Santa Marta, Colombia — Cars are pretty expensive to buy in Colombia, so a lot of people take cabs and buses. As a friend of mine always told me, wheels beats heels, and by that logic catching a ride in someone else's car works for me.

In this era of rising gas prices and tightening emissions standards, owning a car can be tough. On the other hand, turning in your keys to become a full on motorcycle rider is tricky when you have gym bags and children and other crap to cart around. Plus, they're messy when it's rainy or cold outside.

When I was on my way to Colombia this summer, a majority of the people I told where I was headed responded with, "Isn't that place dangerous?" Of course it's dangerous, but so is Southern California. You could get run over by one of the Governator's Hummers. The world, for that matter, is a dangerous place.

Pereira, Colombia — "It's a Jeep thing, you wouldn't understand."

Medellín, Colombia — Forbes magazine listed 1980s Colombian cocaine kingpin Pablo Escobar as the seventh most wealthy man in the world in 1989. Even today, he still stands as one of the richest men in world history.

In many parts of the U.S. of A., we're often told what's not possible. You can't build a house without 2x4s and nails from Home Depot; you can't make your car run without a complete array of expensive tools and a course in auto mechanics; it's impossible to tow things with a small car.

Forget what you know about The Most Interesting Man In The World. The real one lives in Colombia's main coffee-producing region, drives a Nissan he converted to hand controls, and processes coffee using machines he built himself out of old beer kegs and washing machine parts.

Imagine you're at an international airport, laden with bags, and ready to throw them into a commodious trunk so that you can relax in the relative comfort of the cab's backseat.

Hernando "Scratch" Gomez doesn't need his Ferrari 348 Targa anymore now that he's in an American jail because of his nasty drug trafficking habit. The authorities back in Bogota, Colombia thought they'd do what American cops tend to do with their drug-seized cars and converted it into police cruiser.

In Colombia's coffee-growing mountains, a yipero is an all-purpose Jeep driver and loader. The most famous knows how to load his 1954 Willys Jeep with enough beans to spin itself while he stands on the roof. Mmmm, donuts and coffee.