EVENTS
BY DAVE TURNER
VAPE SOUTH AMERICA, COLOMBIA. SEPTEMBER 1-2
Never before have the seemingly innocuous words “Good luck” served
to fill me with a level of dread which bordered on the terrifying.
I think it was made worse by the fact that I was getting into a taxi
at the time.
However it was in Colombia, it was a dark night and the hotel
concierge did look extremely worried for my safety.
I had heard that late night taxi journeys through Colombian mountain
roads could carry a risk of carjackings and maybe it was that that
the concierge had in mind.
However as we travelled from the hotel to José María Córdova
International Airport it was clear we were not going to be carjacked…
we were travelling far too fast for that.
Our taxi driver had a plan – he was going to traverse the mountain
roads at a speed that would have made a rally driver proud. By the
end of the journey I wasn’t even sure for which of these two reasons
I’d been wished good luck – I was just happy that I’d had some.
It was that return journey, including a manic dash through the airport
in Madrid to catch our final flights, that in some way seemed to sum
up the entire trip – never feeling entirely in control yet at the same
time exhilarating and very worthwhile.
128 | VM13
The expo itself was held at the Plaza Mayor in Medellin and featured
many US companies complemented with a smaller scattering from
Colombia itself, Canada and the United Kingdom. With part of the
expo held inside the arena and the other part of it held outside, the
layout offered a pleasant ambience with the contrast of one part
vape clouds and music and the other part fluffy clouds and sunshine.
The Colombian visitors on each day, the first being business to
business and the second for the consumers, certainly seemed to
not only enjoy themselves but also be eager to do business and
make purchases and praise should be given to the expo team for
organising an event that ran so smoothly.
Returning to the beginning of this review I’d be remiss if I didn’t
answer the question of how easy it could or would be to be fearful
of certain stereotypes in terms of visiting Colombia and your safety
there.
The answer is yes – you do worry a little more if you’re a first-
time visitor, but my experience of every single person I met over
there was overwhelmingly positive and it’s heart-warming to see the
progress that has been made over recent years.
All things being equal there should hopefully be another Colombian
expo soon. Will I be going? Yes. Should you? Most certainly yes.