Have you ever gone on a picnic with your family or friends? In the United States, many families enjoy coming together for a picnic where they share a meal and enjoy a day at the beach or a park. Here in Colombia, families take part in a similar tradition called the paseo de olla (literally: cooking pot excursion), a tradition which comes with its own special foods and customs.
Ever since I arrived to Medellín in August, many Colombians have mentioned with delight their memories of paseos de olla surrounded by family, eating sancocho de leña (de leña means cooked over a fire) and swimming in local rivers. At first, I had the impression that the tradition of paseo de olla was connected specifically to Christmas, but I soon found out that it's a tradition people take part in all year round, a great excuse to get together with relatives and enjoy a day trip away from the city.
In a traditional paseo de olla, families come together in a nearby natural area, all bringing a portion of the ingredients and supplies necessary to cook traditional sancocho soup over a fire. The ingredients in sancocho vary across regions in Colombia.
