diff --git a/python/obitools3/uri/decode.pyx b/python/obitools3/uri/decode.pyx
index d7c15d2..1b0c93d 100755
--- a/python/obitools3/uri/decode.pyx
+++ b/python/obitools3/uri/decode.pyx
@@ -262,7 +262,7 @@ def open_uri(uri,
     if input:
         try:
             file = uopen(urip.path, mode='rb')
-            logger('info','Opened file: %s', urip.path)
+            logger('info','Opened file: %s', tostr(urip.path))
         except Exception as e:  # TODO discuss: if can't open file, return the character string itself
             file = tobytes(uri)
             iseq = urib