BOGOTA/BUCARAMANGA, Colombia (Reuters) - Dodging army border patrols, fording rivers and braving low Andean temperatures, thousands of Venezuelan migrants are making arduous journeys into Colombia in search of a better life, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Slideshow ( 5 images )Colombia, which slammed its border shut in March to protect against the spread of the coronavirus, has long been the top destination for migrants fleeing economic and social collapse in neighboring Venezuela. At the beginning of the pandemic, Venezuelan migrants flocked homeward, unable to find work when Colombia entered a strict lockdown. Colombian officials estimate more than 100,000 migrants returned home. But, with little prospect of an improvement in Venezuela’s economic situation, the majority of those are eventually expected to try to return to Colombia, many with relatives or friends, said the head of Colombia’s migration agency, Juan Francisco Espinosa. Hundreds are already crossing illegally each day on foot along the porous 2,219 kilometer (1,380-mile) border, avoiding patrols by the army, police and migration officials. “We’ve been walking for 12 days: experiencing cold, sleeplessness, hunger, counting each day and trusting in God,” said 42-year-old Jose Saenz. He and his eldest son, 22, hope to reach Pereira, in the coffee-growing region of western Colombia, where he used to work in construction.