almost ... My Colombian Death

I am a total advocate of using travel to escape from the routine mediocrity of everyday life... but when Matthew Thompson leaves his reporting job at the Sydney Morning Herald, his wife and new born baby to discover himself in Colombia, I was intrigued - had he gone too far? OK, so his excuse was that his dad was offered a job in Bogota and turned it down because he considered his family! So I remain unconvinced that was evidence enough to turn back the years and give up all his responsibilities to search for the life he could have had. All a bit egocentric really - while he does write well, the teenage escapist fantasies he engages in do not endear me to him as a person. I do feel sorry for his understanding wife and baby daughter. So while he does seem to look for and engage in authentic Colombian cultural activities, I really remain convinced that this is a country I do not need to visit! So I was quite relieved when he tried the hallucinogenic yage and somehow received some insight into his life purpose...as a father and husband!