The Dream Lives On: World Cup Dispatches from Colombia

After a four-hour ride up the coast from Cartagena with a bus driver more concerned about texting on two phones than staying in his lane, we landed in the easygoing town of Santa Marta. A place that has been called the cradle of Colombian soccer, Santa Marta is the birthplace of the ghost of Colombian soccer's recent past—Carlos Valderrama—as well as the ghost of its present—injured superstar striker Radamel Falcao—so we figured it wouldn't be a bad spot to plug into a bit of history and catch the final group stage game.

While Colombia had already locked up a berth in the knockout round for only the second time ever, a 4-1 win is as good an excuse as any here to skip out on work for more than a little dancing in the streets and a waterfall of light beer.

But while Tuesday was all smiles, eyes are already focused on Saturday's match against continental rival Uruguay (hopefully without cannibalistic forward Luis Suarez), and a chance at Colombia's first appearance in a World Cup quarterfinal. We have a feeling that there might be a party.

Joseph Swide and Kade Krichko are traveling throughout Colombia during the World Cup. You can follow their travels even closer on Twitter here and here.