And now a story, so extraordinary,

even by Colombian standards,

that a local politician commenting on it, said

It doesn't fit in my head.

The story starts in 2002, when the FARC took 12 deputies hostage

from the regional assembly in Cali.

The guerrilla had disguised themselves as policemen,

and the politicians thought they were being escorted to safety.

Then in 2007, the FARC announced that 11 of the deputies

had died in mysterious circumstances.

The 12th, Sigifredo López, had survived because he had been held in a different camp.

In 2009 López was released by the FARC.

Yesterday he was arrested, accused of complicity in the kidnap and murder

of his colleagues.

Following this story, I learned a new word:

auto-secuestro: self-kidnap.

Incredible. And of course, it may be untrue.

the people from Pasto?

They built a chapel at the airport so the flights can be confirmed.

Maybe it loses something in translation but it made me laugh

when I heard it on the taxi radio today.

Pasto is a city in the south of Colombia,

and for some reason, is the butt of all the jokes here.

It is also the only place in Colombia people have thought that I am from.

You know that's not a compliment? someone asked me once.

Every 36 hours a Colombian policeman

dies in the line of duty.

Two lads are filling in one of Bogotá's many potholes with earth

and asking car drivers for money as they come round the corner

into the street.

Waiting to take off on a flight from Bogotá,

the stewardess comes down the aisle of the plane

with what looks like a painting, wrapped in blue plastic, and asks,

This was left in the departure lounge, does it belong to anyone here?

Raffle it! a wit beside me calls out.

My guess is that an unexplained package like that

would have closed an airport in the UK or the US

while the bomb squad blew it up.

But since yesterday's fatal bomb blast in Bogotá,

I'm beginning to wonder if the stewardess wasn't a bit foolish.

Yet another motorbike accident.

The motorbike made a neat dent in the back of a bus.

The driver seems unhurt.

The transit policeman is measuring the distance

between the stationary bike and the bus

with a measuring tape.

I can't think why he would do that

but it makes me feel that everything is under control.