The Road to Bogota

Woke up at 5 am this morning after dreaming about coffee beans!  That gave me a chuckle.  The car service picks us up tomorrow morning at 10:30 for a 1:30 flight.  Every year I am so grateful that Joe is still running his airport service. We change planes in Atlanta and arrive in Bogota at around 11pm.  It is going to be a long day. Fortunately we have nothing booked on Tuesday until our Graffiti Tour in the afternoon.  

Is Colombia safe?  That is the question I have heard the most since booking this trip. Unfortunately, some still hold on to the cartel stigma that shrouded Colombia back in the 70's and 80's. Although cocaine is still a major product of Colombia, the drug business has changed dramatically since the days of Pablo Escobar.  We will learn much more about that when we get to Medellin.  Then there is the FARC:

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc, after the initials in Spanish) are Colombia's largest rebel group.

They were founded in 1964 as the armed wing of the Communist Party and follow a Marxist-Leninist ideology.

Their main founders were small farmers and land workers who had banded together to fight against the staggering levels of inequality in Colombia at the time.

While the Farc have some urban groups, they have always been an overwhelmingly rural guerrilla organisation.

In September, 2016 a peace agreement was signed which was a step forward in ending the conflict that has been ongoing for more than 50 years.  We do not plan on running into any of these folks.

Colombia has changed over the past few years and has become a destination for many tourists.  As with all travel, staying alert and aware of your surroundings is a must. We will be accompanied by guides when needed and private drivers.  Having managed our way around the Middle East, we are confident that we will remain safe.

The weather here today is rainy and in the 40's.  We expect the weather in Bogota to be in the 60's during the day and 40's at night - cloudy with chance of rain.  I am prepared with every jacket possible, not to mention the footwear.  As a good friend of ours always says, "There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing."  The temperatures warm with the lower elevations -- in fact, it should be down right hot!

Next time.... Waking up in Bogota