are there periodic checks conducted by the guerrilla

sanandressi says on Jul 6, 2008, 21:01:

Falso reten...reten falso.....when I went to Colombia the first time in 97 and for several years after, there were many articles of FARC fake road blocks. One American I knew went to Colombia in the ealry 90's and hired a taxi to go to Fusufuga or something outside of Bogota. Falso reten happened and the taxi driver somehow drove around it and he was sweating. The FARC had their guns on a van or bus and were doing a lot of yelling at somebody.

I hear that with Uribe there is very little of these fake road blocks but travelling into the countryside I will not do. Many in this forum have done so and will do so but not me. I stay in the big cities or fly. Captivity by the FARC, ELN or criminals does not sound like a good way to learn Spanish to me!

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Portena says on Jul 7, 2008, 08:49:

sanandressi, would you still avoid places outside of Bogota like Zipaquira and the little mountain towns along the Pan American highway to Tunja? Or are you more concerned about areas in Southern Colombia? I just wondered because I traveled to Villa de Leyva (took a loop and was on the Pan American highway going in one direction and another route returning). I took that trip during a weekday in a private car though I had read it is generally safer on weekends.

I feel better! I can smile at it now, I feel better. Ohhhh, better! Gnarls Barkley

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dwmte7 says on Jul 7, 2008, 10:59:

i went many times to buena ventura in the '80's and never had a problem. north of there, i hear there can definitely be problems. living in antioquia, i went many times out to eastern antioquia and although there were insurgents everywhere, they never bothered me. in fact on one trip, we were out looking for old stone pilones (corn grinding stones) we found this huge one on the finca of a friend and because it weighed about 700 lbs. we needed help to get it outta the pantana and in the back of this willis roadster. really!!! who did they conscript? a hand full--maybe 7--of the insurgents who were hangin out in a pool hall that belonged to my friends tia. at first, i was REAL apprehensive...but as it worked out, these guys helped and got as muddy as we did.

dwmte

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Portena says on Jul 7, 2008, 11:04:

I always like hearing about your adventures in Colombia, dwmte. :)

I feel better! I can smile at it now, I feel better. Ohhhh, better! Gnarls Barkley

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webmanco says on Jul 7, 2008, 11:06:

there were many articles of FARC fake road blocks

there are also many fake reports, and not so accurate impresions.

I had been in many of those roads and everything was fine.

...A yo, déjenme queto y no me jodan má! ...

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Albatross says on Jul 7, 2008, 11:16:

Buenaventura - Cali is generally safe because Buenaventura is a major port and so the road needs to be protected. Less important roads can still be dangerous as can be seen by the recent kidnapping of a Canadian near Tulua... athough that may not have been FARC. I've been through Tulua many times without incident so this just goes to show that even though one person has never had a problem somewhere, someone else may get caught.

Recent events notwithstanding, overland travel in Colombia is still risky.

“Democracy - a pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance." - H.L. Mencken

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dwmte7 says on Jul 7, 2008, 11:33:

you're absolutely right albatross......just because one guy/gal gets away with going places and never having a problem.....does not mean in the least that others should adopt a devil be damned attitude and go off like a fuckin dummy into questionable areas. over the years, countless friends have commented to me that they're amazed that i wasn't sequestered years ago. i go everywhere with my friends and really put it up in GODS hands. they're not gonna get any money, nor am i competition (dope dealing) so all these years, i've just figured i was a bit bullet proof. i don'[t push the envelop by going down into amazonas and around there, but within reasonable tolerances, i just go where i want to.

dwmte

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quantum says on Jul 7, 2008, 12:08:

Me too, dwmte, but having said that and having done so I now better realize why maybe its still not such a bright idea. After drinking with a paraco in Turbo and hearing his grisly stories and how the squalid little port town is full of armed FARC and PARAS and could go off at any minute, and then hearing of the blowing up of the oil pipeline outside of Monteria by a navle base, and listening to a Colombian gents tales of how the FARC holed up in his hotel in Capurnaga meanwhile that the govt military were lobbing bombs into it trying to dislodge them, Ive come to a somewhat more sober assessment of overland travel. Its better than it was, but u pays yur money and u takes yur chances......

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dwmte7 says on Jul 7, 2008, 13:05:

amen, quantum, once you buy the ticket...it just might be the ride of your life. how many times have i thought that.

that same day, mentioned above, earlier in the day, when we were all in that pool hall and my friend was talkin with his tia, the insurgents were at the back of the bar playin pool and i was just sittin on a bench over against the wall, my friend looks over at me and says, 'hey, gringo, come here'....i almost shit my pants. there was a dead silence in the place with all eyes upon me. i slowly walked over to where he was talkin with his aunt and asked him, 'hey shit head, you tryin to get me killed? he just told me not to worry, that everything around there belonged to his abuelo and these guys weren't gonna hurt me. RIGHT!! i'm thinking to myself. these armed thugs aint gonna hurt the "gringo"...... gimme a break. i never wanted to get out of a place so bad in all my life. then when we go down the hill after leavin the pool hall (the bad guys followed us outside) and find this damn rock, who do they inlist for help? you got it, the bad guys. the rest is history.

dwmte

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