The Rain in Spain stayed mainly on the ...

My return to Colombia was heralded by buckets of rain... rain in Bogota, rain in Socorro, rain in Barichara. Apparently there were five continuous days of rain and the rivers were already swollen and violently rushing to the next biggest river.

This is the road heading toward Socorro, the next largest
city, south of San Gil. It used to be the seat of the state of
Santander, but that is now in Bucaramanga.

I've been back for a month and during this time we've had 17 days of rain. Last night and tonight there have actually been thunderstorms and I got caught in a downpour coming out of the theatre group meeting. The streets had water rushing down them so rapidly it would have been dangerous to try and cross them!

The heavy rain is a serious concern because the ground gets so soggy that there is nothing to keep the rocks and trees from simply sliding down the steep inclines. This event is called a 'derumba,' and can cause the roads to become impassable.

The good news is that President Santos has pledged funding for repair of this main road through Santander. The not-so-good-news is that he hasn't said WHERE the funds will come from and Santandarianos' pockets are already pretty well picked. But improved roads will likely mean more tourists will come to visit and that might fill up those impoverished pockets.

Although the rain in Spain stayed mainly on the plain, there are few plains here to hold the rain and instead we drive being on the lookout for rocks, trees and dirt from above along with wild drivers in our lane on the curvy roads... making life quite interesting.