Want to See the Hidden Wonders of Colombia? Go to the FARC Zones

Ask Colombian native Cristina Consuegra what she remembers about the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or the FARC, and she’ll tell you stories about good luck and bad luck. Relatively speaking, good luck was losing your finca, or farmhouse; bad luck was finding out your family members or friends had been kidnapped. Worse luck was when they never made it back home.

In post-conflict Colombia, she’s like most of her compatriots—simultaneously optimistic about the future of her country and haunted by aspects of its past. She’ll never forget the worry that came with every chime of a breaking news update, she says, or rehearsing the cover stories her parents would craft for daring family vacations to the coffee region or La Ciudad Perdida.