adventure touring in columbia...
Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2001 1:13 pm
One adventure-seeking former Hell's Angel gets more than he bargained for in the
mountains of Colombia.
(Associated Press)
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2001/12/12/international1525EST0717.DTL&nl=fix
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) -- Former Hell's Angel Glenn Heggstad, a self-styled "outlaw on
the edge," was looking for danger on a solo motorcycle trip through Latin America.
He says he found plenty of it in Colombia, where leftist guerrillas took him hostage and gave
him the scare of his life. Days after being freed in the mountains, the 49-year-old judo
instructor from Palm Springs, Calif., is holed up in a Bogota hotel -- planning the next leg of
his journey while trying to come to grips with the last.
During five weeks as a captive of the National Liberation Army, rebels aimed guns at his
head, led him on grueling marches and gave him so little food that he lost nearly 50 pounds,
Heggstad said.
Colombia's military announced Heggstad's release Sunday and officials at the U.S. Embassy
confirmed he had been held by the leftist National Liberation Army, the country's
second-largest rebel group.
As he spoke to a journalist on Tuesday, Heggstad -- wearing leather hiking boots, gray cargo
pants and a long-sleeve T-shirt with the word "Guilty" on the front -- trembled, broke down
in tears and then hid his face in his hands.
"I wasn't like this before," he said. "Not before (the rebels) got to me."
Heggstad set out Oct. 1 on a planned 20,000-mile trip from southern California to the tip of
South America and back, riding his Kawasaki 650 through Mexico and Central America.
On Nov. 2, he flew to Bogota from Panama and had his bike air freighted in. He set out four
days later from Bogota on a road heading northwest to Medellin, Colombia's second-largest
city.
Six hours into the trip, he says, guerrillas wearing ski masks and wielding AK-47 rifles
blocked his path, seized his motorcycle and motioned for him to accompany them into the
mountains.
Heggstad says he tried to resist, shouting at the rebels in his limited Spanish, but complied
after one guerrilla pulled out a pistol and fired a warning round.
The rebels led the American and several other hostages snared at the roadblock into the
mountains of western Antioquia state.
While being led down a steep path from the road, Heggstad remembers seeing cars' lights
fading in the distance and wondering whether he would ever come out. "It was a terrible
feeling," he says.
Heggstad says that during his captivity, he befriended some rebels -- mostly teen-age boys and
girls -- debated politics with them, taught them judo flips and Thai boxing moves, and even
hugged some goodbye when he was finally turned over to the Red Cross on Saturday.
But he also described terrifying experiences. One surly rebel would periodically lead him into
the woods and click the safety off his gun, Heggstad said, leading him to fear he was going to
be killed.
Heggstad estimates he hiked at least 100 miles through steep and slippery terrain. Constant
rain left him cold and soggy at night. He slept in the open or in crude huts.
"They'd give us one cup of rice in the morning and another at night," he said. "When we
marched, sometimes we'd get a sardine."
Why Heggstad was freed is unclear. He says no ransom was paid. The rebels, who are seeking
international support for peace talks with the government, may have released him as a
political gesture to strengthen their case.
After Heggstad was freed, FBI agents flew to Medellin and returned him to Bogota, where he
was issued a new U.S. passport.
He plans to continue his journey, and is e-mailing friends for money and help getting a new
motorcycle. He hopes to buy his Kawasaki back from the rebels for $2,000.
Heggstad insists he's not humbled by his experience.
"I'd told my friends when I set out that there was a 50-50 chance I wouldn't be coming back,"
he said. "What doesn't kill you, only makes you stronger."