Hey everyone

After a 2 night stop in the market town of Otavalo (northern Ecuador) we made our way across the border in to Colombia.

For those of you who not in the loop, there is still alot of discussion regarding the supposed safety of travelling through Colombia. On the one hand, some people say that the government has made a real effort to increase security and minimise the risk of guerilla attacks on tourists and on the other hand, other people say that the guerilla attacks are still occurring.  Unfortunately for us, the area with the supposed highest risk of guerilla activity is between the Ecuador border and a town called Popayan and to the east of Popayan.

To get in to Colombia we had to travel this route, but many travellers said that as long as you dont travel at night you should be fine.  So after a chat with the hostel owner in Otavalo, Ecuador ( a lady who has travelled through Colombia) who informed us that it didnt matter if you travelled through the day or night, there was a chance of being stopped by guerillas, we happily set off towards Popayan.

No problems crossing the border and then we were overwhelmed with the friendliness of a Colombian taxi driver who went out of his way to take us to a bus heading to Popayan (during the day). With a departure time of 1pm, we were meant to arrive in Popayan by 7pm and thus avoiding nighttime travel.  So at 7.30pm and still travelling through unpopulated areas, we asked another very friendly Colombian lady how far away Popayan was and she said at least 2.5 hours more!  By this time it was dark.  Soon after that we came to a sudden halt and I looked out the window to see three men with machine guns.  With heart in mouth and forehead pressed against the window I nervously waited the split second before one of them turned around and displayed the POLICIA label on his back.  Phew!  There were two more of these age reducing police checkpoints with Sarah and I sitting on the edge of our seats until we arrived safely to Popayan after 10pm.

Obviously with all the police presence, they are making an effort to keep everyone safe!

Popayan is a beautiful colonial town, some 8 hours north of the Ecuadorian border. Of course we have only been here a day or so, but we cant get over how friendly the Colombians are towards us.  Sit in a cafe (great coffee by the way) and someone is bound to ask us where we are from.  On the bus a man expressed how great it was to see us tourists in his country and went out of his way to see us off and wish us well.  If this continues, we are set for a great time here.

Tomorrow, we are off to the San Agustin and Tierradentro ruins, supposedly some of the most important and mysterious ruins on this continent.

Love to all

Shane and Sarah