Cali supposed to be a party place but i decided to go paragliding instead. Oh that was gooood, and made friends. Called an instructor, Rob, but he couldn´t take me on cos his mum was visiting from Germany and didn´t have time. Nevertheless, gave me instructions how to get there, out of town somewhere passed Palmira and then land in Los Cielos, and promised to pick me up on his motorcycle and passed me on to another instructor on the side of a dirt track - not that he had to. So I squeeze into a 4W and up we go into the hills. I was the first one to jump and a bit nervous but in a very excited way. There´s nothing to it, just keep running off the cliff, is all i was told. I think i´ve got i new hobby when i get back home. Then Rob came by again, cos he had seen me fly and land from his home porch, and we hung out at his farm nearby talking about how living away from our home land was so much better in so many ways - i´m so unpatriotic. At least he was able to tell me of the amazing generosity he encountered when he´d travelled to Australia. It´s always different from the outside..
On his porch, looking into his garden in the sultry heat, i saw amazing butterflies, blue, black, yellow, orange, with big long legs prancing around flowers, humming birds, bees, beetles the size of my thumb zooming around in stereo from one side of my head to the other, and eagles flew above. It seemed like heaven. Out here in the country, there was pockets of silence, but not always, cos just about everywhere there are people living you´ll hear salsa music or the like.
Farewelled him and went to the landing stripped again cos Daniel, my instructor who going to Manilla, NSW, to compete in hangliding competitions, was going to give me a lift back to Cali at the end of the day. There at the landing strip again, i mounted another jeep and visited another hill top and hung out with other gliders and watching dozens of others glide. The dusty ride was great too. We passed a river tumbling down a rocky hillside were folks from Cali or surroundings had come for a day trip to dip toes in fresh water. Well, more than toes, bikinis were out, kids were running and screaming, cars were parked all over. At one passing there was water spraying out of a pipe from a brick construction, kids playing in the water, woman with arse against the sprouting water outlet, and as we drove by kids began to splash water all over us. My window didn´t work.. Later in the day, another type of crowd was congregating, dolls and babes: skin on the line, tight pants, push-ups, hair-jell and motorbikes. hmmm. My jaw had dropped so far down, i couldn´t move fast enough to get a photo.
Even though i wasn´t done with Cali, i decided to head for La Zona Cafetera, coffee country. Needless to say that i´ve taken up my favourite habit of drinking coffee again, cos coffee in Peru, Chile and Ecuador doesn´t even come close, and neither does Argentina in some places, and so i had given it up. While i was in Lima in a hostel for 2 days, i met and chatted with a Colombian couple, Margarita and Lole, for a few hours who didn´t hesitate to invite me to stay with them when i reach their home town. So then i arrive and meet Margarita in Pereira, a beautiful country town, amongst hills and mountains. This whole region´s like this and the right conditions for coffee cultivations. Off she takes me to Finlandia, a picturesque village where we indulge in coffee and cigarettes and meet her mate Mauro. The plaza is green and full of folks, fruit stalls abound and i tried this funny fruit, chontaduro, were you add either salt, lemon, or honey, or all of them together like i did. This country, like Brazil, is a fruitlovers heaven. After that, off to Salento, another pocket of paradise amongst lush green hills with blue mountain ranges in the distance, where we sit to have trout served over a patacon, a special banana, platano, that is cooked, mashed, rolled out thin and then fried. With all the bananas in australia i can´t believe we´re not indulging in this stuff!
I stay that night at Lole´s place in Manizales, in fact we all do. This kind of small town is precious also, university town, lots of bars and young folks, hills and scenic views - not a place to own a pushbike. Next day we drive to parke nacional Los Nevados. The Andes that start at the very south of chile and argentina split up in 3 mountain ranges when it reaches colombia, Los Nevados is one of them. Illequiped as i was, we didn´t quiet reach the snowy mountain peaks, next time. But let me get back to food, breakfast. It usually includes hot chocolate, not coffee, but it`s like nothing you`ve ever had. Or, another delight, agua panela con queso. Unrefined solidified sugarcane sugar (don´t know how to describe it) is served in a bowl of hot water where you can drop in cubes of white cheese, let it warm up and then spoon it out and slurp. Served with empanadas, cheesy bread buns, and toasted arepas (toasted maize bread). It´s a wonder i´m not overweight.
That night i thought i´d go and spend the night in Salento cos there´s a national park nearby and coffee farms. But it was late in the evening, missed the last bus from where i was leaving... short story, as Mauro was heading home to Finlandia told me i could stay at his little ol place with his mum for the night and we could go bush walking around there the next day. Sweet. But when we get there grandpa´s there and so are aunties and uncles and nephews etc, cos his cooking a gourmet delight for his going away - married to and english lass he´s going to live with her in London. Next day we do a hell of a bush walk where we can hear but can´t see the shy monkeys in a plethora of rich flora. But it doesn´t end there. That night we go to his other going-away with his mates. Back to Pereira, on the outskirts, we bus it to a friend´s finca (farm house) to spend the night and share it with a starry sky and fireflies - they´re so magical. Next day i´m supposed to head off again but delays and stuff i end up at Lole´s parents´house with him and Margarita, again honoured with food in a family home. I´ve been soooo taken care of.
I wonna stay here forever!!!!!!!!!!!!
On his porch, looking into his garden in the sultry heat, i saw amazing butterflies, blue, black, yellow, orange, with big long legs prancing around flowers, humming birds, bees, beetles the size of my thumb zooming around in stereo from one side of my head to the other, and eagles flew above. It seemed like heaven. Out here in the country, there was pockets of silence, but not always, cos just about everywhere there are people living you´ll hear salsa music or the like.
Farewelled him and went to the landing stripped again cos Daniel, my instructor who going to Manilla, NSW, to compete in hangliding competitions, was going to give me a lift back to Cali at the end of the day. There at the landing strip again, i mounted another jeep and visited another hill top and hung out with other gliders and watching dozens of others glide. The dusty ride was great too. We passed a river tumbling down a rocky hillside were folks from Cali or surroundings had come for a day trip to dip toes in fresh water. Well, more than toes, bikinis were out, kids were running and screaming, cars were parked all over. At one passing there was water spraying out of a pipe from a brick construction, kids playing in the water, woman with arse against the sprouting water outlet, and as we drove by kids began to splash water all over us. My window didn´t work.. Later in the day, another type of crowd was congregating, dolls and babes: skin on the line, tight pants, push-ups, hair-jell and motorbikes. hmmm. My jaw had dropped so far down, i couldn´t move fast enough to get a photo.
Even though i wasn´t done with Cali, i decided to head for La Zona Cafetera, coffee country. Needless to say that i´ve taken up my favourite habit of drinking coffee again, cos coffee in Peru, Chile and Ecuador doesn´t even come close, and neither does Argentina in some places, and so i had given it up. While i was in Lima in a hostel for 2 days, i met and chatted with a Colombian couple, Margarita and Lole, for a few hours who didn´t hesitate to invite me to stay with them when i reach their home town. So then i arrive and meet Margarita in Pereira, a beautiful country town, amongst hills and mountains. This whole region´s like this and the right conditions for coffee cultivations. Off she takes me to Finlandia, a picturesque village where we indulge in coffee and cigarettes and meet her mate Mauro. The plaza is green and full of folks, fruit stalls abound and i tried this funny fruit, chontaduro, were you add either salt, lemon, or honey, or all of them together like i did. This country, like Brazil, is a fruitlovers heaven. After that, off to Salento, another pocket of paradise amongst lush green hills with blue mountain ranges in the distance, where we sit to have trout served over a patacon, a special banana, platano, that is cooked, mashed, rolled out thin and then fried. With all the bananas in australia i can´t believe we´re not indulging in this stuff!
I stay that night at Lole´s place in Manizales, in fact we all do. This kind of small town is precious also, university town, lots of bars and young folks, hills and scenic views - not a place to own a pushbike. Next day we drive to parke nacional Los Nevados. The Andes that start at the very south of chile and argentina split up in 3 mountain ranges when it reaches colombia, Los Nevados is one of them. Illequiped as i was, we didn´t quiet reach the snowy mountain peaks, next time. But let me get back to food, breakfast. It usually includes hot chocolate, not coffee, but it`s like nothing you`ve ever had. Or, another delight, agua panela con queso. Unrefined solidified sugarcane sugar (don´t know how to describe it) is served in a bowl of hot water where you can drop in cubes of white cheese, let it warm up and then spoon it out and slurp. Served with empanadas, cheesy bread buns, and toasted arepas (toasted maize bread). It´s a wonder i´m not overweight.
That night i thought i´d go and spend the night in Salento cos there´s a national park nearby and coffee farms. But it was late in the evening, missed the last bus from where i was leaving... short story, as Mauro was heading home to Finlandia told me i could stay at his little ol place with his mum for the night and we could go bush walking around there the next day. Sweet. But when we get there grandpa´s there and so are aunties and uncles and nephews etc, cos his cooking a gourmet delight for his going away - married to and english lass he´s going to live with her in London. Next day we do a hell of a bush walk where we can hear but can´t see the shy monkeys in a plethora of rich flora. But it doesn´t end there. That night we go to his other going-away with his mates. Back to Pereira, on the outskirts, we bus it to a friend´s finca (farm house) to spend the night and share it with a starry sky and fireflies - they´re so magical. Next day i´m supposed to head off again but delays and stuff i end up at Lole´s parents´house with him and Margarita, again honoured with food in a family home. I´ve been soooo taken care of.
I wonna stay here forever!!!!!!!!!!!!
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