Out of Captivity : Surviving 1,967 Days in the Colombian Jungle

414 OUT OF CAPTIVITYLike everybody in the camp, I was excited about the visit. To actuallybe able to talk to someone face-to-face who wasn’t involved in this messwas enough to have me riding a small high. We were all busy workingon letters, conferring with one another on what was appropriate to sayor to not say—we weren’t concerned about Enrique’s warning; we justwanted to be sure that we didn’t do anything to alarm anyone.July 1 brought us one day closer to our favorite holiday—the Fourthof July. We’d heard a rumor from one of the guards that members ofthe international committee had already been on the ground in ourarea trying to make contact with the FARC. If they were that close, wefigured we didn’t have long to wait. Each time the guards came to uswith new instructions, they seemed more relaxed and let a little moreinformation slip. We were each brought a small knapsack and told tobring two changes of clothing and any other essentials. That was it.We’d get the rest of our gear when we returned. One of the guardslet me know that we’d be taken to a permanent structure where therewould be mattresses, a pool table, and good food. All of that soundedfine with me, and I had to laugh when the guard told us that we’d bespending a night in an old whorehouse.We returned to the structure where we’d first been held with theother Colombians. Everyone was eager to get going, and anticipationwas at an all-time high. We’d been joined by four other hostages—Jhon Jairo Durán, Julio César Buitrago, Javier Rodríguez, and ErasmoRomero, bringing the total number of hostages in the camp up to fifteen.We were especially glad to see more of the military and policeguys with us. If anybody deserved the chance to be in contact with theirfamilies, it was them. They’d been held for so long and yet they continuedto carry themselves with dignity and character. Durán was themost selfless person I’d ever met. From the very beginning, he’d beengreat, and he and Tom had developed a special bond that just amazedme. Two guys of very different ages and backgrounds, one a devout