I am glad you are having a nice time in Colombia – I must say it is hard not to! We visited San Augustin and Tierradentro and are now on the way to Ecuador. The back roads are in poor condition and we were glad to have a high clearance vehicle. The road over the Purace Volcano is heavily potholed and the going is very slow – I would not recommend it! From San Augustin to Tierradentro it is slightly better but not by much. The views, when available are spectacular.

The road from Tierradentro to Popayan is currently closed due to landslides, they expect to have it open in about two weeks.

We spent five days in Bogota, two at a friend of a friend and three at a charming little hotel. Bogota is as safe as a large city of eight million can be! There are no more kidnappings, extortions, etc. but just like any big city in the USA you have to be prudent. If yopu want to visit Bogota, I would not hesitate. All of Colombia is quite safe now, we felt more insecure in Guatemala.

Now were are headed south, into Ecuador.

PS near Santa Fe de Antioquia where we camped, we were treated to a firefight in the distant hills. We werent sure till we asked about the sounds at the reten militar.