IN THE MOUNTAINS OF COLOMBIA — The rebel camp is a Communist time capsule. An old guerrilla fighter sings songs about Che Guevara on his guitar as a crowd leans in to listen, armed with rifles and grenades.

Salaries do not exist here, or even marriage. The fighters believe in free love, saying they are wed only to the revolution. They say life is still possible with Karl Marx in one hand and a Kalashnikov in the other.

“We have prepared for peace, but we are also ready for war,” said Samuel, a 31-year-old fighter who, like many of the rebels, has never set foot in any of Colombia’s cities.

I was invited by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as the FARC, to witness this sprawling jungle hide-out for about 150 fighters during what were supposed to be its last days.