On Episode 199 of Colombia Calling we have the distinct honour of being joined by author, Julianne Pachico on the line from Medellin. In this entertaining conversation we discuss her incredibly well-reviewed debut novel, The Lucky Ones, her relationship and strong links to Colombia and about the writing field as a whole. 

To whet your appetite for this episode, check out Pachico's website (www.juliannepachico.com) and read this amazing review: 

“Julianne Pachico takes a hammer and brings it down on the superficial gloss of history, piecing the fragments into a kaleidoscopic collage that tells a deeply observed, stylistically adventurous and emotionally riveting story of people caught up in the violence of Colombia's guerrilla insurgencies. Moving effortlessly between the surreal and the real, sometimes in the space of a single sentence, Pachico delivers one of the most original and mesmerizing debuts I've read in years.”

This South American nation is edging toward the economic brink after an internationally condemned election last month created an all-powerful congress loyal to Maduro. Since the July 30 vote, the value of the local currency, the bolívar, has fluctuated more wildly than ever, a significant feat for a country saddled with the world’s highest inflation rate. As a result, street prices for staples such as bread and tomatoes have doubled in less than two weeks.

This week on Colombia Calling, we speak about the on-going humanitarian crisis in Venezuela.

On Ep197 we welcome back intrepid traveller, writer, blogger, author of the Pereira City Guide, Erin Donaldson and this time, she's here to talk about her new venture in guiding people in to regions unknown of the Choco! 

It's very exciting and indeed requires a great deal of thought and knowledge of the situation on the ground, but Donaldson walks us through what it required for this guided trip, the levels of fitness one must have and much more. 

So, here you have it, tourism in the conflict zone of Colombia with Erin Donaldson, an unmissable episode of Colombia Calling.

This week we sit down with Angie Hernandez and discuss her memories of joining a high school exchange program in 1975 which took her all the way from Indiana, USA to Cucuta, Colombia. 

In an interesting conversation, Angie and I discuss the reality of the frontier city of Cucuta, it's relevance to Colombia as a whole, reflect on Colombia in the 1970s and finally we discuss what could have been if Angie had ended up on that flight to Japan instead of Colombia!