“Arriving in Columbia, we skipped the normal entry procedure, none of us immigrants having one shred of the required paperwork. We landed at the Armenia Airport, this time without any fanfare. Not being an airport of entry, no customs paperwork was required. 

Initially, we were guests of Carlos Lehder at ‘Bella Horizante’, his picture book ranch sitting on a bluff overlooking the valley below. Pure white cattle contently grazed in a pasture adjoining a large spectacular bamboo grove on one side, and hectares of pineapples on the other. I shall forever cherish the close friendships that I developed with my Columbian amigos.

We saw Carlos often when he had time to spare from his business activities. Being an ambitious and charismatic young man, he had a large following of admirers that encouraged him to enter the political arena in his local area. He was very adept at impromptu gatherings and speaking to his fellow countrymen. He was also busy completing a beautiful hotel that was built on the side of a mountain with a breathtaking view. 

Carlos had purchased an old dairy farm and invited us to take a look at it. It was in close proximity to his hotel. It consisted of a farmhouse and a structure for feeding & milking cows. It was late September, around my birthday, and upon my congratulating Carlos on his latest acquisition, I was shocked when he told me that the farm was his birthday gift to me! I was more than shocked, I was overwhelmed! Sheldon & I need not concern ourselves with the other living options that we’d been considering. Carlos had even taken care of our resident status and furnished us with a live-in helper.”

-Jack Reed

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