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Blast from the Past: KF7 turned microfinance professor visits Colombia to do field research
Blog: Kiva Stories from the Field - 29 March 2011
What happens to Kiva Fellows once they finish their placement and get released back into the world? This is a question I have asked myself many times as I look ahead beyond my placement in Colombia--luckily I will be part of KF15 and won't have to make those decisions for a few months! Many of the current fellows will be heading to grad school in the fall, going back to their old jobs, or looking for new jobs in international development.
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Why does most coffee in Colombia taste like dishwater?
Blog: Kiva Stories from the Field - 28 March 2011
I have been a big coffee drinker for some time now. As a do-it-all teenager with a large appetite for anything nocturnal, it was the powerful affects of the highly-caffeinated, instant variety that initially got me hooked. That all changed at university, however, when I first discovered the soothing delights of real, natural coffee.
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Top 9 Ways to Avoid Looking Like a Gringo in Latin America
Blog: GoBackpacking - 25 March 2011
Normal people dress more formally in Latin America than elsewhere.---------Join Travel Blog Success today and learn to build a better travel blog. Membership includes 27 tutorials, private forum, audio interviews, and more.
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Colombian Fruit: My Mission to Try Them All
Blog: Never Ending Voyage - 22 March 2011
My favourite thing about Colombia was the fruit: delicious, cheap, plentiful and there are so many unusual varieties to try. You have the usual tropical fruit like pineapple, mango, papaya and watermelon but there are many more including some that are only available in Colombia or nearby countries.
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Update from the Field: Fun Facts, Field Visits + Back to Basics
Blog: Kiva Stories from the Field - 21 March 2011
Compiled by Alexis Ditkowsky, KF14, South Africa For many Fellows, this week was about getting back to basics: the borrowers. In between fun facts about Kiva Fellowships, doing database detective work, and reflecting on the internal dynamics of Kiva's partner microfinance institutions, Fellows found themselves in the field again and again, much to their delight and often to the delight of borrowers.
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La Ciudad Perdida, Colombia – A Photo Essay
Blog: Hecktic Travels - 18 March 2011
A 5 day trek deep into the Colombian jungle to find the Lost City.
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Photo of the Week: Street Vendors in Cartagena
Blog: Never Ending Voyage - 13 March 2011
The Caribbean coastal city of Cartagena in Colombia has a vibrant street scene. We loved walking around the old city admiring the colourful buildings and buying juice or fruit from the many street vendors.
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Parapente in San Gil
Blog: Lost World Expedition - 11 March 2011
The area around San Gil and Bucaramunga is well known for its paragliding. We even got rave reviews from our friends Les Globetrotteurs about their experience while taking a paragliding certification course in the area. Thus paragliding was on our mind when we arrived in San Gil. After a bit of research we realized the courses [...]
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Highlights of 1 Year in South America
Blog: Never Ending Voyage - 11 March 2011
Last Tuesday we celebrated one year of travelling (and 10 days before that our blogoversary), all but four days of which were spent in South America. It’s an important milestone for us, as when we left the UK we had saved a years worth of travel funds to give us the chance to make Simon’s [...]
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San Blas Islands, Part 2 – Paradise From a Boat
Blog: Viva Latin America! - 10 March 2011
Our days in the islands were filled with snorkelling among the many reefs and swimming out to modern shipwrecks. One of those we visited had sunk only three months previously and its owner is now in prison after going slightly round-the-bend and killing a couple of people. My best sighting during the snorkelling was of [...]
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San Blas Islands, Part 1 – Tropical Paradise from a Boat
Blog: Viva Latin America! - 8 March 2011
We did a little research into the cost of flights from Cartagena to Panama City and found that last minute flights would cost about US$300 each. This made the option of sailing suddenly seem far more appealing and not that much more expensive. To find a yacht the best option is to go to the [...]
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Photo Essay: A Colombian Finca
Blog: Tourist 2 townie - 7 March 2011
One of the greatest aspects of living in Colombia (Medellin, Colombia in particular) is the breathtaking countryside and traditional pueblos that lay just beyond the city's reach. On any given day, you can jump on a bus and trade the hustle and bustle of downtown Medellin for the tranquility of rural landscapes and traditional villages, tucked away within the incredible lush green mountains that confine the city.
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Photos from Carnival de Barranquilla
Blog: Kiva Stories from the Field - 7 March 2011
Forty days before Easter marks a grand occasion in many countries across the world – Carnival. We’re composing this blog during a couple of hours of well-needed downtime from the second largest of them all: Barranquilla, Colombia. Outside of Carnival season Barranquilla is a relatively ordinary city which doesn’t tend to attract the throngs of [...]
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Parque Tayrona – A Must-See In Columbia
Blog: Viva Latin America! - 6 March 2011
Tayrona National Park (Parque Tayrona) is a must-see landscape in Colombia, despite the mixed press it receives. The park is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Colombia and also one of the most well-known national parks in all of South America. It is known for its beautiful Caribbean coastline that extends out from [...]
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Why Colombia is one of the happiest places on the planet
Blog: 501 Places - 2 March 2011
The latest guest post on 501 Places is written by Kathryn Bullock, a travel industry entrepreneur who recently returned from a trip to Colombia. Kathryn shares with us the highlights of her 5 week trip and reveals to us why Colombia deserves its growing reputation as a place that greets its visitors with the warmest [...]Why Colombia is one of the happiest places on the planet is a post from: 501 Places
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Update from the Field: Videos, Epic Commutes + Going Beyond Microfinance
Blog: Kiva Stories from the Field - 28 February 2011
Compiled by Alexis Ditkowsky, KF14, South Africa Another week, another incredible range of dispatches from around the world.
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Serendipity and La Guajira Peninsula
Blog: Lost World Expedition - 27 February 2011
La Guajira Peninsula has always been a top destination on our list. Why? Well, mostly because it is beautifuly unspoiled, there is no tarmac, the peninsula is mostly a no man’s land that has not been developed, “off the beaten path” you could say. I guess that is not 100% true, because after all there [...]
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FOTO FRIDAY: The Colombian Countryside
Blog: Tourist 2 townie - 26 February 2011
I just got back to Medellin after an amazing week spent peeling beans and planting seeds out in the Colombian countryside at a friend's family finca (farm) in Cisneros, Antioquia. This week's photo is taken from the family farm as grandpa returned from a successful horse training session.
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Kiva Field Partners: More than just microfinance
Blog: Kiva Stories from the Field - 24 February 2011
Kiva’s mission, to connect people, through lending, for the sake of alleviating poverty, is implemented in the field by partnering with microfinance institutions around the world. All of Kiva’s Field Partners have a strong mission to alleviate poverty and expertise in doing so through the use of microcredit–they are the legs of Kiva that get [...]
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February Update: Exploring Colombia (Kind Of)
Blog: Never Ending Voyage - 24 February 2011
We left our Medellin apartment a few weeks ago and began our travels around Colombia. It started well with trips to the quiet villages of Jardin and Salento set amongst green hills in the coffee region, where we did some challenging but fun hikes and horse rides.
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Santa Marta and Taganga
Blog: Viva Latin America! - 24 February 2011
I knew from other travellers not to expect too much from either Santa Marta or Taganga, but I have to confess to being a little disappointed all the same. In Santa Marta the seafront is pretty small, but the is promenade lined with palm trees and cast iron statues depicting different scenes from native people [...]
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Video Blog – The Life Of A Kiva Fellow
Blog: Kiva Stories from the Field - 21 February 2011
by Nick Hamilton, KF14 When it comes to blogging, a new pastime of mine, I often go a bit heavy on the word count. Not this time. This is a video blog and so I’ll let the video do the talking.
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Talking Your Way into the Best Views
Blog: Tourist 2 townie - 21 February 2011
(That monument below is where most people get a view of the city)
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Playa Blanca – A Truly Tropical Caribbean Beach
Blog: Viva Latin America! - 21 February 2011
We had heard rumours of a beautiful, tropical beach just round the corner from Cartagena, and with a little help from our friend, Tash, whom we had met in Bolivia at Inti Wara Yassi, we were able get there in a very creative fashion. The Lonely Planet says that the best way to get to [...]
