Organized Chaos at the Galeria Alameda, Cali (Colombia 04)

2021

Dear Readers, 2020, a truly horrifying year, for which we Americans should be overwhelmingly ashamed and contrite, is behind us. The presidential freak show will be over by late January, and maybe the MAGA malignancy will fade, like a pestilence that has run its course through a population or a toxic scum that sinks back into the cesspool. 

Let us start a new and more hopeful year with a colorful food market. As you Urban Decay readers know, farmers' or food markets are always fun. They are colorful, odoriferous, noisy, cheerful, and full of photographic opportunities. The Galeria Alameda between Carrera 24 and 26 in Cali, Colombia, is a good one. The Cali Adventurer summarizes it as 

"It’s organized chaos. Imagine a place where buyers and sellers of herbs, flowers, exotic fruits, veggies, meat and fish mingle and haggle. A place where a pound of cow eyes are just as likely to be sold as a bag of potatoes. A place where indigenous women sell hand-woven baskets next to “snake oil salesmen” selling alternative medicines." 

I am not sure about the chaos part. Compared to markets I have visited in Africa and Asia, this one looked pretty clean and sanitary, but don't let that make you think it was boring, by any means. 

Note, these photographs are from January 2019, obviously pre-virus; it seems like another lifetime.

Want to test a pepper? Snacking available; have some ice water available to cool off your tongue.

 Some of these goodies were wrapped in banana or plantain leaves.

 The cheese vendor checking his phone. Everyone in Colombia checks their phone....

The chickens were refrigerated and trimmed - no live ones running around. And this employee was already wearing her mask.

Lunchtime! Our charming guide, Vivian, knew exactly where to eat and knew the staff at the cafeteria. The serving gents in the orange shirts were pleased to have some foreigners chowing out. Top it off with a strong Colombian coffee - it does not get much better than this.

These photographs are from Kodak Ektar 100 film from my little Yashica Electro 35CC camera. I used it on auto-exposure, and the little electric eye calculated most exposures as well as I would with a hand-held meter. The color balance was a bit funny with various types of lighting, but that is one downside of film as opposed to digital. I scanned these negatives on a Plustek 7600i film scanner.

Winter Sunshine Interlude, Part II: Old Town, Cartagena (Colombia 03)

Dear Readers, let's enjoy another sunshine update while some of you are stuck in snow, ice, and gloom. We will continue with some more frames from cheerful Cartagena, Colombia.

Cartagena, Colombia (from ArcGIS online)

Cartagena is a big city now, with condos along the shore, shipyards, port facilities, and traffic. But the old core, within and near the walls, is still an architectural gem. From Wikipedia,

"The historic center is surrounded by 11 kilometers of defensive walls. These were complemented by fortifications along the coast, making Cartagena a militarily impregnable city. The walls, made in several stages, were designed to protect the city from continual pirate attacks, with construction beginning in 1586." 

I remember reading that Charles the V kept looking west from his palace in Madrid with a spyglass. One of his courtiers asked him what he was looking for. Charles responded he wanted to see the walls at Cartagena de Indias because their construction had almost bankrupted his empire's treasury and they must be high enough to be visible. Hmmm, this may be a bit allegorical, but it is a good story, and the walls did cost the Spanish Crown a fortune (let alone the lives of hundreds or thousands of slaves used in the work).

Hanging around on Avenida Venezuela, Cartagena (Ektar 100 film, Yashica Electro 35CC camera)

Waiting for a shine, Avenida Venezuela, Cartagena

The streets just west of the walls are bustling day and night. Stores are full, people are all over, and traffic is dense.

I was surprised at the numbers of snack shops and mobile phone stores. The shops in the photos above are on Carrera 11 near the bridge that carries Avenida Pedro De Heredia over the canal (sort of grungy - needs serious dredging).

Sitting out under the trees on a hot afternoon - what could be better? (Well, maybe a nap by the pool?) (Fuji Acros film, Leica M2 camera)

Inside the old walled city, there are a few modern buildings, including some 20th century architectural messes, but most of the buildings are from the 1700s and 1800s. It reminded me a bit of New Orleans without the filth or Havana but better maintained.

Plenty of liquor and cigar stores to separate the tourist from his Dollars.

The colors are cheerful in a Caribbean way. Many of these old houses are now boutique hotels, restaurants, or art shops.

Pseudo-Communist kitsch seems to be popular. I noticed the same in downtown Athens. How odd. Even Vladimir Lenin is a capitalist today.

Now this is really good: the coffee Jeep! This vendor said the coffee came from his family's plantation somewhere inland. We learned that coffee planters imported many of these Willys Jeeps in the 1940s and 1950s to replace mules on steep hillside coffee plantations. They still use them because they are light weight and narrow, perfect for mountain tracks. Most of the modern play-trucklet SUVs sold to American suburbanites are too wide, soft, and weak for serious mountain work.

Now for some Leica black and while frames on the walls. This is serious selfie terrain! You see all sorts of people enjoying the scenery and making sure that their presence is recorded for all posterity.

In the future, I'll share more Colombia photographs. This is an interesting country with amazing topography and ecological diversity. Highly recommended!

Winter Sunshine Interlude: Getsemaní, Cartagena (Colombia 02)

Introduction

Dear Readers, it is February while I write this. Many of you northern hemisphere readers are in the gloom and snow. What could be more cheerful than a few days in the sunshine? It does not get much more cheerful than Cartagena.

Cartagena is a port city on the northern coast of Colombia facing the Caribbean Sea. During the colonial era, it was known as Cartagena de Indias. It was founded in 1533, and therefore is one of the oldest European settlement cities in the western hemisphere. Today, it is a major seaport and a tourist center.

My previous stay in Cartagena was in 1981, when I drilled for the marine geotechnical company (another life). My wife and I decided it was time for another visit. Oh oh, now it is a big city. What happened to the empty beaches? Where did those condos come from? Where did the bumper-to-bumper traffic come from? Regardless, the old colonial city has been preserved, and there are no cheesy modern skyscrapers in the walled old town.

On the move, Calle 25 (Ektar 100 film, Yashica Electro 35CC camera)

Just waiting, Calle 25

Room with a view, Calle 25, from the Allure Chocolat hotel

Getsemaní

We stayed at the Allure Chocolat in the Getsemaní district, at Calle del Arsenal Calle 24 # 8B-58. Nice place! It was a bit (OK, much) higher grade than the hotels I usually occupy. According to Wikipedia, "Once a district characterized by crime, Getsemani, just south of the ancient walled fortress, has become "Cartagena's hippest neighborhood and one of Latin America's newest hotspots", with plazas that were once the scene of drug dealing being reclaimed and old buildings being turned into boutique hotels."

Listening to the boom box, Calle 29

On Calle 29 (Kodak Ektar 100 film, Yashica Electro 35CC camera)

I suppose it is a hip neighborhood. Does the wall art prove that?

The Black Parrot at Carrera 10b - very trendy at night

In the picture, Calle 27 (Moto G5 digital file)

Calle 27

Statue of Pedro Romero, dedicated to the Lanceros de Getsemani, Plaza de la Trinidad, Getsemani 

Some parts of Getsemaní reminded me of Greek villages on the islands, kissed by the sun and with brilliant, pure colors. Or possibly think of Cuban vibe but with far better food and toilets. This area had a comfortable feel with no obvious security issues. I also took black and white film photographs, but here color rules.

The cheerful ladies at Café del Mural made me an excellent espresso. Pretty girls, coffee, excellent restaurants, the sun-baked Caribbean; what could be better for a January or February escape from the cold and a Trump-cursed USA?

Catty in Cali (Parque El Gato De Tejada) - Travels in Colombia 01

El Gato Rio by Hernando Tejeda with the lovely Vivian checking out the photographer, Cali, Colombia

Well, Cali is not catty at all, it is actually very nice. Cali is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department of Colombia. It is a major city with over 2,300,000 residents. The Cali River runs through downtown and features a unique sculpture display, the creative felines of the famous Cat Park, or Parque El Gato De Tejada. According to trpifreakz, "The park got its name, Parque del Gato, from the creator of a giant bronze cat sculpture, Hernando Tejada. The giant sculpture, called El Gato Rio – the River Cat, was erected on the banks of Cali River in 1996. El Gato Rio was created in Bogota and transferred to Cali, which already sounds like an impossible feat – the giant cat is 3.5 meters tall and weighs 3 tons. In Cali, the sculpture became the centerpiece of the newly renovated park by the river."

No urban decay this time! These cheerful felines were too good to resist. One morning, when the tour group was organizing at the hotel, I walked down to the Rio Cali by myself and took a series of digital images. Sorry these are just from a mobile phone. These little (big?) guys were a bit difficult to record because of background distractions. At the site, each has a descriptive sign. Later pictures from Colombia will be from film.

Colombia is a great tourist destination. As of early 2019, the towns in the south central part of the country looked prosperous, and the people were friendly and cheerful. Construction and improvement was ongoing in both rural areas and large towns. Traffic is heavy, stores are well-stocked with goods, restaurants are very good. The country appears to be thriving.