Colombia

Garbage Museum
Picking coffee beans

The moment you arrive in Bogota you will smile as it’s a city with tremendous energy and vibe. I was escorted around Bogota and its surroundings in 2016 by Nadja Grote who runs the company AlternativeColumbia.com.

Bogota is absolutely choked by traffic which can challenge any visitor’s patience. Before visiting, its best to decompress and just enjoy, paying no attention to the world’s worst city-wide traffic jam.

I started off my time in Columbia with a bike tour through the central city. Weaving through the city’s streets was both energizing and incredibly informative. We visited many different parts of the city, new and old, learning its history along the way. The following two days I visited a coffee plantation, located about 2 hour outside of Bogota (strongly recommended). I helped some migrant farm workers pick carrots, cut bacon at a carniceria and hauled potatoes at the city market.

One of Bogota’s coolest hidden treasures was the Garbage Museum. Overall, a wonderful place and I am eager to return to see Medellin and the mountain coast.

Burundi

Jim with Juliet, a Nile Croc in Burundi ... loves her tail rubbed! Country Information:  The capital of Burundi is Bujumbura. There are approximately 12 million living here. The official languages of Burundi are Kirundi and French. The majority of Burundians practice...

Japan

Fish market & fish and egg shrine   The Japanese people I met sensed that something was wrong with the world. Why?  Because the cherry blossoms were blooming during the wrong time of year (during the “snow” season), and because typhoons were occurring more...

Kenya

Country Information: The capital of Kenya is Nairobi. About 55 million people live in Kenya and the main languages are Swahili and English. Kenya is primarily Islamic, though there are smaller Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, and Baha'i populations as well as believers in...