Urgggh! Excursion from Cali prohibited

[cancunhound]

I'm back down in Cali next week and was hoping to catch the excursion with eco-aventuras to the Nariño department and Ecuador.  I have a pretty good feeling that the trip is 99% safe being a Holiday weekend and Uribe's beefed up patrols on the highways, plus it's after the elections (apparently that's a problem too though - it'll take several weeks for that to cool down).  No go - my wife and her friends with family in Cauca say absolutely no way a gringo should travel overland through Cauca right now to get there (OK by plane apparently).  This s%cks!  Oh well, back to the drawing board - my arse will not be planted in Cali the whole time.

(Very frustrating what you can and can't do in Colombia at times)

[CaliAdvisor]

... in response to Urgggh!  Excursion from Cali prohibited, posted by cancunhound on Oct 20, 2003

It is relatively safe to go from Cali to Popayan which is an hour and a half south of Cali. I have made this trip before, but I probably wouldn't do it during elections. However, in between Popayan and Pasto which is in Nariño and much farther south, things are considered a little bad.

[cancunhound]

... in response to Re: Urgggh!  Excursion from Cali prohibi..., posted by CaliAdvisor on Oct 21, 2003

Yup, that's pretty much what my amigo said who works all around Cali - things are "hot" right now in Cauca from Popayan to Nariño, regardless of elections.  Frustrating, but when a native Colombiano says he wouldn't risk it - I don't go.  Oh well, I guess I'll turn 180 degrees and head for the hot springs.

[CaliAdvisor]

... in response to Re: Re: Urgggh!  Excursion from Cali pro..., posted by cancunhound on Oct 21, 2003

Don't get to down on that. There are plenty of things to do in the Axis of Coffee (Efe Cafetero) which is located about 4-6 hours north of Cali. The Parque Nacional de Cafe is supposed to be great and Manizales is a beautiful city. There you can go up to the Nevado Ruis and play in the snow. Or like you said, there are some hot springs near by.