The thought of pain is worse than pain itself

Columbia
Before I traveled through Columbia I was told be many people how dangerous it was. Some for good reasons, and some because they had heard from a friend who heard from a freind. I had little idea what to expect since the opinions varied so much. On the US Embassy's Web site it says Columbia is extremely dangerous and should be avoided. And in 2002, Columbia took a place in the Guiness Book for taking the most hostages in one year. Although every person I had met in Central America had told me how incredible it was.

I have no doubt Columbia was a really crazy place at one time but in recent years the government of Columbia has finally stepped in and put pressure on the guerrilla activity. It was the safest-feeling country I had honestly been in (in Central and South America). Every 20 miles had a military check point and many people would stop us and feed us and ask about our travels. There was absolutely no problem finding a place to stay for free everynight, and sometimes would be asked 4-5 times a day if we need a place to rest for the night. I think the reason for the country of Columbia being so personal was that they haven't been tainted by the tourist BS. Many countries I have been in have made me feel like a wallet. In other countries people see a tourist and see money instead of, perhaps, seeing a person. In my opinion, now is the best time to travel to the country of Columbia since it's much safer than in recent years and it feels much more real that what is to come of it in years to come.

After being in the heat for the last 3 months it was a good change to be high in the mountains of Columbia. I now realize why Columbia's cyclists are so damn good in the mountains. While in the south portion of the country, I had one of the hardest physical days of my life and also the most beautiful day. The climb was so rugged this day that after planning on 130 kilometers we only could do 70. The mountain started its ascent at 800 meters and climbed to 4,300 meters, around 10,000 feet of vertical accent.
Prior to entering the country, I told my mother I wouldn't camp while between the boarders, but unfortunatly one night in southern Columbia we camped in the bushes on the side of the road since the next town was still another 40 miles. We got rained on all night and the ground we lay on turned to mud after a few minutes of downpour. The next day we spoke with a man at a bakery who told us the area where we had camped has the highest guerrilla activity in the entire country. What you don't know doesn't hurt, I guess.
Matze and I spent a day in Quito to rest and to meet up with a freind of Matze's. And I was able to meet up with my friend Elliot for only a couple hours but it was great to see him.
We decided the best route through the county of Equador would be the low route since Matze's freind, Jon, who will be riding with us till Lima, is new to the bike touring fiasco. So after Quito we headed out of the mountains into the coastal flats and back into the heat. It enabled us to make some good time through the country but gave me a bad idea of Ecuador. I think I am just partial to the mountains.