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There are two big questions about Colombia: Is it safe? Where should we go? The quick answers are, "Yes" and "Make a grand circle"

Even country has its problems. Sometimes reports match reality and sometimes they don't. We have friends who were afraid to leave the safety of London for New York. We have friends from Brazil, where crime is rampant, who worried about us being in Colombia.

There are two factors that make Colombia much safer than its reputation: The troubles due to FARC, ELN, etc, occur primarily in very restricted parts of the country. The government puts armed guards whereever there might be the slightest chance of trouble. A famous man has a funeral? There is a military presence. Buses might be attacked? Every kilometer on the road there is a pair of guards.

This doesn't mean that Colombia is for everyone. We, or at least Gerry, are a bit daring. We went to Jerusalem and stayed there in what turned out to be the two months with the greatest number of bombs. We would have gone to China at the height of the SARS scare.

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