Spent two days working with San Isidro Coffee Association; 94 coffee farmers in mountains 40 minutes outside small town of Pitalitos. Members, Orlando and Rosaria, drove us around visiting the farms and teaching us about the production process of converting raw fruit (cherry) into green coffee beans for export which involves harvesting the fruit, removing the pulp (which is then used for compost), rinsing and drying the beans, and then packaging them to export to roasters abroad. 25% of their sales are Fair Trade and they receive a 10 cent per pound premium that is invested back into community projects such as a middle school, health clinic, reforestation projects (to protect the black oaks), and a regional bird conservation and education program. The association jointly purchased 350 acres of land that is protected forest.

visited rosaria´s fathers granadilla farm... fruit similar to passion fruit which you crack open and suck out seeds embedded in a mucousy membrane. it seems a little nasty until you try it. they´re cheap, fun to eat, and really refreshing.

Then visited small mountain town of San Agustine and the arqueological park that has the largets number of religious monuments/megaliths in s. america. We had the park to ourselves and spent 4 hours hiking around... appreciating the landscape and the imagination in the carvings.

WE have seen some spectacular landscapes. road from San Agustine to Popoyan was in a small bus, bumpy dirt road through a tunnel of jungle (162 km, took 7 hours, averaged 12 mph). This route, we had been warned, is known to have occasional guerilla activity, but that we would be fine if travelling by day. three hours in, we arrived at a small restaurant with soldiers (military) camping out in camouflaged tents and gear... tucked into the jungle... 4 military tanks. We crossed a rickety bridge over an incredible, and profound, river gorge and in a retrospective glance back after crossing i read the yellow road sign ¨peligro, puente en mal estado¨... which spurred a laugh attack and then the little kid in front of us had a laugh attack and hiccups at the same time and then everyone fell asleep and were tossed around to the beat of the vallenato music on the radio. Then out of the jungle we entered into this dessert like terrain and into lush green valleys with snow capped mountains in the distance. amazing!