Back in Colombia—and on the Gringo Trail

Coming of Age in Bogotá Felt Special. Now People Are Flocking to My Narnia.

Victor Cañas is sitting on an old wooden bench in the shade across from Bar Quindio, a pool hall lined with waist-to-ceiling windows that opened 90 years ago—about the time he was born.

“Salento used to be a ghost town,” Cañas tells me. “Everyone lived in the countryside because of the violence. From ’48 to ’70 it was political violence, from ’70 to ’80 it was drugs, from ’80 to 2000, guerrillas. And now it’s the era of tourism.” Together we look out at the lines of shops selling coffee-themed trinkets and woven …