This week we welcome back former interviewee Dave Procter to tell us all about the second edition of the Legend of El Dorado mountain bike race here in Colombia. Starting and finishing in the town of Manizales, this race has something for all starndards of mountain biking and we are pleased to be able to promote an initiative of this quality. 

La Leyenda del Dorado is a multi-stage mountain bike race offering adventurous teams of two the opportunity to immerse themselves in the magical landscapes of Colombia and ride their hearts out. 

The meticulously crafted 7 stage route pays homage to Colombia, its astonishing and varied landscapes and rich cycling history. As formidable as it is breathtaking, the Leyenda race route tackles an extraordinary variety of terrains and climatic conditions – scorching river valleys, snow topped volcanoes and everything in between – sometimes in the course of the same day. 

Along the way, full-service, professional rider support will enable participants to focus solely on giving their very best while they discover why Colombia is truly one of the most exciting and challenging mountain bike destinations on the planet, and why La Leyenda is the Everest of Mountain Biking.

Check out the website: https://en.la-leyenda.com

Brothers Alejandro and Carlos Ospina make a good team and together they are working to show the human side of coffee cultivation and production in Colombia. Hailing from Bogotá but having both spent a significant amount of time overseas, the Ospina brothers decided that it is time to delve into and share the wonders of Colombian coffee with the public by creating experiential tours and a blog (https://www.travesiacoffee.com/blog) detailing their travels and the people they meet along the way. 

These young coffee entrepreneurs don't stop here, the plan is to produce a book "Relatos Cafeteros" for sale in December of this year. The book will illustrate 11 different coffee growing destinations across Colombia and will be written by Carlos. Here's the fix...for the project to fly, a little bit of cash is needed, so if you have a few spare dollars, feel free to throw it at their indiegogo page "Relatos Cafeteros - una Travesía por Colombia" and make sure this becomes a reality.

This week in Colombia Calling Episode 193 we are pleased to have Simon Winograd back on the show. This time though, we get Winograd, a Michigan native, and Director of Customized Academic Programs for the Colombian Project (http://colombianproject.com/colombian-project-academics) to talk about his work here in-country and also introduce you to Sam Johnston of Victoria, BC, Canada about his internship at the Paloma y Angostura company in Bogotá. Read the blog here (http://www.projectpaloma.com)

Having met in Chiapas, Mexico Winograd and Johnston hit it off and the long and short of it resulted in the latter coming down to work with a Colombian fashion label that seeks to build peace through design by creating jobs for former combatants of the Colombian conflict. How cool is this? Extremely, I'd say. 

So, tune in to hear about how two people are pitching in and making a difference in Colombia.

On the back of former interviews with adoptees from Colombia and with Marcia from Plan Angel, I had the amazing fortune of being contacted by Christine Herman from Minnestota, USA. Christine's husband Mike is an adoptee from a very young age from Bogotá and in this intensely emotional episode she shares with us Mike's journey to Colombia with an ultimately happy ending. 

Tune in to hear a tale of persistence and joy and one which shares an overwhelmingly positive image of Colombia.