town's economy is bases on agriculture, mostly rice, cotton, corn, soybeans, and some lesser commodities.
References:
City Population
Wikipedia
Guamo, Colombia
October 14, 2025
Guamo is a small town in Tolima with a history that, at least according to Wikipedia, seems longer
than its streets. Founded in the early 1600s, it was relocated a couple of times before settling in its current spot in
1801. The local Indigenous people resisted the Spanish conquest fiercely, but as in much of Colombia, the Spanish
eventually prevailed. The town then developed as an agricultural hub, producing rice, cotton, corn, bananas, and
citrus, while never really growing into a major city.
Reference: Wikipedia
Natagaima, Colombia
October 13, 2025
Ntagaima is small, around 15,000 people in the town, and maybe 23,000 in the metropolitan area. The town dates back to 1608. The local indigenous people were not easily subdued, they fought long and hard against the Spanish. But, in the end, the Spanish won. Some years later the town was moved, and then moved again. Finally, in 1801, the town found its home in its current location. As for the name, there are at least three stories that try to explain its origin.
Reference: Wikipedia
Garzón, Colombia
October 10, 2025
Garzón, population of about 40,000, doesn’t make the glossy brochures, but maybe that’s what makes it worth stopping for. It calls itself the “Diocesan Capital of Huila,” which sounds a little lofty until you see the cathedral towering over the main plaza - white walls glowing in the afternoon sun, bells that have probably been ringing longer than most of the town’s coffee trees have been alive. Right now the plaza is surrounded by a temporary wall as it has been completely dug up for renovation. When I say completely dug up, I'm not kidding - they took all the concrete, tiles, pavers, sidewalks, everything out. It's rather ugly right now, and getting a decent picture of the cathedral is impossible, but sometime in the next year or two it should be quite nice.
Reference: Wikipedia and me.
Villagarzón, Colombia
October 7, 2025
Villagarzón is a small town in south-central Colombia. According the 2018 census had around 23,700 people overall, with about 13,742 in the urban area. The town is often called the “Heart of Putumayo,” reflecting its centrality in culture, ecology, and movement between regions. Putumayo is the departamento, or province, that it is located in.
Reference: Wikipedia
I used to teach English as a foreign language in Barranquilla, Colombia. Now I'm retired and traveling throughout South America.
I'm from Kennewick, Washington, USA. In my previous life, as I call it, I was an IT guy, systems administrator, computer tech, as well as a shipping/receiving guy and also worked as a merchandising guy in a RV/Camping store.