Blogs from Cali, Colombia, South America - page 9

Hola, Amigos! Our trip in Cartagena continued with school and sight seeing. I learn more about Tony each day. He finally got grumpy one day after class when his teacher started going over irregular verb conjugations in the present tense. He wanted the rule for irregular verb conjugations. I tried to explain there was no rules, you just have to memorize which ones they are, that is why they are called irregular. He grumbled for a while but quickly got over it when we toured the Palace of the Inquisition where Roman Catholic tribunals executed witches and heretics and realized that some people have really bad days. At the Palace, we splurged for a guide who spoke English. Along with some gruesome displays of how ghastly one man can torture and kill another man the palace ... read more

I arrived in Cali at the beginning of the month with exactly 31 days until I need to be back on the north coast for my lift out of here to central America. I wanted to work here for a while in order to improve my Spanish a bit more and to see a part of Colombia from a non backpacker point of view. I had chosen Cali as it is not really on the gringo trail but if I am honest the fact that it lists itself as the salsa capital of Colombia was also a big draw. Coincidentally all the people I met at Christmas on the beach were also from Cali and one girl in particular, Wisely, thought she might be able to set me up with some work connections. I arrived here ... read more

Hola de nuevo a todo el mundo, pues en fin, de Ecuador llegamos a Colombia hace casi una semana. El primer lugar de nuestro recorrido por este hermoso pais fue Cali, donde nos acogio Jose Francisco, el padre de Juan, un muy buen amigo de Ivan de la universidad. A pesar de su mala fama de antaño por el carter de cali las cosas han cambiado bastante en los ultimos años y es hoy en dia una ciudad muy agradable, aunque lo mas interesante de nuestra estancia en Cali fue nuestra estancia de un par de dias en la Finca de Jose Francisco en Palmira, una ciudad del valle a una hora de Cali. El conocer una finca en una zona rural de Colombia fue una experiencia increible. Basicamente es una finca de 85 hectareas ... read more

Cali has three museums, three big churches and according to “the book” not much else. It does have a very nice Mall, Chichi Chape, that can be reached on foot along a busy polluted main road. There are quite a few interesting shops that offer a wide variety of interior decorating designs. This is only from observing the show windows. One shop had very appealing furniture and figurines. A very powerful capuccino can be had at a Juan Valdez franchise. Did not buy a Juan Valdez t-shirt! Hope I don’t regret this. I have given away all the other t-shirts bought, during the last five months, along the way. There is a zoological park in Cali. Don’t particularly like zoos and when I saw elephant and camel depicted on the brochure I opted not to go. ... read more

I watched as the 8 year boy ran lithely down the slope with my bag. His mud covered feet deftly moving whilst I slipped and slid my way towards the bottom. I began to wonder if I was going to see it again. Months on the road had lodged a fair chunk of wariness and distrust in my psyche. Sadly I had heard too many stories of being ripped off, held up and taken advantage of. But there he was, patiently waiting and no doubt wondering why I was taking so long. He reached for my hand, my bag still securely in his and lead me to the lake. Countless locals were already submerged in the water, scrubbing the volcanic mud from every orifice and laughing at the sight. I relaxed as my bathers were deftly ... read more