On a visit to Medellín, Marc Atchison discovers this beauty is truly at art capital of Colombia.

The deeper you go into Colombia, the more you like it. That's what Marc Atchison discovered when he arrived in the colonial town of Santa Fe de Antioquia, a place frozen in time.

CALI, COLOMBIA — The streets of this colourful coastal city literally throb with rhythm.

FREDONIA, COLOMBIA - The first thing you have to know about the people of this coffee-rich country is that “they don’t really like coffee.”

GUATAPE, COLOMBIA - I’ve only climbed 150 of the 740 steps required to reach the top of a mammoth monolith known as El Peñol and already I’m exhausted. My aching knees are in need of a Ben Gay fix. My heart is pounding so hard I think it’s about to leap out of my chest.

MEDELLíN, COLOMBIA - The Metro cable car lifts off from Santo Domingo station and the cows and horses grazing in the makeshift pasture beneath the gondola scatter in all directions.

MEDELLIN, COLOMBIA - Agnes Garcia takes a long sip of her vintage French wine before responding to a question so many others have asked: “Why did you open a hotel in a country and city, both of which have made great strides to clean up their notorious past, but still remain suspect with most international travellers?”

BOGOTÁ - In Colombia, you soon learn that things aren’t always as they appear. Yes, in the land of magic realism you quickly discover that your perception of things differs significantly from reality.

MEDELLIN, COLOMBIA - The words of Colombia’s most famous literary son, Gabriel Carcia Marquez, stir passion in the hearts and minds of all those who read his great works — just like his native land stirs the emotions of those who visit her.

BOGOTA - To the east of this magnificent Colombian capital, I see the majestic Andes Cordilleras rise into the sky and pierce some low-lying clouds.