From Cali I took the bus to Pasto and from Pasto to Ipiales (10 hours), stayed a night in Ipiales, visited the impressing cathedral there and took the bus to Quito (5 hours).

The road to Ipiales was beautiful but also a bit scary. I have read already in the guide that it was advised to travel during the day because of robberies. Just before we arrived in Pasto, the bus stopped and we had to wait. It was because an accident happened; well it looked like it at first sight. I saw a truck in the middle of the road and a lot of police. But when we passed the truck I just managed to see a row of bullet holes through the front window. After that more police standing along the road, this time with bulletproof shields and vests. At such a moment you donxb4t feel really safe, despite all the police around you. The bus drove further and it seemed like we got escorted by some police trucks (and we arrived safely in Ipiales).

The next day in Ipiales I heard from a taxi driver that 2 government officials had been kidnapped by the guerilla (FARC) by that incident. Also the road to Pasto was now closed because they found a bom package along the road, which appeared later to be false alarm.

The guerilla is still active here, especially near the border of Equador and Venezuela and deep in the jungle of Colombia. Itxb4s the first time in two months that I have been confronted with the guerilla. In the rest of the country I felt always really safe.