Southern Colombia

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Passing field after field of Sugar Cane as we came back towards sea level I knew we were going to enjoy the warmth of the sun in Cali. After our arrival we quickly took a wander around town, a nice leafy plaza and it definitely has a much more laid back feel than Medellin and Bogota and with less high rise. We had a lovely cheap almuerzo (set lunch) including a lovely soup called Sonchope, it had potatoes in it and it really was great to dig in to some lovely potatoes. The weather was so nice, not to hot but just a lovely warmth from the sun. Our hostal was set up against the hill in the nice part of town, there was some cool cafes around and also a strip of bars, but unfortunately as has been our luck with Colombia we ended up in a lively city on a Monday and Tuesday so it was pretty quiet. We had been hoping to catch a glimpse of the salsa moves that the cali people are so famous for. Our second day in Cali we went out to the zoo, it was great to see so many different species of South American fish, birds, snakes, monkeys and mammals that we may not otherwise see in the wild. I particularly enjoyed the large walkthrough avairy they had, it was great to be that close to some of the birds that I may not be likely to see in the wild. The Toucan is always my favourite. Another nice part was a butterfly enclosure where you just walk through and all the different butterflies are around. Deb got a bit freaked out in there so she wasn´t too long in that enclosure. I can definitely recommend the zoo to people just because of the South American animals. Don´t know of anyone who is yet to see an ocelot, Andean Bear or Jaguar in the wild yet!
In the afternoon we headed out to Chipichape, a large upscale shopping centre and the place to be seen (I had also read that the Cali women are the best looking in the country, albeit surgically enhanced, so it was the place to go) A quiet midweek afternoon probably not the best time to see it at its liveliest, but probably the best time to invest in a new pair of shoes after the pair I have been wearing have been leaving a whoft of green toxic fumes across Colombia (so Deb tells me). We finished the day in a nice part of town called San Antonio, it is an old part of town set up on a hill on a nice incline. We had a lovely pizza outside in the sun and sat high up on the hill in front of the church to watch the Calenos relaxing, plenty of people flying kites and relaxing after the day and watching the sun set over the city.
Following day we were on to Popoyan, this bus was one of those ones that kept stopping to let people on and off and sellers on the bus all the time, it really made the trip seem much longer than it should be. Popoyan was seriously damaged by an Earthquake in 1983, so the town did have a feel of a town reconstructed, the buildings were very white and there was some lovely churches around as well as having a modern colonial feel to the place. Unsure what to do about our trip, Deb had read about the Otavalo market on Saturdays in Ecuador, so we have decided to get to Ecuador by Friday in time for the Otavalo market. So it was only the one night in Popoyan (Deb almost didn´t make it as a local chef was determined to have a case salmonella poisoning in his restaurant that day). Next stop was Ipiales, only a few kilometres from the border with Ecuador where we would have time to see the brilliant Los Lajas church built between 1926 and 1944 spanning a river gorge just outside Ipiales, where the Virgen Mary was said to have appeared. The road to Ipiales was spectacular, high up in the Andean mountains, stunning vistas and the bus often high up on the mountain tops looking down (If only you could get the driver to stop for pics). The surroundings also changed from very dry and dusty to green as we got closer to Ipiales. Ipiales wasn´t too bad for a border town, there were much more indigenous people in their ponchos and hats. Before taking our last footsteps on Colombian soil we went to Las Lajas to see the church, very impressed. The setting is amazing and would be a great place to spend the day. Plenty of local pilgrims around and plaques on the walls on the surrounding mountain as people thank Mary for the miracles she has bought on their lives (I actually think the vatican has recognised one of them). It will be a miracle if we don´t get Salmonella by the time we leave this continent! Leaving Colombia in the immigration queue we had time to chat with some students practicing their English with us gringos in the queue. And time to reflect on a great time we have had in Colombia, the people were great. Not only are they friendly and accomodating to us foreigners but also to one another and we have both been blown away by how great it has been. Viva Colombia!!

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