This month, R2R Consultant Wes Perry traveled to Colombia as a delegate for the 2018 Nature Travel Mart hosted by ProColombia, the Colombia Tourism Board. In addition to meetings with in-country partners, Wes explored the Colombian Plains to learn about Los Llanos Orientales as well Bogota, Iguaque Natural National Park, and Raquira. Five Things You […]
Read PostWhen arriving in Chocó via small plane, I was immediately given a reminder of the history of the region; the majority of the population (80-90%) is made up of Afro-Colombians, for the most part the descendants of escaped slaves brought to the area by the Spanish for gold-mining and farming. Standing on the runway, Latin […]
Read PostEarlier this year, Colombia announced plans to lead a project that would result in the creation of the world’s largest protected area. The ecological corridor across northern South America is an initiative to fight global climate change and to protect the region’s biodiversity. The reserve would cover approximately 135 million hectares (more than 520,000 square […]
Read PostAt the end of February, our newest travel consultant Amy Englert got the chance to escape from Colorado’s cold weather and visit the remote Chocó department in Colombia. Chocó is located along the northwestern coastline, and makes up some of the world’s rainiest lowlands, receiving between 300 and 500 inches of rainfall yearly. This area […]
Read PostWe arrived to Otun Quimbaya after dark on a Saturday. On the way from Pereira we stopped along the Otun River in town in search of the torrent duck, a local highlight. We struck out on the duck, but did see a white-capped dipper in the river. Otun Quimbaya is located in the west slope […]
Read PostNestled between two urban Manizales neighborhoods, Los Alcazares Ecopark proved to be a surprise highlight of the trip. Upon arrival, our guide informed us that a typical two-hour morning birding session at this location often yields 50+ species without walking more than 100 yards down the road from the entrance. We showed up late in […]
Read PostApproximately 10% of Earth’s living species are found in Colombia. At present, Colombia ranks first in the world when it comes to the number of bird species. Our first major stop for birding on this trip was El Dorado Reserve in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and a two-three hour drive from Santa Marta. El Dorado […]
Read PostBack in Bogota after 7 days of birding (Santa Marta, Otun Quimbaya and Cali regions). Final tally of birds seen comes to 317 different species (the group saw a total of 355). To put that into perspective, we saw approximately 1/3 of the total number of species recorded in the US in Canada in just […]
Read Post