My Second Trip To Cali

I really did not "play" the whole trip, but Paulina and I couldn't resist a day in Cali with our new friend Leonor.

This sign reads: "No more stars on the road." A star like the one on the sign is painted anywhere an accident occurred along the highway (and in the city too). Basicly it's a shout out for careful driving.

Leonor, Paulina, and I after a morning of shopping at the Chipichapi Mall.

This isn't the best picture, but it was too cool to not show it. If you look very closely, you will see what looks like a cross on top of the mountain (just to the right of the tree). This is a very tall statue of Jesus with His arms outstretched over the city. Unfortunately, we didn't get any closer than this. If you click on the picture, it will enlarge the image.

Since a good chunk of South America is Catholic there is some holiday where they celebrate Mary. There are a lot of vendors who sell "Marys" like the ones shown below, and on that evening, they light a candle and display them in the streets. I believe this was December 5th.

The three of us stopped for some dessert with Marcy, another English-speaking friend. Marcy and her husband Randy MacMillan are founders of the ministry Mission South America and also senior pastors of Iglesia Communidad Cristiana de Fe (Christian Community of Faith Church) in Cali.

There were a lot of Christmas decorations set up all over the city as soon as Thanksgiving was over. The Cali River was full of life-size figures, including Joseph and Mary making there trek on the donkey.

Sugarcane field...

...complete with its own cane truck...

...and field workers.

Apparently this is the "in" part of the city for young people.

A reminder of our great time.

Relaxing in the Mountains

We have had some company for the past two weeks at La Fundacion... English speaking company! A couple from the East Coast, David and Jane, have come down to do some repairs and visit churches with Orlando. I joined David in the big project of repainting the children´s house. After a stressful two days of working, we decided to take off to the mountains that are very near La Fundacion for a time of R&R.

At the top of the mountain, we stopped at some kind of dare-devil place for idiots. (Those are my words, no one else`s.) It was scary enough walking on the deck that stuck out from the side of the mountain, with every board creaking...


Hot chocolate - with cheese??? - in the mountains!

Orlando and me.

We stopped halfway down the mountain at a house called the "Paradise House," which was built by a European family in the 1800s. There is a whole love story behind this family involving the servant girl and the family´s son. They fell in love with each other, but the mother did not appreciate this at all. The son was sent to England to study medicine, and the servant girl (Maria) because deathly lovesick. It took several months for Efrain to return to her, and when he got to his house, he found that she had died only three days before his arrival. This story has become a novel in Colombia, written by Jorge Isaac, known as Efrain in the story.


The gardens at the "Paradise House" were beautiful!


Efrain`s (Jorge Isaac) pool where Maria would throw rose petals.


This plaque says that the house is a monument to Colombian literature. I´ve got to find that book!


You know, we had seen a sign for "cow crossing," but who would have guessed...


Flowering sugarcane fields, ready for harvest. In Colombia, the stalks are still cut down by machette - no machines. It is a very dangerous job.

Colombian culture

Let me paint a picture of Colombia for you…

Being only three hours away from the Pacific Coast, Palmira has a nice, tropical climate. It can be quite warm, especially in the dry season. November and December are considered the rainy season, and already we have had several wet days and lower, tolerable temperatures. Of course, after the rain comes a hot sun and LOTS of mosquitoes!!! (Which is a whole other story!)

Palmira is also set in the midst of the Valle de Cauca (or Cauca Valley). There are mountains all around, which is a new view for an Iowa girl, and also a lot of palm trees and other unique plants that I am not used to either. They remind me a lot of Florida. The flowers here are very beautiful. Colombia is known for their flowers, having flower festivals every year and exporting them around the world. At La Finca, there are several rose bushes and other flowers I have never seen before all over the property.

Another common sight in Colombia is the sugarcane fields. This is probably the one thing that reminds me of home because they look so much like Iowa corn fields, just a lot taller. The trucks that carry the sugar cane are massive! They sometimes drag up to five trailers behind them at one time! It is definitely a sight!

OK, the driving. Much like the rest of Central and South America, it is indescribable. New York City and Manhattan might be crazy, but it is organized crazy. This is just all out madness. There seem to be quite a few unspoken rules, like two beeps of the horn means “Watch out, I’m coming through the intersection.” At night, it is a couple flashes of the headlights.

There are tiny motorcycles carrying anywhere from one to three people or huge loads of, well, you name it… sacks of rice, flour, small furniture, crates of groceries, mirrors, etc. These, along with normal bicycles also carrying more than one person, weave in and out of the cars that are usually never driving in a particular lane. Also, there is no rule that pedestrians have the right of way. The pedestrians have to watch out for the cars.

And don’t get me started about the street signs! Basically, there are none. When coming up to an intersection, you look across the street to the building on the corner and see an arrow pointing in both directions, it is a two-way street (and so on for one-way streets). There are some stop signs and street lights, but those are usually “suggested stops” (or at least it seems). Again, beep two times, and you can get through anywhere!

So how does one get a driver’s license, you might ask. According to Orlando, there are three ways. #1 – through driving school, #2 – illegally, and #3 – in a piñata!!! Of course, he was just joking, but the way some people drive, he says he wouldn’t be surprised if that’s how they got it.

Poverty is visible almost everywhere you go. It is amazing things some people here in Colombia will do to try and gain a few pesos. There are some people who actually run out into the intersection when there’s a red light to perform some kind of trick, like baton throwing or juggling, and then they go past the cars waiting at the light to collect some coins. Others wait for you to park your car or even when you’re stopped at a red light to come out and clean your windows. They do not ask; they just hurry and start washing before you can say “no.” There are also a lot of people who come up to your car selling different types of fruit or candies and other small items. One time I saw a man selling brillo pads. The sky is the limit.

Of course, there are also many beggars on the street corners who come out to you, pleading for money. One night, my dad and I were standing outside a friend’s house at night having a good time catching up, when we noticed a young man about 20-years-old laying outside the house on the sidewalk. We asked are friend if there were many like this, and he said there are people outside every night but the police usually come by, wake them up, and keep them moving. It was a very sad sight. He was younger than me! Camped out on the side of the road for the night. Another night after one of our church services, we were having dinner and a young boy about 13-years-old came up to our table asking for a drink of our Coke. He was very grateful and drank it down quickly, but we also knew that he was eyeing what was left on our plates. Sadly, he took off before my dad could buy him some food.

The bugs are out of control here! The mosquitoes are drawn to me like a magnet, leaving my legs looking like I came down with the chicken pox again. I’m up to 5 giant cockroaches now… a couple in my bathroom and tons in the kitchen. I just don’t appreciate this part of God’s creation. The other night I found a huge moth, larger than the size of my hand, hanging above me on the kitchen ceiling. Orlando says a lot of funny things, so you’ll find me quoting him a lot. We were eating lunch a couple days ago when a fly flew straight into his cup and he said, “Oh please. Go shower some place else.” No lizards yet, and I’d really rather not know what else is out there.

More to come...