That is the new slogan from the Colombian tourism industry. It is true that you will want to stay and that things are no way near as dangerous as they once were! The security is much better than the theatrics that we are subjected to in the US and other countries. From the Local or National Police to the Military personal, most were very amiable. In 2002 president Alvaro Uribe took office and has cracked down hard on guerrilla groups like the ELN and the FARC who have terrorized the Colombian people for so many years. There are still such groups operating in Colombia today but the numbers have beed reduced drastically since Uribe took office and there is a no tolerance attitude in most all the country. Perhaps originating with respectable intentions, these groups are more into extortion and drugs these days.

I found the Colombian people to be extremely friendly, open and warm as the rule, not the exception! It is one of the things that makes Colombia so special. Everywhere I went the Colombian people were very easy to chat with and they really love to laugh. Every year more people are discovering Colombia as a great place to visit. The reputation the drug cartels and the armed guerrillas gave Colombia is quickly being replaced by a national pride and revitalization and a growing tourism trade. There is a massive effort to preserve endangered land and animal species and from what I could tell the people of Colombia are ready,

willing and able to show foreigners the real Colombia. The countryside that I have seen so far is beautiful and there remains a lot of unspoiled forest still.

From the tropical jungles that grow right down to the sandy beaches to the snow covered mountains of the Sierra Nevada's, Colombia has got it all.