Lost llanos

摘要

Villavicencio, a shabby city of half a million people, considers itself the gateway to los llanos, Colombia's eastern plains. Now and for the next few months few people will be passing through it. Mudslides since May have blocked the main highway, the Via al Llano, which connects the city to Bogota, Colombia's capital, 86km (53 miles) away (see map). More rocks and mud threaten workers trying to unblock the road, along which two-thirds of domestically produced goods are transported. Colombia's government says this could take up to three months.