Family Truckster

"Family Truckster" ~ Cali, Colombia © 2012 Skip Hunt

Navilandia

"Navilandia" ~ Cali, Colombia © 2012 Skip Hunt

Break Out

"Break Out" ~ Cali, Colombia © 2012 Skip Hunt

Out of Popayan Peace & into Cali's Cauldron

I started out feeling relaxed and in a mellow travel groove. The smell if thermal sulfur still lingered in my clothes reminding me what complete tranquility felt like and I made it to the bus station with barely a 10 minute wait before we were off toward Cali.

The scenery was lush green as it had been for pretty much the whole trip so far, but as we got closer to Cali the landscape turned more tropical as the temperature began to rise. As we pulled into the city, again the vibe completely changed. This time it was giving me a feeling that I might need to step up the caution sensitivity and start paying closer attention to my back side. It could just be that I couldn't get the fact out of head that not only was Cali supposed to be the salsa dancing capital of the world and hosts Colombia's most beautiful women, but it has earned the title of homicide capital as well.

The sticky air mixed with diesel exhaust started to make my eyes burn as I looked out the window to try and lock onto the general street vibe. First impressions were that this place has a ghetto Caribbean feel mixed among run-down modern architecture between pockets of obvious wealth.

I knew better than to pull out the guide book to try and guess which direction to start walking, so I just forged on out of the huge terminal as if I knew exactly where I was going.

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Tres Mujeres

"Tres Mujeres" ~ Cali, Colombia © 2012 Skip Hunt

Ensalada de Frutas

"Ensalada de Frutas" ~ Cali, Colombia © 2012 Skip Hunt

Las Palmas

"Las Palmas" ~ Cali, Colombia © 2012 Skip Hunt

Diarama

"Diarama" ~ Cali, Colombia © 2012 Skip Hunt

As I wandered about in my blissful zoological illusory break from hard street paranoia, I became amused by all the people standing inches away from the flexible plexiglass separating their delicious human flesh from an obsessed tiger. The tiger just kept pacing back and forth for the people as they each tried to grab a quick snap that wasn't washed out by their automatic flashes bouncing off the plexiglass and ruining their shot. The tiger looked as if it had partly gone insane repeating this daily ritual, or was just amused himself by the absurdity of it all.

I too followed along the plexiglass until I realized the futility and decided to stroll away with hopes of catching a glimpse of the magnificent ant eater or perhaps the pink reared apes holding court a few meters away.

Wondering on the backside of the tigers pen, I too became amused by the scenic absurdity and also tried to determine if there was really enough space in the mote area so that the hungry big cat could not make it across in one good leap. Although I was a bit far away, I wanted to capture that diaramic scene for my own later viewing pleasure. Just as I waited for the tiger to be passing the plexiglass once again, he just snapped and leaped directly into the plexiglass with all his force as it made an incredible crash. Yet, it did not seem that any of the spectators were even the slightest bit phased by the possibility that the plexiglass could have easily popped open from the powerful force. Like me, all they were thinking was, "Did I get that?!"

Welch

"Welch" ~ Cali, Colombia © 2012 Skip Hunt

Taxi

"Taxi" ~ Cali, Colombia © 2012 Skip Hunt

La Luz

"La Luz" ~ Cali, Colombia © 2012 Skip Hunt

San Antonio

"San Antonio" ~ Cali, Colombia © 2012 Skip Hunt

SAKS

"SAKS" ~ Cali, Colombia © 2012 Skip Hunt

Salsa

"Salsa" ~ Cali, Colombia © 2012 Skip Hunt

Cali to Salento

"Cocoran Valley" ~ Salento, Colombia (c) 2012 Skip Hunt

I can't say I'm wanting to linger any more in Cali, but overall the fear & exploring was well worth the perceived risk... especially the zoo. ;)

The scenery from the buses thus far has been incredible. I can't imagine why anyone would want to miss it taking a night bus.

Diablo

"Diablo" ~ Salento, Colombia (c) 2012 Skip Hunt

Mariguana

"Mariguana" ~ Salento, Colombia (c) 2012 Skip Hunt

Hiking the Cocora Valley Near Salento

At first I thought I'd just make my own way around the valley, but decided to take the "willy" jeeps with the other backpackers to The trailhead in Cocora. Absolutely stunning hike that I likely would never have found on my own. There were actually moments when I wondered if what I was seeing was real.

Rockets Red Glare

"Rockets Red Glare" ~ Salento, Colombia (c) 2012 Skip Hunt

Moto Salento

"Moto Salento" ~ Salento, Colombia (c) 2012 Skip Hunt