Cali por fin.
As I was finishing the presentation last night Ricardo was finally able to get in contact with Gabriel in Cali. “You can leave tonight or tommorrow morning” he informed me. given that as yet i’d seen little of the country i thought i may as well go by day and so this morning at about half five Ricardo got me up, we drank a cup of hot chocolate as per routine, and he took me to th e bus station in spite of my protests the night before that he needn’t. He explained to me in detail how not to have my bag robbed, how to find a phone in the bus station, how to use it, to be sure to have change, how to get a taxi, where to and how much it should cost, and how to find the Union offices in the university in the super caring if somewhat OTT style Ive grown accustomed to from my dad.
The bus journey is 10 hours through two incredible green mountain ranges along steep and winding roads. It was nice to be moving again, particularly on my own as in Bogota i had been escorted everywhere, not so much out of fear on the part of my hosts but hospitality. I finally finished 100 years of Solitude on the bus The villages along the way, perched often precariously on the incredibly steep mountainsides, are colourful and somewhat ramshakle nesting in the dense and lively foliage of banana trees, palms and countless other species of overactive tropical plants. Their colour and relative disorder are in stark contrast to the frequent military outposts, checkpoints, fences and neatly piled sandbags of the quite heavily militarized region. Armed youngsters stand by and await their solemn duty with a perplexing look of fear and pride.
As we got to within about an hour or so of arriving on what had been a pretty uneventful trip the driver slammed on the breaks causing the large bus to slide diagonally across the narrow road. The sideways force caused an old lady to fly from her seat, across the isle and into my lap. We came to a holt, unharmed but in total confusiong and somewhat entangled. It turned out to have only been a flat tyre, the sharp breaking remained unexplained.
I arrived at Cali bus station around 6pm, after some 11 hours on the bus. The air was warm and full and there was an atmosphere of busy activity but with a lack of hury. I callled the SINTRAUNICOL office, somewhat apprehensive as I hadn’t yet spoken directly to anyone there but had much communication via third parties and some by email. The response was friendly and enthusiastic, and in good spirits I got a taxi. My overexcited and friendly taxi driver, a Caleño and proud of it (ie. from Cali), gave me the 10minute introduction to the town while threading the needle through the chaotic traffic with his eyes planted firmly on the Caleñas which dominated his descriptions of the place. I arrived at the Uni and with some direction from an unknown woman who knew my name waiting outside i made my way to the Union offices. The university workers union here is a world apart form the bare and clinical rooms of the discreet Bogotá office. Teeming with people, and adorned with a huge picture of Ché on the wall, I got a friendly reception and attempted to memorise countless names in my travel weary state. Gabriel, the mid thirties casually dressed and informally speaking Human Rights secretary was to be my host. We discussed the various options re. accommodation and what I will actually be doing. He is teeming with ideas and enthusiasm and there seems to be a lot of positve work in progress and much to do.
We were driven out of town by a guy who im not sure if he is a driver or colleague since Gabriel and I sat in the back while he took us from place to place. After climbing out of the city and following a bumpy track for some 20 minutes he stopped the 4x4. I was told to leave my bag in the vehicle as th e driver was staying with it and we got out into the unlit night to the sound of a furious rocky river swollen by the rains. Gabriel seemed to be heading straight off of the side of a small precipice into the water when I was able to make out a rope bride spanning the 30 meter gap with large bamboo poles. We crossed the violent torrent below and were in what seemed to be black jungle through which we climbed following an elusive path until reaching a small hut, the home of a friend and painter to discuss the possibility of me staying there or renting such a house with some other people nearby.
After talking and smoking a cigar that contrary to all previous experience was actually nice, we left and went down to where the car was waiting. We headed back into town, got some good food from some street side establishments and headed to the SINTRAEMCALI (Municipal workers union) offices in town. This again was a another world from either the SINTRAUNICOL offices in Bogotá or In Cali where I had just been. A large blacked out bullet proof glass window sits next to a metal door and beside that a bell with a built mini dv camera. Gabriel explained that I was to stay here until something more permanent was arranged. The security guard, a skinhead with piercing eyes, constantly flickering and assessing the scene made some phone calls to verify Gabriel’s claim. He kept his gun casually in the pocket of his deflated duffle coat. The large building resembled form the inside an old inner city college, whose institutional and as such authoritarian feel was counteracted by the numerous dissident posters and colourful displays. I was shown to a basic room with some beds in it and a fan and went to sleep.
The bus journey is 10 hours through two incredible green mountain ranges along steep and winding roads. It was nice to be moving again, particularly on my own as in Bogota i had been escorted everywhere, not so much out of fear on the part of my hosts but hospitality. I finally finished 100 years of Solitude on the bus The villages along the way, perched often precariously on the incredibly steep mountainsides, are colourful and somewhat ramshakle nesting in the dense and lively foliage of banana trees, palms and countless other species of overactive tropical plants. Their colour and relative disorder are in stark contrast to the frequent military outposts, checkpoints, fences and neatly piled sandbags of the quite heavily militarized region. Armed youngsters stand by and await their solemn duty with a perplexing look of fear and pride.
As we got to within about an hour or so of arriving on what had been a pretty uneventful trip the driver slammed on the breaks causing the large bus to slide diagonally across the narrow road. The sideways force caused an old lady to fly from her seat, across the isle and into my lap. We came to a holt, unharmed but in total confusiong and somewhat entangled. It turned out to have only been a flat tyre, the sharp breaking remained unexplained.
I arrived at Cali bus station around 6pm, after some 11 hours on the bus. The air was warm and full and there was an atmosphere of busy activity but with a lack of hury. I callled the SINTRAUNICOL office, somewhat apprehensive as I hadn’t yet spoken directly to anyone there but had much communication via third parties and some by email. The response was friendly and enthusiastic, and in good spirits I got a taxi. My overexcited and friendly taxi driver, a Caleño and proud of it (ie. from Cali), gave me the 10minute introduction to the town while threading the needle through the chaotic traffic with his eyes planted firmly on the Caleñas which dominated his descriptions of the place. I arrived at the Uni and with some direction from an unknown woman who knew my name waiting outside i made my way to the Union offices. The university workers union here is a world apart form the bare and clinical rooms of the discreet Bogotá office. Teeming with people, and adorned with a huge picture of Ché on the wall, I got a friendly reception and attempted to memorise countless names in my travel weary state. Gabriel, the mid thirties casually dressed and informally speaking Human Rights secretary was to be my host. We discussed the various options re. accommodation and what I will actually be doing. He is teeming with ideas and enthusiasm and there seems to be a lot of positve work in progress and much to do.
We were driven out of town by a guy who im not sure if he is a driver or colleague since Gabriel and I sat in the back while he took us from place to place. After climbing out of the city and following a bumpy track for some 20 minutes he stopped the 4x4. I was told to leave my bag in the vehicle as th e driver was staying with it and we got out into the unlit night to the sound of a furious rocky river swollen by the rains. Gabriel seemed to be heading straight off of the side of a small precipice into the water when I was able to make out a rope bride spanning the 30 meter gap with large bamboo poles. We crossed the violent torrent below and were in what seemed to be black jungle through which we climbed following an elusive path until reaching a small hut, the home of a friend and painter to discuss the possibility of me staying there or renting such a house with some other people nearby.
After talking and smoking a cigar that contrary to all previous experience was actually nice, we left and went down to where the car was waiting. We headed back into town, got some good food from some street side establishments and headed to the SINTRAEMCALI (Municipal workers union) offices in town. This again was a another world from either the SINTRAUNICOL offices in Bogotá or In Cali where I had just been. A large blacked out bullet proof glass window sits next to a metal door and beside that a bell with a built mini dv camera. Gabriel explained that I was to stay here until something more permanent was arranged. The security guard, a skinhead with piercing eyes, constantly flickering and assessing the scene made some phone calls to verify Gabriel’s claim. He kept his gun casually in the pocket of his deflated duffle coat. The large building resembled form the inside an old inner city college, whose institutional and as such authoritarian feel was counteracted by the numerous dissident posters and colourful displays. I was shown to a basic room with some beds in it and a fan and went to sleep.
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