Colombia January 2016 | Cali

We are in Medellín after a long drive to the airport in Cali, a longer wait at the airport, a very short flight, and then another long drive into the city. Margaret would have preferred to take the bus, and she was probably right. Half the trip would have been getting in and out of two of the biggest cities in Colombia. Gloria, who is hosting us here, met us at the door and helped with the somewhat confusing transportation to her home. The airport is on the other side of one of the mountains that encircle Medellín and eventually you drop down from the pass into the valley with the whole city spread out across the valley. It is a stunning sight, unimaginable until you see it.

But first our night in Cali. I cannot describe the elation as I walked through the locked door of the San Antonio Boutique Hotel to a quiet courtyard, surrounded by plants, original paintings and pottery, to be greeted by a somewhat accented “good afternoon". Our bags were quickly dispatched to the second floor as we were offered juice, tea, coffee. I confess to appreciating some creature comforts, like hot water from a shower that actually IS a shower, not just a pipe with water coming out of it. Air conditioning, a ceiling fan (I usually hate them), two double beds with silky white linens, six pillows each. We unpacked and headed out for coffee and to check out the 'hood.

San Antonio is a trendy barrio in Cali away from el centro. It's named for a lovely monastery at the top of a hill. After lunch of the famous Colombian vegetable (three potato) sopa (never the same twice; always fantastica), we walked up the hill to take in some local culture. Caleños gather here toward late afternoon, to take photos and hang out, as the sun sets behind the church. I can see why. It's a great view of Cali, stretched out across the valley to the mountains beyond, cast in perfect light for photos. There are characters up there, but mostly couples, having romantic moments, and families, watching over the city as the sun is lost behind them. Like every city it seems, Cali is nestled into the Andes.

He's not answering my call. Try texting?

Not sure what's up here

Not a model but definitely modeling. Quince años posiblamente?

We found dinner in a nearby restaurant specializing in local food. Cali is very international and in the few blocks where we hung out, close to our hotel, we saw everything from Dunkin' Donuts to patisseries, pasta to sushi. El Zaguán (the hallway) starts out just that way, opening to a spacious foyer with walls covered in memorabilia and photos, with signatures of course. Up two flights of stairs and you find yourself on a covered patio with the lights of San Antonio above and the city below. Dinner was meat; what can I say. They eat enormous amounts of it here. Each serving is enough to feed a family of four. And then there is rice AND potatoes, no options. We haven't yet learned to order just one meal for two of us.

Margaret is sleeping, our hostess is watching TV, and I am waiting on the laundry before we head out tonight to see the lights of the city from one of the cable cars. At least I think that's what we are doing. We are certainly language-challenged here with a native speaker but we will figure it all out. We use WhatApp when we don't understand because both of us can get the meaning from writing better than orally! No surprise there. She is taking us to the country to her cabaña tomorrow, for the weekend. She says the city is too busy during the weekend. We have a lot of choices to make in the next day or two about how to spend the last half of our vacation. Beach, coffee zone, beach, coffee zone.....
Off to see the city lights. 

Colombia January 2016 | From Popoyan

It's been six days I think since I last sat down to write and post. In that time we've covered a fair bit of ground, from pre-Colombian archaeological sites in and around San Agustín to the colonial architecture of Popoyán, and everything in between. Today we head for Cali, the salsa capital of the world, and a first class hotel.

Popoyán is the “white city”. Approaching it from the high sierra of the Central Cordillera of the Andes, it looks like any sprawling city nestled in the valley. But the streets of the central core, the historical district, are lined with white plastered cafés and bakeries, shops, hotels and restaurants, many with black iron balconies trimmed with flower pots. It all could use one of those painters from Mykonos or Santorini with a bucket of whitewash paint and long handled roller, but otherwise it's quite charming.

The main square is treed and shady, and filled with vendors selling an array of luscious looking fruit and icy fruit slushes. I say “looking” because of course, if you don't wash it and peel it yourself, you don't eat it! My mouth waters, but I settle for the sweet scent and a photo. Margaret is carrying a little pamphlet from Bogotá naming all the fruits from the area and their medicinal qualities. Hmmm...tempting to be sure. Except for a cathedral (of course) and banks, there isn't much around the square. But yesterday we sat in the courtyard behind Juan Valdez, the local version of Starbucks, and sipped coffee and fresh squeezed juice under the shade of the trees. It felt like home—in July.

Arepas   ready for the oven

There is barely an hour that isn't noisy. Even the historical centre is jammed with street vendors, motorcycles, delivery trucks, and the occasional llama, for show of course. Our hotel is close to but not on the square, and our first room had a lovely terrace looking out to the street. The mujera assured us it would be quiet at night, by which she must have meant from about midnight to five am. We moved, but this morning we heard the dull chimes of the church bell ring, and it was like a starting gun for activity in the streets. Silence quickly turned to speeding cars, trucks shifting gears, horns honking, and the voices of the staff through the paper walls as they began preparations for breakfast.

The specialty here is tamale pipián which Margaret is enjoying, They use banana leaf for the outside, instead of corn husk, and the filling is potato and hard boiled eggs and a rich tomato sauce. I'm enjoying the arepas, soft white corn patties. Both are local specialties. The arepas here at the hotel are sweet and I drown them in butter and jam. The are parillas, restaurants that specialize in barbecued meat like in Argentina. An order of steak here is meal enough for a whole family! And empanadas, tiny little fried pockets of corn meal filled with meat. Last night I thought the sauce tasted like peanut butter, but ohhhh, was it hot.

We'll head for the bus depot shortly to catch a colectivo for Cali, and to Medellín tomorrow. I'll try to do some catching up when we get to Cali or in Medellín.

Colombia January 2016 | Day 2 in Bogotá

I'm posting this from San Agustín where we have spent the last three nights. I'm falling behind already!

I'm sitting in the airport at Bogotá waiting on a flight to Neiva, drinking a cafe latte from an espresso-sized cup. I won't be getting my usual 12 oz of milk this way! The coffee here tastes like chocolate, smooth and creamy. The flight before ours is late, but so far we are set to be on time.

From Neiva we will catch a taxi or colectivo to take us to Villavieja, a small town in the Tatacoa desert. This is just a side trip mostly to indulge me, on the way to San Agustín. Last night Margaret bravely booked our room over the phone in Spanish.  The hotel has a guide, who will take us into the park to walk through desert mountains and then to the astrological site where we will “stare at the sky”.  It's a nice stopover en route to elsewhere, and makes for a short day of travel today, before several bus trips over rough roads for the next week. I don't expect to have any internet connection, but we'll see.

(There is a BIG gap here, due to a 6 day bout of TD. The trip from here to San Agustín and beyond is posted in retrospect with photos after I arrived home to Edmonton.)

Yesterday we went to Zipaquira, Zipa for short to visit El Catedral de Sal. Rather than close an old salt mine, the miners kept working to create an underground cathedral from the remaining shafts. You are completely underground, and everything around you is salt. It begins with a long climb up from town to the entrance to the mine. The first section is the Stations of the Cross. Each cross is carved from salt, and labeled with the appropriate number and description. You hear the occasionally chords of Ave Maria as the lights change colour and hue, creating a surreal effect. Here are some of my favourites:

We ended our day streetwalking in Bogotá. Talk about surreal. We have been in many big cities, including in South America, but the bustle on the streets in the Candelaria district defies description. Calle 7 is a peatonal so street vendors compete with artists for attention. Seems everyone is a small business here! Never have we seen so many. Young, clean shaven, mostly male, they are everywhere, in groups usually. Every major store has private security often with a muzzled, closely controlled, dog. I  felt very safe! 

Sellers with things to eat. Arepas.

Artists. This is like spray and brush graffiti I think but on paper.

Videos for sale--YMCA!

Living wall at a nearby hotel

Because of this....(no crowd--just a woman with a megaphone)

This. Policía

Policía in riot gear

Amazing architecture at every turn

Especially early 20th century art deco.

Colombia January 2016 | Getting there and getting around

We both arrived safely and with all of our luggage in Bogotá. That is always nice. Yesterday was tough for me having taken two flights, both of which were too short to allow for much sleep. But Jorgé was there waiting for me at the airport, and Margaret was dressed and ready to go out, so we had breakfast here at the hotel and off we went. We started at the Museo de Oro making our way over two floors of pre-Colombian and Colombian artifacts organized by their indigenous peoples which of course is also geographic. There are mostly gold and silver alloys made into fine jewelry, giant nose rings, hairpins, meticulously carved breastplates and such. I have no pictures from inside the museum but this tiny raft made from gold, perhaps 10 inches long, with amazing detail chiseled into the gold is a highlight. You can see it here. La Balsa

There are also functional pieces, of course. The finest piece, and the first acquired by the museum, the Poporo Quimbaya. It is a vessel for retaining lime and coca. The material is a combination of gold and copper. I think this one looks like some sort of symbol of fertility, but that's just me. You can see it here.Poporo

After an obligatory cafe latté for me, we headed down Calle 7 and then found lunch on the top floor of the Hotel Operá overlooking all the red tile roofs, cupolas and steeples that surround Plaza Bolivár (you remember him from high school social studies, right?). I slept for a couple of hours in the afternoon so that I could stay awake through dinner. We chose a rump house called T-BONE: a menu of beef, beef and mostly beef done every which way. Excellent food. I had my medallions of tenderloin with blue cheese cream, oven roasted potatoes, and salad. There was wine by the mini-bottle, and an amazing mousse with passion fruit for dessert. Way too good. And speaking of eye candy, hip and handsome young waiters with hats. And great music. Can't forget the music. Blues harp, guitar; another handsome dude in a hat!
Here's a few pics from the day, as many as I have patience to upload.

 Gigantic watermelon cut and ready to eat. Deliciosa!

A street vendor? This was right in the middle of Calle 7.

A crowd gathered at a protest in front of the Ministry of Justice

Pigeon park. Oops, I mean Plaza Bolivár.

Street art and graffiti everywhere.

It's now Thursday night and I'm a day behind. We spent today at Zipa touring the Catedral de Sal which was quite remarkable, and then wandered the streets of Bogotá taking in more architecture and street life. It's quite a city. Photos hopefully tomorrow, as we head for the hills at noon, and I'm not sure what connectivity we will have in the Tatacoa and then in San Agustín. Hopefully somewhere.