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Out of Office...

Hi all - no article this week. We're in the jungle figuring out new tools, experimenting with styles, and expanding our skill set. Stay tuned!

In the meantime, check out what we’ve published so far!

Special Reports:

SPECIAL REPORT: ‘Carnival of Despair’ as Ecuador’s Elections End in Tie

Amidst security concerns, constitutional crises, and growing public doubts, the country held its first round of presidential elections… and failed to choose a president.

Read it here!

Field Dispatches:

On the ground reporting on local stories linked global developments.

Field Dispatch #1: How Cattle Killed This Town

A peaceful town is slowly dying. The population of Armenia has dropped in the past decades, showing that even towns spared direct violence have not escaped the secondary effects of the Colombian drug trade and conflict.

Read FD#1

Field Dispatch #2: Atonement in the Jungle

In this Field Dispatch: the extraordinary life and work of a rancher turned environmental protector. And, our ride from Tunja to Puerto Triunfo – in words and photos.

Read FD #2

Field Dispatch #3: At Tourism's Fragile Frontier

Caught in the tourism wave, these remote villages in the Colombian Andes face the Faustian choice between promise and preservation.

Read FD #3

The Bicycle Diaries

We’re cycling the Andes, taking the road less traveled. In The Bicycle Diaries we share each month’s highlights, route details, and insights. Note that the first two of these were published together with the Field Dispatch.

TBD #3: Puerto Triunfo to Murillo: Ghost Towns, Steamships, and Cattle Runs

We cycle Colombia’s old trade routes and up an active volcano, and witness how shifting infrastructure reshapes life along the way.

Read TBD #3

In their own words:

Interviews with people we’ve met on our journey. They have been translated and edited for clarity and readability - nothing else.

Orlando Restrepo: "It's Like a Gift My Friends Gave Me"

Orlando Restrepo is the 72-year-old owner of a juice and fruit stand on the road leading to La Catedral in Envigado, Colombia. Once Pablo Escobar’s prison, La Catedral is now a care home for Envigado’s elderly with few resources. Millions of other Colombian seniors who cannot afford to retire continue to work – Don Orlando is one of them. Yet he remains positive. The fruit stand, made possible with help from his community and strangers, has been his financial and emotional lifeline.

Read it here!

Jeny Castañeda: "Forgiveness is Personal"

The story of a victim of armed conflict who not only forgave but also befriended her mother's murderer, one of Colombia's most infamous paramilitary leaders.

Read it here!

Esperanza Murillo: "Two ingredients - Salt, Garlic, and Lots of Love"

Esperanza is a Colombian restaurateur. With a lot of encouragement and ingenuity from her then-teenage daughter Angélica, she founded El Mezzón de la 55. When she opened her restaurant, Esperanza’s goal was to support her young family. Today, she sees the restaurant as a part of the community and strives to help single mothers striving to earn a living without missing their kids growing up.

Read it here!

Tomás Isaza: "For me, it is the best race there is"

A Bike Shop, a Race, and One Mechanic’s Fight for Community

Read it here!

Joep Arts: “A Crisis is also an Opportunity”

Barichara is one of Colombia’s best preserved colonial towns. But its beauty contrasts with its arid landscape, eroded by centuries of monoculture and ranching. Cycling there, we were struck by the drastic change in our surroundings: just 30 kilometers away, the valleys around the town of San Gil are lush and green. Now, Joep and his community are working to restore the land.

Read it here!

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