Like I’ve said in a previous post – one of the great things about living in a city like Bogotá, is all of the interesting people..  Some of them are lifelong residents, some are visitors like myself – and others are making Bogotá a temporary home, like my friend, Johanna and her husband, Paul.

a true photographer, my friend, Johanna

Johanna’s a talented photographer (I’ve much admired her photos for a long time) so I am hoping to enlist her in some of my efforts..  She took several of the pictures here (the good ones!)

Yesterday, we went to La Calera which is a picturesque community just outside of the city.  Sundays are a particularly popular day for city residents to get a taste of small town life just twenty minutes outside Bogotá.

leaving the rainy city behind for a day in La Calera

But our excursion yesterday was a bit different from some of the lovely, and lazy afternoons I’ve had wandering the villages surrounding Bogotá.  This time, we were there for a cause.

nope, still not in trouble.. just hanging out

We joined Colombia’s Civil Defense – Cundinamarca division for a toy drive to benefit children in one of the outlying villages.

Civil Defense 4 x 4 division toy drive

They will deliver the toys by 4 X 4 next month..

with the Colombia’s Civil Defense

While they were collecting toys – they also had some activities for the local kids – including a ‘Paint the Car’ activity which proved popular with kids and adults alike.  (After all – how often do the police hand out spray paint?)

Civil defense officer helps a small child paint

It was a lot of fun – for a good cause, so I’ve written some more about it over at Examiner.com.

Hoping to do some more interviews this week – to bring more of Bogotá’s residents to readers..