A coffee farmer inspects his crop in Colombia's southwestern Cauca department. By Neil Palmer (CIAT). Some rights reserved

MEDELLÍN — Today, the usual chill of Bogotá is a memory while I soak up the eternal spring warmth of Medellín, Colombia’s second city. All around me ferns, palms and old hardwoods compete to see which can pop in a green burst against the impossibly blue sky and soaring mountains cradling this city. After, Read More

Part I There’s an old adage that one should write drunk and edit sober. This is my attempt at slightly tipsy. Why? Because I’m saying farewell to Australia, and there’s no good way to depart such a big (and big-hearted) country without a bit of tipple to send me on my way. Where to, Read More

Aborigines just aren’t visible in the larger population. From Perth to Melbourne, including in Adelaide, I rarely saw an Aborigine. And when I did, they were like the poor woman I saw today, sitting around on the margins, singly or in small groups. White Australians seemed to scarcely notice them. Even worse, in Coober Pedy, I was warned of an Aboriginal “gang” roaming the streets at night, as if they were wild dogs. I’ve never seen an Aborigine working in Australia, either as a cop, a waitress… as anyone