Manizales to Cali

I drew the boing bus card today, although everything was fine.  I had a great taxi ride throught the labryinth of Manizales, dropping down the ridge through twisting streets while trying to decipher the driver's Spanish.  My luck held true at the terminal, where I arrived at 9:00 AM and hopped onboard a 9:15 bus.  It was the big Volvo bus today, with the plush seats, pull our foot rests and the tiny movie screens.  The movie screens are one of the big drawbacks to the luxo-buses.  The ride on the behemoth didn't cost any more than a nice mini-van, but there is a price to be paid.  In Thailand it is really horriific Boy-Bands or Grrl-Bands played at full volume.  Hours and hours of heart rending love songs complete with horrible videos.  It seems that in Colombia, the big bus is where bad movies go to die.  Today there were three, all of which warranted earplugs, both for the lack of quality and the deafening volume.   First there was the Euro Assasin movie with lots and lots of people shooting lots and lots of other people, all of whom looked very good and very chic while murdering or being murdered.  The second was a formula movie with Jason Statham and James Franco, neither of whom could save this piece of crap.  Tough Guy Dad with Cute Daughter whose Past Comes Back To Haunt Him.  Oy!  The last one was the worst, a really bad move about tornados and the bad things that happen when they strike.  Ear plugs helped a lot and I was mostly able to ignore them and read my Gabriel Garcia Marquez.  

The giant bus ripped through the hairpins, steadily loosing elevation.  The bamboo thickets and coffee fincas slipped by and were replaced with steep pasture lands,  As the kilometers rolled by the pasture land gave way to sugercane as far as the eye could see.  We had left the Montanas behind.  

Colombian Bamboo

Coffee Fincas nestled on the hillsides.

Sugercane in the valley and the return of the warmth.

One of the great things about bus transport, not only here in Colombia but across Asia as well, is the impromptu pickup and delivery system that helps carry packages and goods from one place to another.  If you park your pickup filled with kit near the bus line and wave like crazy, the bus will pull over and you can then load your kit into the bus cargo bay.  Secret signs and a few pesos are exchanged and then somewhere else the bus stops, honks its horn, and other guys come out of some business and recover the kit.  It's cool!

Kit being loaded into the belly of the bus.

The bus rolled along, I finished my book, so it goes.  A long five hours later we rolled into the North Terminal in Cali.  I alit from the bus directly next to the Tourist Info booth, which I decided was a sign.  I needed some info on the metro system so why not ask the Tourist folks.  Who were armed.  Indeed, the ovely chipper señorita who was only too happy to help me was packing a huge Glock on her belt.  This display of weaponry was at odds with her perky smile and tortured English.  She also outlined a plan for me to arrive at my Hostel that included three buses, a taxi and a burro.  What I really needed, I received:  directions to the metro stop.

I found my bus, got past the "Card Only" system with my experiences in Panama, paid a local to swipe his card for me and heading into Cali.  I ignored the glock-packing-pixie's instructions and dead-reckoned my way with my map.  Calle 19N, there is the sign, push the button and... the bus does not stop for six more blocks.  Ah well, more to explore.  

As soon as i was off of the metro bus, I got a great vibe from Cali.  Really, really good energy.  I walked away from the bus, bought two cookies at a panneria, and started the march to the Iguana Hostel.  Cali is my kind of walking town, with a shaded promenade along the river, and even shadier park, and really great boulevards.  Getting more and more into Cali, I found the hostel, checked in, and kicked back in the garden.  Ahhhh......

Grafitti artists at work on the streets

The Hostel Garden

The Hostel Cat