First of all, an awesome congrats on acing your master's thesis! 
Second, thanks for the great Colombia write-up. I've yet to go, and I've been fascinated about going there. There seems to be a real current positivity coming out of there given their past with FARC, the cartel drug wars and Escobar, etc. Tons of problems still, but also now hope. Which you can't say for, say, Venezuela right now.
int:

Second, thanks for the great Colombia write-up. I've yet to go, and I've been fascinated about going there. There seems to be a real current positivity coming out of there given their past with FARC, the cartel drug wars and Escobar, etc. Tons of problems still, but also now hope. Which you can't say for, say, Venezuela right now.
Absolutely, there's genuine optimism over there now, for sure. The problems with FARC and the drug cartels remain, particularly in Medellin and Bogotà and in a lot of the surrounding regions. But I sir, for now, am a costeño, having only visited the coastal cities of Cartagena, Santa Marta and Barranquilla far up north-west in the country. FARC presence is close to non-existant there, so it's a really nice place to visit if you're a tourist. On my next trip I will also check out Medellin and Bogotà, which I expect to be quite an experience.
