Colombia Calling - The English Voice in Colombia

It's time to talking birding and birdwatching in Colombia and the opportunities open to enthusiasts as told by expert Chris Bell. It's a real pleasure to have Chris back on the show and talking with such knowledge about Colombia (the only gringo here I know to have visited all of Colombia's departments) and the species of birds found here. 

In this hard-hitting Episode 248, we are privileged to speak to the accomplished British documentary film-maker Kate Horne (other works include: Gabo, Turtle Boy, My Kidnapper. See www.kate-horne.com) on the line from London speaking about "Testigo; Cain y Abel" her most recent work. 

Back on Ep131 we were privileged to have actor and script writer of the movie Andrew Perez on the line from Los Angeles discussing his latest film, Bastards and Diablos...this time, on Ep247 of the Colombia Calling podcast, we have the honour of speaking to the other lead actor and producer of the movie, Dillon Porter. 

How much do you know about the plantations and the medical cannabis industry in Colombia? If you're like me, very little at all, so it is with great pleasure that on Ep246 of the Colombia Calling podcast, we sit down with British journalist Mat Youkee, the brains behind the "Colombia Cannabis Investor,"(http://www.colcannin.com) and learn more about this unknown economic driver. 

It is a great honour to have to the Assistant Professor from the Department of Political Science at the University of Amsterdam, Abbey Steele on this week's episode 245 of Colombia Calling. Not only do we discuss some of the poignant issues raised and debated in her book: "Democracy and Displacement in Colombia's Civil War," but we also digress and discover Steele's experiences as a "helper" or "translator" in a Cali-based marriage agency. 

I came across this curious page called www.fairtradecoke.org on twitter recently and decided to follow it up and talk to the author for Ep244 of the Colombia Calling podcast. It was a great pleasure to talk to Dutch Anthropologist Janneke Nijmeijer in Amsterdam about her project and foundation. 

This we sit back down with Chris Morfas (you'll remember him from Ep225, President Trump in Colombia) and speak with him about his expertise in alternative travel, sustainability and cycling and take all of this into account with his experience from Sacramento, California. 

After a brief holiday period away, I am happy to announce that the Colombia Calling podcast is refreshed and back on the airwaves and thrilled to have special guest Emma Louise Jay on the line from Las Palmas, Antioquia, talking about her unique Colombia experience.

Following on in the footsteps of Episode 221 where I regaled you all with the first chapter of my novel: "The Mompós Project," I have decided to share with you a further adapted extract from the book. This is entitled, "Sonia and the Gringo," and is the tale of a friendship in Mompós. This extract was also published in the New Orleans literary magazine, the South Writ Large (www.southwritlarge.com). 

Canadian expat Delaney Turner sat down over several cupos of coffee with Colombia Calling and discussed his love of Bogotá and the whole Colombia experience. In what is, quite a profound and verging on the philosophical coversation, Delaney and I delve into the issues of identity, belonging and Bogotá. 

Colombian photographer Gabriel Eisenband performed a great public service when he decided to abandon his career in marketing to pursue his passion and dream of a life behind the lens. Now, Eisenband is a journeyman around his beloved Colombia and is the principal photographer for the new Colombia National Parks coffee table book available from July 2018. We at Colombia Calling have the opportunity to sit down with him and talk about his latest project and the adventures he encountered along the way. 

On Ep238 of the Colombia Calling podcast, we catch up with Jennie Levitt and get to see her new publication, "The Paris Picnic Club," a delightfully constructed cookbook put together with her business partner Shaheen Peerbhai, and illustrated with paintings by Levitt herself. The result is a collection of 100 mouthwatering and exciting recipes which stem from their student days in Paris and crosses continents to include elements from Peerbhai's native India and Levitt's adopted homeland of Colombia.

It's always a real pleasure to have the brains behind the Leyenda del Dorado (la-leyenda.com) mountain bike race on the show bringing with them an infectious enthusiasm for Colombia and what they are doing. So, on Ep237 of the Colombia Calling podcast we chat with race creator Brian Murphy and his sidekick Dave Procter based in the city of Cali to talk about this, the third edition of the only race of its kind in Colombia. 

It's a pleasure to have Adriaan Alsema of Colombia Reports (www.colombiareports.com) back on the show, this time, on Ep236 of Colombia Calling he discusses with us his newfound cult status - he is currently being shadowed by a photographer from the Dutch edition of Esquire Magazine who is doing a feature on him. So, for once the guy who writes the news becomes the news. 

There's an announcement to be made on Colombia Calling, no the "English Voice in Colombia," is not going away, but, we'll be branching out and there's a Spanish language podcast in the making (yes, I will stumble through in Spanish). There will be more about this in the podcast, so you have to tune in, but, just rest assured Jose Miguel Jaramillo (Ep219) of www.urbanlink.co and myself will be at he helm!