Just after takeoff, on a plane departing Cali, Colombia, there’s an altitude reached where nature astounds me, yet again.
The fantastical view serendipitously reminds me why Colombia’s known as the land where magical wonder and reality meet.
Surely, created. A man-made miniature of an imagined Eden.
Too perfect to be real.
Unfathomable as a product of nature itself.
Gazing out the window, I observe a scattering of polygon fields delineated by their varying, verdant hues. A serpentine river meandering through haphazardly parallel the range’s facade.
The mountains appear to be invading. Flowing into the fields like spillage from a toppled mug of café tinto across a geometric-patterned, emerald tablecloth.
A small town nestles into the seemingly carved crevice in the face of the range, sheltered on three sides by her protective mountain’s embrace. A smattering of homes and businesses spill out the front of the gorge like granules escaping a chipped sugar bowl.
Adjusting my perspective toward the horizon and the cloud-shrouded heart of the range. I’m mesmerized by the bewildering sight of a shimmering lake seemingly floating amongst the clouds.
In awe, I study the perplexing beauty, magical yet real. My mind is flooded with wonder. My imagination ignited. Suddenly, I understand. Traveling the world to witness firsthand the extraordinary and exotic diversity it contains is all it takes to understand the origins of fairytales are real.
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