Not sure if it's been on UK news (I doubt it if there has something more important like a cat stuck up a tree or Prince George is sporting another gruesome pair of 1950's knickerbockers ), but the nutty Venezuelan dictator is causing a spot of bother. He has decided that everything wrong with Venezuela is down to the Colombians that live there and they have started to raze their houses and dump them over the border in Colombia. One family who had lived in Venezuela for 45 years had half their house demolished and were taken over the border while their children were left behind. Good old dictators, don't you just love 'em? There has been talk of war which comes as no surprise as I head nearer the border tomorrow and you all know my luck with holidays. It isn't that near really, but I'm sure they will sniff me out with my past record.

We are still safely tucked in the coffee zone and today was a very cultured trip of coffee plantations. I was woken up again at 5 with these shoutey birds who go on and ON for hours and are even worse than my chickens. It may be earplug time tomorrow which are only taken out for Harriet when she's not been put in the slammer the night before.

The coffee tour involved walking up and down steep steps amongst the rows of coffee bushes and a demonstration of the process which I can't remember now. I know there was a little nursery for 4 month old plants and they are then planted, but over that you will have to google. Also a dreaded coffee tasting which I failed miserably at as they all tasted disgusting. We then ate award winning sweaty cow (steamed beef ) with 4 different types of carbohydrate. The beef I had was delicious but we didn't get through much as there was a long slithery thing perched on top which looked suspiciously like a tongue.

We staggered out to a town created for coffee farmers 84 years ago and was the centre of the huge earthquake in 1999. Buildings are mostly rebuilt now and in each town here there are soldiers doing thumbs up for drivers who used to not be able to drive on the roads because of the dangers. Now the soldiers are there to say it's safe in that area, no kidnapping going on HERE. Makes a change from the places I go to where the soldiers are the ones doing the shooting.....