The Forest That Teaches Botany in Cartagena

On Sunday, March 22nd, José Marín stepped into the forest of Fundación Loros alongside a group of Botany students from the Universidad de Cartagena. The trail received them gradually, as forests tend to do: first the dense shade of a broad-armed tree, then the green tunnel that the vegetation forms over the dirt path, with sunlight slipping through the canopy and scattering golden patches across the ground. In the distance, the hills held their color — that particular green that asks no one's permission. As they pressed deeper, the group began naming what the forest placed before them: bramble tangled along the path's edges, lianas hanging with that slow, unhurried patience that climbing plants have always owned. José reported that many more botanically significant species awaited documentation in the area — the inventory had barely begun when the last message came through: they were still inside, still searching. There is something worth honoring in a field class that runs past its hour because the forest simply has more to offer. That is what happened that Sunday in the reserve: the sanctuary did its work quietly, without announcement, and the students walked out with their hands full.