Colombia Calling - The English Voice in Colombia

Far be it for me to be facetious and announce that the most important event in my life has taken place on April 9 2015, that of the birth of my son. It's just that he was born on an incredibly poignant day in Colombian history, something which we explore to greater depths on today's show for April 9 1948 is a day that lives long in infamy as the date upon which Liberal presidential candidate Jorge Eliecer Gaitan was assassinated in downtown Bogota. The resulting violence which razed much of the centre of the city to the ground is now known as the Bogotazo. 

 

But, rather than simply dwelling on this historically important date, we also take a look today - since it is so fresh in my mind given that I have survived of late regarding the birth of my son James - at the realities of the healthcare system in Colombia and what you might require as an expat here in the country with regards to your health insurance. It is complex and at times very unpleasant and incredibly costly so pay attention! 

I don't believe I've ever met anyone from Newfoundland before so imagine my delight at getting to chat to Newfoundland native Beverley Caddigan here in Bogota! An expert in the Canadian legal system we discuss some of the differences between laws in her homeland and in Canada. 

 

Find out what brought Beverly here to Colombia and learn all about her business here (www.beverleycaddigan.com/). Beverley worked for years as an advoctae and as an adjudicator with the provincial government in Ontario, Canada. In her tenure in this system she became an expert in many facets and apsects of law.

 

If you are thinking of coming to Colombia, if you plan on working here, this is an episode to tune into as you'll want to hear all about the legal system, the reliability of contracts and the miasmi which is known as "la tertulia". 

This week we discuss the new project being launched by Mancunian Dave Proctor who has been based - working as a teacher - in Cali for six years. When Proctor is not introducing the delights and cultural magnificence that is the English pub quiz to the sometimes confused yet good folk of Cali (where's the salsa dancing?), playing cricket for the Cali cricket team or playing in a football league he's planning a new mountain bike route across Colombia. 

 

This is the Legend of El Dorado (www.legendofeldorado.com) and the idea is to revolutionize the mountain biking calendar in Colombia. 

 

This eight stage race will begin in Zipaquira (home to the world famous Salt Cathedral) and then continue down the Magdalena River Valley through Guaduas before then making a huge ascent over the Nevado de Ruiz volcano and then down through the city of Manizales and taking in the national heritage town of Salamina before ending near to Medellin. How about that for a cross country mountain bike adventure across Colombia? 

 

For more info about Dave Proctor and his projects check out his blog: http://www.latinodave.blogspot.com/

This week I am thrilled to have anglo french citizen Marie Quinney on the show live from the southern economic hub of Cali talking to us about finding a job down in her city, working and living there and indeed her thesis on the issue of "Fatalism and Povery in Cali" while studying at the London School of Economics. 

 

We'll discuss the class system and segregation in Colombia, how she conducted her research and interviews and how her life is developing in Cali and how she came to be in this city. 

 

What is most exciting is that Marie is an academic who is determined to shirk away from the sugarcoated blogs about parties, attractive women, sun and salsa and write, from her educated perspective, about life in Colombia. Check out her ruminations here: http://honestlycali.weebly.com/

 

Also, she is leading a funding drive to enable her partner Juan Felipe to be able to go and study at Cambridge University for an MPhil in Neuroscience focusing on addicition. Get involved people! http://www.gofundme.com/ly22b4

In the light of recent events and announcements made by both the FARC guerrillas and the Colombian Government regarding the on-going peace process, we have taken the time to discuss the significance of Transitional Justice here in Colombia. 

 

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos announced the suspension of all military bombing raids on FARC rebel camps last week. This was the most recent declaration that has gone a long way to securing an atmosphere of trust between the two sides. Remember, just a week ago, the announcement was that of FARC guerrillas working alongide official military in aiding the eradication of landmines in Colombia. These are major steps forward and so we discuss the repercussions and importance of the peace dialogues and the real meaning of transitional justice. 

 

Also on another note, something which has been dominating the headlines has been the government's complete capitulation to the yellow taxi unions in Bogota by outlawing the private online taxi service of Uber and UberX. We talk about what this means for the city's beleaguered consumers and our right of choice in the matter. 

 

Don't forget! March 17 is our to chance to protest on what is no being called a: "No Taxi Day" to promote the right to choice and to fair competition. 

Rather than cornering a travel blogger to wax lyrical on the tropical fruit available in Colombia, this week we speak to Briton Francesca Tarrent, a keen observer of Colombia. We talk about Francesca's recent journeys around Colombia which have taken her to the haunting and harrowing ruins of Armero, where, 30 years ago this year a massive landslide brought about by a volcanic eruption killing almost 20,000 people from a population of 29,000. 

 

After Armero, Francesca visited the former country mansion of someone you might have heard of, Pablo Escobar, the former global godfather of international cocaine trafficking. His finca, Hacienda Napoles, located near to Puerto Triunfo was once an opulent structure where he housed tropical animals and entertained his visitors. Only this week, the main building collapsed putting paid to the possibility of an authentic museum to illustrate the havoc wreaked by Escobar. 

 

And finally, our conversation turns to that of the elitist nature of Colombian society with a discussion about recent events involving a character named Nicolas Gaviria which has dominated debate with the hashtag #ustednosabequiensoyyo (do you know who I am?) in the Colombian national press. For more information about this story, read on  http://www.richardmccoll.com/ustednosabequiensoyyo/

Recording this show made me want to give everything up, pack it all in and spend my savings on a 4x4 and go on an adventure. Although, any adventure I take would pale in comparison to that achieved and being undertaken by dutch couple Karin-Marijke and Coen. 

 

Karin-Marijke, Coen and their Toyota Land Cruiser BJ45 have been on the road in Asia and South America since 2003. They are often characterized as the slowest overlanders in the world but for them it’s all about staying in places and connecting with people. Can you imagine my excitement to be able to sit down and chew the fat with Karin at a coffee house in Bogota and hear about their adventures in Iran and in Colombia and beyond before they headed off along a little known route to Puerto Carreno at the far end of the Colombian Llanos bordering Venezuela! 

 

Read more about their incredible lives here on their website: http://www.landcruisingadventure.com/ and tune in to the show to hear a first account of life on the road. 

Having first cut my teeth in journalism working the news desk at an anglo newspaper in Costa Rica back in 2000, I am always impressed by those who decide to launch an enterprise of this type. So this week on Colombia Calling we sit down with the Bogota Post's director Emma Newbery and staffer Azzam Alkhadi to talk about this venture and how it has gone for them as they approach the 1 year anniversary of their launch. 

 

We discuss the rise of the internet, the death of the newspaper, their readership, aims and dream and of course, above all, Colombia. 

 

Tune in to find out why Newbery decided to plunge into an adventure of this type, why she is here in Colombia and where the Bogota Post will go from here. Learn about the machinations of a newspaper trying to bridge the gap between anglo and local news and make a success of it. 

This week we head out to talk with Juan Carlos Caicedo, a US born Colombian, watershed management expert and ecologist to talk about some of the studies that he has conducted here in Bogota regarding the natural environment of this city. 

 

By studying the immensely popular Virrey Park and the flora and fauna found in this 2km stretch of green found in this dense city, Caicedo has charted 65 different species of birds, hundreds of insects and a whole variety of trees. His plan is to continue to do studies of this kind to better inform Bogotanos of the importance of environmental awareness. 

 

We talk about pollution, we talk about the city's growth, we talk about environmental policy, in fact, no stone is left unturned in this vivid conversation with a realistic, studied and well-travelled environmentalist. He's not here to shove doctrine down your throats, he's here to highlight and help us understand the needs of a city. 

 

Tune in for a fascinating discussion about an overlooked subject in Bogota. 

In today's show we get to explore a little more about the situation of scarcity of household goods in Venezuela. Last week it was condoms and so as a first on Colombia Calling we have launched a competition to find the best or most appropriate or most amusing name for the state funded condoms which President Maduro is promising to produce. 

 

After tackling this lightweight topic, we move on to the issue of tourism and being a tourism operator here in Colombia. This is based on jy own experiences operating a hotel here in the small town of Mompos. www.lacasaamarillamompos.com As we have the big tourism fair coming up in Bogota at the end of the month I am talking about what to expect and how to survive it and the difficulties we face in this industry in Colombia. 

 

And finally, in the last segment of the show I provide you with snippets from my interview with the infamous Christopher Kavanagh or "the Mick" who I interview with the aim of writing a story about him. Some of you may remember him as being the subject for the new novel "Mad Outta me Head" by Colin Post featured on this show some months ago. The Mick was imprinsoned in Colombia in 1986 for trying to smuggle cocaine bback to Ireland and he has remained in a legal limbo ever since. For the first time, I sit down with for a beer or seven and interview this legend of Bogota's underworld.