The Alexander von Humboldt Botanical Garden (Jardín Botánico Alejandro von Humboldt) is one of the highlights of visiting the small town of Marsella. It’s named for Prussian botanist Alexander von Humboldt, who spent a significant amount of time doing research in what is now Colombia.
Marsella is a town in the Coffee Region of Colombia and part of the UNESCO World Heritage listed Coffee Cultural Landscape of Colombia. It was named after the French city of Marseille.
Mampay is a touristic finca about a half hour from the center of Mistrató, a town in Colombia’s Coffee Region. It offers a multitude of activities in a gorgeous mountain setting.
The small town of Mistrató, located in Colombia’s Coffee Region, is well-known throughout the region for its colorful Christmas lights that adorn the plaza during December.
The UTP Botanical Garden (Jardín Botánico UTP) is located in Pereira. It’s operated by Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira and is located on their campus.
Early in 2017, my friend Sabtain from Toronto contacted me to ask if we could help coordinate a charity project, Bags for Belén. He was organizing it with his new charity, Creating Change Together (CCT). They raised over US$2,000 in order to buy schoolbags for children in our hometown of Belén de Umbría and wanted to come distribute them in early May.
After a night of heavy rain, the only road in and out of the village of Columbia collapsed in a landslide. Columbia is just outside of the town I live in – Belén de Umbría. This small agricultural community will be without road access for at least six months. Thankfully, nobody was hurt and no cars or motorcycles were traveling on the road as it collapsed.
Bioparque Ukumarí is a huge nature complex just outside Pereira in Colombia’s Coffee Region. When finished, it will have a zoo, a veterinary center, nature museum, anthropology museum, aquarium, 4D attractions, interactive games, and nature-related extreme sports. It will be the largest complex of its kind in Latin America.
We’ve been able to do a few more things for the school in Belén de Umbría since our last update in March. Once the construction finished and supplies were given to the students, we decided to look at the smaller issues affecting the school.