Colombia Calling - The English Voice in Colombia

It's always a thrill to be contacted out of the blue by a listener of the show with something worthwhile to promote and imagine my suprise when I start receiving messages all the way from Sydney, Australia from Lorenzo Perafan, a native of Popayan, now living Down Under and who is exporting Kogi Coffee from the Sierra Nevada on Colombia's Caribbean Coast to specialty coffee enthusiasts.

The Kogi people consider themselves to be the guardians of the earth and harvest their wild coffee according to those ancestral beliefs, making it one of the most sustainable and unique in the world.

The Kogi Coffee co imports the beans directly from the Kogi themselves and roast them locally in Sydney to maximise their uniquely earth flavours and aromas.

In Episode 153 we talk to Lorenzo on the line from Sydney about the Kogi and how he came to fall into this business. But, given the important issues to have come into being in Colombia regarding the peace agreement with the FARC guerrillas, we also speak to him as a Colombian citizen a long way from home and how he feels about these landmark declarations.

 

Direct download: RCC_153.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:07am EDT

We've had Briton Dave Procter on Colombia Calling twice before as the Legend of El Dorado cross Colombia mountain bike race was coming into being, this time, we welcome him back on this Ep152 to talk about the phenomenal success of the race. So, it's a real pleasure to get to speak with him in person in Bogotá about the future.

Can you imagine? 60 mountain bikers from all over the world came over and called it a "life-changing race". Others referred to it as the "Everest of Mountain Bike races" truly inspirational if you ask me!

So, this seven-day cross country mountain bike race has been a success beyond their wildest dreams and we are here discussing what was incredible, the peaks, the troughs and what will be in store for the race in 2017.

To find out more about the race you'll have to tune in or check out the website at http://legendofeldorado.com/en

Direct download: RCC_152.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:06pm EDT

Jorn Ludvigsen and his wife Nohra Peña are on a mission to bring luxury and top-notch service to the Colombia Coffee region, leading by example from their exclusive boutique hotel El Lugar (http://hotellugar.com) just outside the city of Pereira.

We'll chat about the hotel and restaurant business in Colombia, what the Coffee Region has to offer and why Dane Jorn decided to move with his Colombian wife Nohra to this area and set up El Lugar.

Amidst an interview of anecdotes and frank tales of Colombian and international tourists, Jorn provides us with insightful opinions into the business, his 10 year plan and how he sees Colombia developing touristically in the future.

Direct download: RCC_151.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:07am EDT

Sometimes it all just falls into place for an individual and this is what we can say for US citizen Christina Kuntz. Having applied successfully for a Peace Corps posting several years ago she was sent to Cartagena, Colombia. And the story does not end here!

In my mind Cartagena is the beautiful UNESCO World Heritage Site with incredible colonial and republican buildings of bright colours and with bouganvilea spilling from wooden balconies! Of course, where the Peace Corps go is very different! It's hard graft.

So, we hear about Christina's experiences as a peace corps volunteer and how she ended up marrying a Colombian from Cartagena and indeed returning to live in the city as well as setting up the Domino Volunteers program (www.dominovolunteers.com).

So if you or someone you know is interested in perhaps volunteering in Colombia, this is the show for you. Tune in and find out what you could be doing to help other less fortunate people in Caratgena.

Direct download: RCC_150.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:39am EDT

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