The Slaty Brushfinch, Part 1

Diego Calderón Franco, a birdwatcher and biologist, was a college student in Colombia back in 2004. But it was the moment he was taken by the FARC, a Colombian guerrilla group, and held for ransom, that would change his life forever. As Diego talks about his captivity with the guerrilla, he provides a lesson in how connecting to nature can be both life-saving, healing, and a bridge to peace.

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Transcript

This text may not be distributed or published online without documented or written permission from Shadow Clock Podcast. Transcripts are generated using a combination of human beings and AI software (i.e., speech recognition) and therefore may contain errors. Please reference the corresponding audio before quoting in print. Special thanks to Cindy Mahalic Higgerson, Spencer Masternak, Bruce Scivally, and Alec Jansen for making these transcriptions possible.

START OF EPISODE

Katie Mahalic (Voice Over)

The following interview conducted over Skype deals with adult topics such as violence and language. Please use discretion.

Diego Calderón Franco

Basically, there is this moment where one of these, uh, guys in uniform approaches us and says, uh, “You guys- you guys can't leave. We are part of a guerrilla group of FARC. We are moving around here and our-our commander is not happy with you here. So, uh, sorry to get you uncomfortable, but you guys have to pack, you know, whatever you have, your belongings and-and join us and go with us to camp because the commander really wants you to get, you know, close and personally interview you directly.” So probably there, probably there, uh, to answer your question is when I think like, fuck, we-we’re in, we’re in trouble here.

Katie

You're listening to Diego Calderón Franco a biologist and birdwatcher from Medellín, Colombia, talking with me about his kidnaping by the FARC, in which he was held for 88 days in 2004. The FARC, which stands for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or the People's Army, is a guerrilla movement that was established in 1964. Its objective, to fight against imperialism and government corruption. The group's mission was to advocate for the working class, the farmers and the peasants. The easiest way to explain the FARC is as a radical communist group with the original intentions of fighting against the rich and standing up for the poor. The FARC quickly became what they fought against, committing the same war atrocities they held the Colombian government accountable for. Before you hear the rest of Diego story, it's important to understand that for over 50 years, Colombia has been at war with itself. The four main groups involved in the fighting are paramilitary groups, which are right winged unsanctioned armed groups made up of civilians to fight against guerrilla groups, crime syndicates such as drug lords, the government of Colombia itself and various guerrilla rebel groups like the FARC. Each of these groups have continued to achieve their objective by any means necessary, which has left millions of innocent civilians to be used as pawns by all four groups involved. Finally, in 2016, a peace treaty was signed between the FARC and the Colombian government. Rebel fighters from various groups vowed to put down arms if the government would permit guerrilla members to assimilate back into society and even hold a place as a legit political party during elections. And though this brief history lesson only scratches the surface of Colombia's turmoil, I'm hoping it gives you just enough to understand the rest of Diego's story. I'm Katie Mahalic and you're listening to Shadow Clock. In April of 2004. Diego was a university biology student living in Medellín, Colombia. He and a fellow student, a botanist who we will call The Botanist from here on out, took a weekend trip up to the northernmost part of the Colombian Andes. They were scouting out the area for a longer trip that they would be taking with a bigger group of students in just a few weeks.

Diego

Probably after some 7-8 hours of horseback riding in these mules we will reach the area of the border with Venezuela, a-a beautiful area with these huge walls of red rock. They’re called Cerro Pintado, like The Painted Mountain, The Painted Peak. And if we were looking to the west, you could see the Santa Marta mountains, the tallest coastal mountain range in the world.

Katie

It was between these two picturesque peaks that Diego and his group found themselves hiking in a Páramo habitat, a habitat that only exists at extreme altitudes between 10,000-16,000 feet above sea level, to be exact. I've hiked through them myself once when in Colombia. They are lush and floral, with long glowing grasses and alien cactus like flowers, and there really is nothing quite like it.

Diego

So basically, we reached this area. We were just, you know, uh, chatting with the locals and all these people was showing us the places. “Oh yeah, there is animals there. We've seen birds here.” We're basically mapping the area to know, uh, where we're going to be working in a few weeks time with the full expedition. And then some guys showed up with loads of mules, probably 12-15 mules loaded with groceries, loaded with food who were not wearing military uniforms. They weren't, uh, wearing camouflage. They were, you know, like-like normal campesinos wearing jeans or, or ponchos and their hats. They looked like just regular peasants.

Katie

Though they were dressed like regular civilians. Diego remembers that the two men stuck out because of the amount of food they were hauling on the back of all those mules.

Diego

We thought they were maybe just local-local peasants, but that they were probably working for an armed group to bring them, uh, food and sources and groceries. And of course, our presence, uh, really, really got these guys uncomfortable and really, really curious.

Katie

So curious, in fact, that these two men and their 12-15 mules camped right outside a tiny cabin, the same cabin, Diego and his crew were staying that night. The modest home was owned by a few men who were planting poppy seeds to sell in the heroin market.

Diego

Even, even illegal, even a really crappy source of problems not only for our country but for the world. This-this poppy production, you can't imagine how beautiful these mountains were with, you know, these patches of orange, red, purple that-that the view, the landscape was absolutely, absolutely picturesque because of these, that... I cannot deny that.

Katie

It was crazy to me to think that there was an illegal poppy seed crop growing right there out in the open. But where Diego, was out in the open was also out in the middle of nowhere. No one was going to find that crop and if they did, no one cared unless they were law enforcement. And to say law enforcement was scarce in these parts, well, that was an understatement. Anyway, as I mentioned, the guys with all the food and the mules stayed the night. And when Diego and his group woke up the next morning, the two curious men were still there.

Diego

Basically, these guys are just hanging out there, also drinking a coffee with us for breakfast. They were really, really, how do you say, kind of shy and secretive. They were not, you know, like, approaching us much. Basically these guys said, “you know- you guys, you guys can't leave. We are part of a guerrilla group of FARC. We are moving around here and our commander is not happy with you here. So sorry about this, but you have to stay for probably half a day or the full day until our commander gives us instructions about what to ask you or, you know, if you need to send him some information or something.” In this case, I deliver, you know, the documents to these guys, to, to show them to the commander. And basically night came, uh, these guys didn't have any answer. So, we have to pass the night again there. And the next morning actually, when-when we woke up basically outside the house, it was already a big, big group of guerrilla guys wearing uniforms, wearing camouflage. They were just camping there. They probably arrive in the... in the early morning or late night or something. Uh, I don't remember. But probably, you know, 40 guys or something like that. And it was... it was I mean, it was clearly, already for us, that we were-we were dealing with a guerrilla group that in this case, of course, these guys already had said he was FARC.

Katie (talking with Diego online)

Okay, Diego, So you gottta... this is crazy. So when you're telling me this, I have two questions. But first, what is the moment you realize that you're really.

Diego

[interrupting] In trouble.

Katie (talking with Diego online)

In some trouble here? [Diego Laughs]

Diego

Not-not yet actually because this was a still a normal, let's say, situation. As I said, as a biology student in the early 2000s, you know, we experience these things already and we handle them well. You know, we've been never in trouble, and we have been doing research on these areas that were somewhat controlled by either a guerrilla left wing groups or right-wing paramilitary groups. And they were always okay with us.

Katie

The way Diego recounted the story in this calm, matter of fact manner was such an odd juxtaposition to the actual information he was telling me. However, Diego reminded me this was the early 2000s, 12 years before the peace agreement. He and other students who went into remote regions of the country expected to run into either a guerrilla group or a paramilitary group. And usually it wasn't a big deal. As a rule, students carried papers from both the university and the Environmental Protection Agency, which explained what they were doing in the field.

Katie (talking with Diego online)

Do your professors train you at school? Like, “Hey these are...” [Overlapping at 00;09;10] this is the way you handle situations.”

Diego

No. No not at all. It was, we were young students and we wanted to research areas where, you know, like nature was not explore and it was kind of remote and far away. But of course, those places were the-the, or most dangerous was in those days because it was where the guerrilla was or the right-wing paramilitary. So this is what we had to face. Again, we were not yet in trouble.

Katie

I should mention here that the FARC was armed, though Diego and the others were not directly threatened with the guns, nor were their movements restricted. There wasn't any kind of aggressive strategy to keep them there. They didn't talk much, but Diego said it wasn't necessarily tense either. Diego even remembers birding in the Garden, the term he uses for watching birds. As you heard him say, what was happening really wasn't that out of the ordinary. Everyone kind of understood how this works and both sides were just waiting it out till they got word from the FARC’s commander that the students could go.

Diego

Basically, there is this moment where one of these guys in uniform approaches us and says, like, “Guys. We are the front number 41 of FARC, in-in this area--we rule this area--and we are not happy with you here. Uh, we really are uncomfortable. You have all these binoculars and recorders and GPS. Uh, we don't really believe much about this story, you are telling us that you are bird watchers and botanist and researchers and biologists. So-so guys, you have to stay here with us probably for a couple of days until we really, really figure out what you are doing here, and we are all happy and clear.” So, I mean, we-we said, “Yes, mate, you, you're the boss.”

Katie (talking with Diego online)

What if you had said, “I'm sorry, but we-we have to go.” What did you guys think would happen?

Diego

I mean, we're only two or three guys just in the middle of these, you know, 30 or 40 or 50 guerrilla chaps. We were basically... the nature of the situation says that you just have to cope with it and roll with it and okay, guys, we will wait. We might see some birds around here while-while we wait. And let's hope this thing is not going to last too much.

Katie (talking with Diego online)

I love that you say, and maybe we'll see some birds. You know I love it.

Diego

I'll tell you. Like why not? Why not? I mean, if you are in these amazing area, you have to not only entertain yourself, but the birds. Entertain you easy if you know them and blah blah blah. But I mean just keep, keep busy and happy and doing something. But then I don't remember if it was the next day or the day after the next. Uh, A lot of them started to leave and we were with only five, you know, guerrilla guys wearing uniforms and their guns and everything. I mean, like these guys, one of these guys approached us and said, um, “Okay, guys, I have some bad news. The commander is not yet happy with you, with your presence here. We-we-we really have to, to leave in a couple of hours. We have a camp like above this mountain that you watch here, and we probably have to hike, you know, 5-6 hours to get there. So sorry to get you uncomfortable, but you guys have to pack, you know, whatever you have, your belongings and join us and go with us to camp because the commander really wants you to get, you know, close and personally, interview you directly and get all this straighter.” So probably there, uh, to answer your question is when I think like, fuck, we we’re in- we're in trouble here. We are going to the camp. We are-we are going to the house of these guys; you know, we probably-probably this is going to take a little more time than usual to just, just to make these guys understand that we are just biologists. That we are not from the army, or from a right-wing paramilitary group, that we are not doing intelligence, we are just, you know, regular chaps. And when they said we have to go to the camp is when I think this is going to be tough, this is going to be complicated to really explain to these guys. To-to-to get these guys believing us and understanding what we are doing here.

Katie (talking with Diego online)

So the three of you, you gathered up your things. When you guys gathered up your things, did the three of you talk together and say, like, what are we going to do?

Diego

Yeah, I mean, it’s not, it’s not much that you can do. I mean, it's just, fuck, this is getting, this is getting complicated, and I was getting worried because of the tangled trouble that I was getting into. And, you know, it's going to be kind of a really crappy situation for my family to deal with. But, okay, we are here, there's nothing else we can do. Let's go on to with a guy that wants to talk with us.

Katie

Diego, the botanist, and the guide packed their stuff and started walking. And as the night came, so did the cold, dropping to about 40 degrees Fahrenheit.

Diego

It started to rain. It was a little miserable. We walk super slow, kind of stopping. These guys are kind of waiting for-for like an answer where to go, which trail to take. Very, very slow.

Katie

Eventually, the group reached what seemed to be a temporal camp, and it was crawling with guerrillas. Here the group was taken to a little wooden house, an old, abandoned building that the FARC had now taken as their own. Inside, there was a dark room with a few benches and minimal light due to the lack of windows. This is where Diego, the botanist, and their guide, were kept to wait to speak to the commander.

Diego

I-I remember that there was these long, boring days like nothing happen. Just chatting about life, girls, politics, animals, plants between the three of us. Just breakfast, lunch, and dinner and nothing else, you know, like because in general, the guerrilla don't talk to you much; is one of the- one of the dynamics is when they have people that they are either, you know, kidnaping or retaining, they don't talk to you because, you know, they don't want the guerrilla basic soldiers probably getting good feelings, good vibes with these chaps that they are kidnaping or something, and probably running away or escaping or, you know, like taking advantage to probably make friendship and getting some of the guerrilla guys sympathizing with the people that is being kidnaped. I think it was probably one or two full days of this.

Katie

After a couple of days passed, the commander wanted to interview each of them. One by one. Alone.

Diego

I remember that he was... he didn't come to our little house, but we were taken one by one, probably 20-30 meters, which is a little trail where there was this chap that was the commander, super tall guy. He had some scars in his face, apparently in one of these war situations, he got bombs or fire or whatever. And he was, of course, very intimidating, really, really crappy guy. He was just, you know, making questions, really not, you know, friendly at all. He was just making very dry conversation like, “what are you doing here? What is all this story about? You know, you're- you're interested in the birds and the plants.” It was just, you know, basically getting all the information we’d already have given to the other guys in the past days.

Katie

After the commander spoke with each of them individually, he came to see them as a group.

Diego

He comes down and we, the three of us, meet with him with several other guerrilla chaps that were there. And, he basically says like, “Okay, I heard all your-your stories and got all the information and I really, don’t-don't believe that you are what you say. I mean, that story that you are biologists and all this crap. This is just crap for me. I think you are either undercover soldiers or right-wing paramilitaries. You're doing intelligence here. You are getting in trouble here.” He said that like, “you're really getting in trouble here with us. Anyways, you gave us a lot of information, you know, like about your supposedly universities and families or whatever. So, we're going to check on you. We're going to- we're going to check a little deeper. But anyways, you guys, you're going to be with us here for probably a long time.” That's-that's what they what the guy said. When people ask me if I was ever like I was treated with violence during my kidnaping, I always said the truth, that is no. The most violent, threatening, scary moment was that. When the guy after hearing all of our-- all of our information, he doesn't want to understand. He really, really is stubborn, thinking that we are from the army or from the right-wing paramilitary groups that were the enemies in Colombia. That's-that moment is the-- is the one when I really feel like, fuck, we are in trouble, this is going to be-- this is going to be tough. And that's the only verbally and emotionally violent moment.

Katie (talking with Diego online)

Katie 

So now, at this point, are you allowed to be anywhere [Voices Overlapping] on their camp alone?

Diego

No, no, no! That's a crazy thing. These guys take all our gear because they do think we are from the army or intelligence. You know, that we are the bad guys for them. So they take our binoculars, our GPS, our field notebooks. And this is super important: they take I mean, and you-you know how freaky biologist we are about our field notebook, it’s the Bible of the tropical biologist. So basically, you know, they kind of take all this stuff away from us and they kind of take away these things that connect us physically to-to nature.

Katie

Having their belongings taken away from them on top of, you know, being kidnaped and all, it was bad. But there was actually another problem, an even bigger problem. Diego had type one diabetes.

Diego

You know like two weeks after the kidnaping had started, I told these guys like, “Okay, guys, you've noticed I shoot insulin every day with meals and stuff. If this is going to get longer, you do need to get me insulin because if not, this is going to be trouble. You know.

Katie

Right before Diego left for the trip, he had gotten a brand new vial of insulin just a little over a month supply. So up to this point, he was fine, but his supply was starting to run low. So he asked the FARC to contact his family. I had so many questions like, how does one send the package to the FARC? Where do they send it? I mean, was there like an address, like a P.O. box? It was a daunting concept to understand, and Diego wasn't sure of those answers either. It was crazy for me to think about Diego's family knowing that he was kidnaped, but not being able to do anything about it except wait.

Diego

Well the crazy part of a kidnaping is, for you that are, you know, there kidnap is, actually, comparatively is very easy compared to what your family is suffering outside. Because you have certainty. You have-- you have the information that you are alive, that you’re eating, that you’re ok or not, that you are in trouble blah blah blah, but you have the information. Your family has the situation of not knowing anything. They have no idea... where are you, if you're alive, if you're healthy or not, if you're eating, you know, what- what's the situation?

Katie (talking with Diego online)

What was the food like? I know that's a mundane question, but...

Diego

I mean, I tell you, these guys, these guys fed us like super fucking well. We were having breakfast, then at midmorning, we were having then lunch, having some like mid-afternoon snack, then we're having dinner, and we’re having, like a little snack just before bed. These guys, these guys, [Katie Wows] I tell you, we weren't suffering. We weren't suffering about meals. And we probably had some shitty days when we had to move and walk for a full day or something, and we just had some probably some corn bread and, and sugar cane blocks, panela or something like that, like for the day, for the hike. But otherwise, when we were on camp, we were just having tons of lentils, tons of rice, tons of noodles and spaghetti. Uh, sometimes these guys would buy and kill a cow, so we would have some bony soups, potato and bones, uh, kind of crappy. But anyways, tasty.

Katie (talking with Diego online)

So at this point, what do you-- what's your life like? I mean, do you start to make friends? Do you learn names? What do you do every day?

Diego

As I was, I tell you, these guys don't talk much to you. Some- some would break the rules and kind of, you know, have conversation and stuff. While they were guarding you, or just when were you asked to be, you know, to have a shower or something? I had to ask for permission to go to the toilet and a guy with a gun would go with me and just hang out next to me while I was taking a shit.

Katie (talking with Diego online)

Oh my god.

Diego

I tell you; this is the, this is the hardest thing of the kidnaping for me. Like, I was like, “Come on. you're not, you're not going to leave me.” And they were all, “You will get used to it.” I mean, just-just there two meters away from you while you're in your knees, you know, in your, you know, squatting, taking a shit in the field. And this guy's just chatting with you two meters away, like asking whatever.

Katie (talking with Diego online)

Like watching you? Like, not even with his back to you?

Diego

Yeah, yeah! We're, like, just, you know, hanging out, hanging out, chatting. This is the situation. On-on beginning of May, around Mother's Day, I received a package that had a fleece that I used to have at home here in Medellín. And it had several packages of like sugar free candy and chocolate bars and stuff that they send me, and also they send me more insulin. So the first day I have certainty that my family knew, you know, I was okay. It's probably three weeks after this whole thing happened, like when I got like this package with, you know, insulin and some things from home.

Katie (talking with Diego online)

So does your-- was it your mother or father or do you have siblings that took the original call?

Diego

So I think I never gave them the number of the house because I thought that was a little more, you know, personal and sensitive and blah, blah, blah. So, I gave them probably one of the numbers--work numbers, I don't remember exactly but I think my father is the one that got a phone call eventually one day. Like yeah, “Hello? We're FARC. We have your son.”

Katie (talking with Diego online)

Oh my gosh. Or I wonder if that's really how they say it, you know? “Hello, This is the FARC. We have your son.”

Diego

I have no idea! And I can not ask because my father died, uh, like, three years ago. And my mother like a year and a half ago. 

Katie (talking with Diego online)

Oh my gosh!

Diego

So basically, I'm a recent orphan.

Katie (talking with Diego online) 

Katie

I'm so sorry.

Diego

[Diego Laughs] I tell you those details, fine details, of kidnaping, uh, that I-- you know, I probably, I probably heard the story, detailed story of who got the call and stuff like that but I don't really remember that. You know, in that daily basis, I remember I was always, like every single day, saying to the guy that was that day in charge of us, “Hey, man. I want my field notebook. I just want to, I just want to make a list of the birds I'm hearing and seeing.” I just want to keep notes, you know, that's-that's what we do a lot. But these guys were really, really feeling threatened by the fact that I was writing names in Latin, scientific names, in this field notebook, and they didn't understand the language. They were thinking, they were swearing to God, that was all code. That was all, you know, like really, really valuable information about the security of the camp or whatever shit, I don't know. But they didn't want to return my field log book to me, even to just write whatever, poetry or just make a sketches. They never return it. Sometimes they would give us cigarettes. I never have smoked. I probably smoked a few times out there just to burn a couple of hours, literally. So, I started to take those little papers that come inside the-the box of the cigarettes, there is a paper that is kind of metallic, but on the other side, uh, you could write on it. So I got pen or pencil, I don't remember where from. And in our tent at night with a little candle or with my headlamp, hiding from the Sentinel, from the guard. I would do my bird list of the day in these little pieces of paper. It's not that I was going bananas and I wanted to keep my mind straight, but I wanted to keep doing what I was being trained to do. Read nature, translate that into notes, and eventually get those notes to the public and-and share it. So I was doing this every night. I was writing about Howler Monkeys and Andean Condors, birds that were nesting. I got to see Brush Finch, a Slaty Brush Finch. That was a new species for me. I've never seen it before. So I made a little sketch, a little drawing, and I put some arrows and like, the crown is purple and, you know, the whiskers are black, even painted it a little bit with some fruits that I have in one of the trees there that were kind of purple, red, I don't know. And you have your eyes and your ears and you just were, you know, like sketch in nature there in words or in sketches, and that's what I was doing, just trying to keep busy following my passions. But because these guys are afraid of the Latin names, because they think it's code, I thought like, the only way I can probably get these out with me is to hide these. And the coolest thing is that, because I'm diabetic, I had syringes with me and each needle came in a little plastic, uh, wrapping. So, what I did was when I’d finish one of these notes in the, in the cigarette paper, when I finished like a full page, I would just bend this little thing, and roll it like crazy. And with fibers that I would get from-from the camp, I would just make a little knot. And it was like a tiny, little super dense package. And I would put it inside this plastic wrapping of my needles one by one when I was finishing them, like squeeze it in with a little stick and they were unreachable. They were like in the frame of my backpack. When we had to move, that was the bag I used to pack. You know, like one change of clothes I had with me and, I don't know, a couple of sticks that I was carrying just to play. And, you know, we made some pipes with bamboo and we were smoking ferns and (Diego laughs) and lichens and mosses and shit, just to have fun. But of course, because the backpack was also my pillow every night, I had it all the time with me. So, you know, they never thought of taking it away from me.

Katie

In the meantime, while Diego was hiding his research, the FARC was doing their own research on Diego and his group, and of course, their biologist stories checked out. It finally became clear to the FARC that Diego and his crew were not spies and not a threat. However, they still weren't free to go. Like most kidnappings in Colombia, the end goal was monetary.

Diego

So the commander decides to keep us there for-for money. And of course, when people kidnap people, I guess that's the game you-you-you have to call to communications. So the family either-either pays a ransom or gives you the information that they need or whatever. But that’s-that’s the pressure, you know, that’s-that‘s, that’s the game. Kidnaping was one of the things that they had to do to just support war. They have to kidnap people to get money and they have to bribe, uh, ranchers to get money. And that was the only way to-to-to get money to support the war.

Katie

And so while the group was waiting for their ransom to be negotiated, they were forced to keep walking farther and farther into the dense mountain terrain; staying at different FARC camps in the area. As the days edged forward, Diego had different guards, and some guards were with him more than others. There were two in particular he mentioned to me.

Diego

One of them is Eileen. Eileen was a minor when I was kidnaped. Eileen was not even 18 year old. She was in charge of guarding me several nights. And then Omar. Omar- Omar was like one of those guys that are super well-trained to go in front, check for landmines, and explosives, and minor things. Tracks, little leaves that were drier than others, and where to go when we got to a fork, like, are we going in right or left, you know? And he was just the jungle man. And I was always behind him because I was very entertained, learning stuff from his skills. Asking him like, “Why are we taking the right in this fork and not the left? And he would teach me like, ”Look at- look at these leaves. They are drier than the other ones. So probably the guys that took this path were three days earlier but this is fresher, so we're taking the fresher one because we're following the guys from this morning.” Again, I was never being aimed with a shotgun, you know, like, "Walk! Walk!” No, I mean, this is not movie-movie style kidnaping. And of course, there's been kidnappings like that in Colombia, but there's been also this type of situations where we were just unlucky and these guys were just taking care of us while any negotiation was being done with our families, with our universities, whatever. Of course, eventually, like family, had to send a little money to the jungle for us.

Katie

During the time Diego's family was negotiating his ransom, The Botanist’s situation was resolved and he was released about two months into their original capture. As for the local guide, he was never really kidnaped, per say, but because he was from a town with a lot of paramilitary presence, the FARC graciously told him that if he returned to the village, the paramilitary would most likely accuse him of taking the students up into the mountains to sell them to the FARC. Needless to say, the guide stayed put until around the time The Botanist was released. However, Diego wasn't alone while he waited out the rest of his negotiation. Around the same time The Botanist and the guide left, the FARC kidnaped two more cattle ranchers who were roaming the mountains, as well as another young man who Diego knew very little about. Knowing Diego was going to be leaving soon, this guy asked him for a favor.

Diego

So, this chap asked me to call his mother and say, “Please tell my mother I'm okay. Um, You know, we are dealing with the situation, but I'm okay. Blah blah blah.” So I put her number, I just put it with my notes.

Katie

What Diego means is he took her number and a piece of paper and put it with the notes that were rolled up in the syringe tubes still hidden deep inside his backpack. And as the days crept forward, Diego began to push for more information about his release.

Diego

The person in charge of that little camp was a lady. She was probably 49-50 year old lady, kind of blondish, clear eyes, a little European looking. And I asked her, you know, every two or three days like, “Do you have any updates? Do you have any news? What's happening?” And one morning I was having a shower and I asked her, you know, “What is going? Like... any news?” And she says, “I might have your news for these days.” And she never said that before, and I felt like, she's just bullshitting me. You know, she's just saying whatever. Like, oh yeah, I might have it here. But then that same night she just came and actually she sat on the side of my tent and she said, “Man, you should pack because you're leaving tomorrow.” I was like, what the fuck? And she said, “Yeah, you're just leaving tomorrow. That’s the... that’s the instructions I have. That’s the orders I have.” We have walk already almost a hundred kilometers south in the mountain range. Every night when we were walking, I have my mental GPS working, I did know which town was those lights, and I had the… there's no picture of the Santa Marta mountains in the west as a reference, I did know where I was. So, I thought when she said that, that I was going to be next day just down there, in the town that was just down there, I thought, “Oh, cool!” In the morning I'm going to be just having a beer or a Diet Coke in the main square of Colasi. This is this is neat.

Katie

But Diego's vision of his beer or Diet Coke didn't go quite as he imagined it. The next morning, Omar, along with Alexander, another guerrilla who also had helped guard Diego on and off during the kidnaping, were instructed to take Diego down the mountain, but not to that town. Diego describes seeing from his vantage point, high up in the hills.

Diego

These guys said like, “Okay, we're riding mules.” I said, “Oh shit, we're not walking?” And this guy said, “No, we're returning to Casa de Vidrio,” that’s the glass house. And Casa de Vidrio is the place where I was kidnaped, like several kilometers north. We basically rode mules for two full days, easily 16 hours for two days. And we started to just trace our steps back and go on these beautiful landscapes, unbelievably beautiful landscapes. We were going, you know, mule pace; slowly just going and just, you know, a little, little piece of grass in my mouth, checking the habitat and the surroundings. But I could actually go in front of them several meters, or I could just break my mule and keep watching hummingbirds. I stayed 100 meters back just watching a bird. And these guys were just looking behind like, “Oh he's coming, that's okay.” They weren’t like, side to side with me like the past three months. So this is this weird sensation that I don't have to ask permission because I was still in their hands, but I wasn't kidnap, you know, I was going to freedom.

Katie

The trip took three days and two nights. The first night is what Diego remembers the most.

Diego

We slept at a peasant’s house that first night. Omar and Alexander go into the main house. But I go into the barn in the back, because they don't want me to be seen by the family there, by the people. So I'm sleeping in the barn in a little whatever shed with some blankets and sheets and stuff. it's okay. But then Omar comes to me and kind of knocks the door and comes in and says, “Hey, Diego, take it easy, mate. Like... remember like, you're free. You're going to be free the day after tomorrow. We're just taking you to freedom. It's okay. But don't-don't get crazy. Don't get bananas. Don't fucking run away. Don’t escape. You don't have to escape. But you're going to sleep without a guard. I mean, you’re just going to sleep like a normal person. Don't... don't run away because you're going to get us in trouble and you're going to get yourself in trouble. Like from here, if you run down the hill, you will find more guerrilla groups. You will-you will find paramilitary groups, there might be army, you could be confused. I mean, don't don't do stupid things. We're going to get you back to freedom in two days, but this is the first, this is your first night in three months that you are free, that you are not sleeping with a guard next to you with an AK-47. Like, enjoy it, but don't do stupid things.” So I like-like in a way, actually, like I felt him like an uncle coming to give me advice, on a lovely way. Like pretty, pretty touching, pretty powerful. The second night we-we actually stay in-in one of the old camps, very close where I was kidnaped. And then the next morning is when, when these guys take me to Casa de Vidrio. And that's where they said, “Okay, Diego, you're free. Man, have fun, be safe.” And we just shake hands, hug each other and chat.

Katie

And as for the backpack full of the hidden field notes.

Diego

When I was leaving, I was thinking like, fuck. The only thing that I need to get out from here is my backpack, and they check it when I was going to leave. And of course, they, I mean, to get those things, you really have to kind of dismantle the backpack. So, they check it everything. They empty my backpack, but they just said, “Okay, you just have your two belongings. You get away from here” and basically, someone was just waiting there for me, you know, a car just to take me down.

Katie (talking with Diego online)

Like who? Like someone from their- from the guerrillas camp or one of your…?

Diego

No, no, no. It was. It was someone, someone external, someone that-that was like just helping with the negotiation and stuff. But it took two days. You know, the night, this lady tells me like, “Oh, you’re leaving. You're going free,” it took me three full days to be having a beer or a Diet Coke and hugging my father that was down there in the-in the main town waiting for me in Valledupar. But yeah, the backpack came out and I got my-my notes out. And that, that’s was probably the only physical thing I did want to bring out, and I have it. This is the first time I've said this in my life about the kidnaping, but actually the daily life was contemplative. Of course, besides being worried, like I was actually training deeper on this contemplative way of approaching nature and just, you know, using more of my ears and using more of my eyes. I mean, like we were people in the biology world. We were one of the diversity hotspots of the Andes. We were in a habitat that we wanted to go and explore. So, I mean, of course we were worried and we were sometimes, you know, bored and the depressed. And some days someone was crying and... but otherwise we were just having a contemplative life. And I earned my money nowadays, my job is contemplative. I do birding tours, you know, I take birdwatchers to see birds. And I'm really-I really appreciate that. I'm privileged and, you know, I'm thankful for that every day of my life. But the beautiful part of the story is going back to Perijá with the guerrilla, you know, with the guys that kidnaped me and-and doing biological expeditions with them and stuff like that.

Katie

Yes. You heard Diego correctly. Listen to our next episode to find out how and why Diego was reconnected with the FARC Front 41.

This episode of Shadow Clock was created by Adam Gould and me. Post production audio is by Matt Sauro. Additional sound editing is by Josh Kobak, who also created an original music piece for this episode titled “Ominous.” Social media is managed by Alec Jansen and Kelsey Hayes. Music is credited to Pond5 and Premium Beat. Content contributors, composers and individual song titles for each episode can be found on our website at shadow-clock.com. Kate Cosgrove creates original illustrations for each episode of Shadow Clock, which you can also see at shadow-clock.com. If you like the show, you can spread the word by telling someone else about Shadow Clock. And of course, by following us on social media. You can find us on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook @ShadowClockPodcast, on X, formerly known as Twitter, @ShadowClockPod and on YouTube @ShadowClock. I personally want to express just how much it means every time you give us a click, a like, a subscribe or follow, and we love word of mouth endorsements. Your support means the world, and I can’t thank each and every one of you enough. Speaking of thanks, a special thanks goes out to Alejandro Vélez, Adam Gould, Gustavo Bravo, Alec Jansen, Kate Cosgrove, Josh Kobak, Matt Sauro, Jonny Massena, Bruce Scivally, Adam Zavaslack, Austin Krieg, Forest Hills Northern High School in Michigan, Ariyan Dada, Duro Howard, and Kelsey Hayes. Lastly, a huge thank you to Diego Calderón Franco for sharing his experience with me and being so patient for this episode to drop, as he was also one of our first guests. Diego, we know it’s been a long time coming. To our listeners - if you, yourself, are birders - or simply want to know what Diego’s up to, you can follow Diego and all his birding adventures on Instagram. We've included a link to his profile and bird tour company on our website. So… if you find yourself in Colombia, I highly recommend that you take a birding tour with Diego. I can't wait to sign up for mine. As we are an independent out-of-pocket podcast, creating this entire first season with zero funding, we very much welcome donations. You can make a donation on our website by going to shadow-clock.com and clicking on the donation button. Donating is one of the best ways you can help us continue to share these stories. And with that, I'm Katie Mahalic. This is Shadow Clock.

END OF EPISODE

Questions or comments on this episode? Contact us at info@shadow-clock.com.