A walk in the Park

The famous Park of the cats (Parque del Gato) is quite a nice walk from the home of the President. It runs right down the middle of the street with sidewalks on both sides.

The 'King' cat is at the top of the street .. the others are all females using their 'charms' to court his favor. They were all designed by different artists. So, hope you enjoy this short walk.

The King--a 3 meter Tomcat

the end of the cats...

a few are missing along the way... perhaps in someone's backyard??

Walking the streets of Cali

I'm soo glad to have such a handsome, amiable, available, and willing walking partner...who actually prefers walking to taking a cab. I too love walking the streets in all the places we go..even though--It is frequently hot or raining--The sidewalks are frequently terrible, only passable if you keep your eyes down, and they are frequently packed with people--walking or selling things. No matter the weather, I can take the arm of my favorite companion, and have a wonderful walk to wherever, whenever. One umbrella carefully placed will cover us both in even the craziest rainstorm... and parts of us stay dry :) We may be soaked up past our thighs; we still do have some partly dry parts :) 

In Cali there are lovely places to walk early in the morning...the later you go, the hotter it is. 

Early morning view from the bedroom window

We first walked up down the river and up past this
construction site.

Then continued following the school children up the street.  Many were accompanied by their mothers.

A lucky few got to ride on the moto rather than walk. This dad looks like he in on the way to the second
drop-off...littlest first.

Here are the last stragglers headed up the stairs...notice the red & green checked jumper--very typical uniform.

We were told it was a public road and took a 'short cut'. We walked right past someone's personal weight room.



Just a few more steps and we were almost at the bottom of the hill, near the river.



This dog walker is a little different from the typical...he also has a bicycle...
  





The tree roots are fabulous, always going toward the river... we wonder how stable the trees might be in storm conditions. Check them out in the photo below as well.



Bamboo grows like a weed here...it is used for all sorts of things. If you're in need of a mop, you can pick one up here on the street.


     

We also passed this building that James thinks should be given the 'ugly' award. I kind of like it..the colors change from different directions.

Then to the market to buy some pitaya for la hermana... she has NEVER tasted them. Before we made it to the fruits..we passed the fish..yummm

What a nice walk....

Popayan

We traveled from Tulua to Buga, arriving in the dark...hence no photos and no searching for doctors. There was a wonderful feeling in the chapel and with the missionaries there. One missionary was there for the 2nd time... an energetic North American. He spoke enthusiastically of how well the missionary work was going... how much better it was than when he was there six months earlier. We spoke with the counselor in the branch and he talked of the change in that missionary--that he is now a man. I wonder how often it is this way for us--as we grow and change, we see things differently. After a few interviews there, writing up the time in Tulua, and trying to fix James' tripod, we started the trek back to Cali...arriving very late. No travels tomorrow or Monday.

Dr. Rudver is a church member
and happy to see missionaries...
spends hours of each day teaching
in the med schoool--
 we caught him in the classroom

EarlyTuesday morning we left for Popayan, a city over 400 years old known for its central mercado. We already had two earlier appointments with doctors and were glad to get there before 9:00.  Off we went to visit those already contacted, and before noon had made the needed liaisons with health professionals in this city.  

Hospital Jan Jose is right next door to the medical school

We caught Dr. Juan Manuel-- Tramatologo
 betweencases-- he had checked with James'
 friends inSanta Fe to find why a North
American doctor wanted to talk to him--
found out 'he was a good guy'---
will be happy to refer and see missionaries--
but for himself--doesn't want to charge--
What great people they are!

We spotted this indigenous in native
dress across from the hospital...

The director of the Clinica in Popayan want the missionaries
to contact him to assure getting his personal pricing :)

This is the view from the back of the clinic..one never knows
if the construction is waiting 'for hardening of cement' or the
builder ran out of money... time will answer all questions...

While walking from the 'health neighborhood' where the medical school was surrounded by a government hospital and a large private clinic, we were greeted by a gentlemen in his  late 50's who recognized our style of name tags.  Julian was also a member of the local church leadership and suggested a young man who could take us around to see parts of the central city.  When we declined, he offered to go with us himself, a real windfall for us.  Julian had lived in this city all his life and knew most every corner and paving stone in the streets.   

These buses are traditionally painted and loaded on top with things for
locals coming from indigenous communities in the mountains. 

Here we are across for the market with Julian

The cafeteria inside the market was amazing, although it
did not make us very hungry..

Our stroll took us through the central square, the old markets (locals only) and there was hardly an 'extranjero'  (foreigner) to be seen as we 
'blended' into the local population as best we could.  Half way through our visit to the central government square, just past the ages-old brick archways, I asked if he knew Darwin,

Yes, this is it! The missionaries'
apartment today and 30 years ago..

a friend of ours who served in this area 40 years 
earlier.  I'm not sure if it was my lame accent or a familiar sounding name, but 'of course' he knew him.  From then on it was one place or another where our friend Darwin had been seen, had an apartment, or had taught investigators.  Wow, was he excited!

This ancient bridge was so beautiful... the thoroughfare for those bringing their goods to market.

After a stroll by the whitewashed government buildings with their red-tiled roofs,tired from walking in the heat and the afternoon rain drove us into a taxi for a ride back to the chapel.  Once there, we dug out our computer and actually made a skype call to our friend Darwin--turned out it was the wrong guy, and our Darwin had never even been to Popayan.  Too bad, as it is a beautiful town and it would have been a very nice place to count among cities visited.

We asked Julian where he was headed... to the chapel to drop
something off--just what he was doing when he ran into us...
we were too tired to walk back and invited him to taxi with us...
we arrived in time to write a few things up before
the trip back to Cali

Tulua'

Landing in Cali, the sunset was Beautiful

Just one more shot over the wing..

Indira was a friendly lady, who was very kind to put
up with our Spanish all the way to Cali :

We watched a beautiful sunset as we prepared to  touchdown in Cali...








...said farewells to Indi, stepped into the 'sauna', spied our name held by our Taxista, loaded our bags, and threw our jackets on the seat... this is not a jacket city, even at night. 

We were grandly welcomed by President & Hermana--who fed and cared for us far more royally than they should have for the next many days. President called a doctor in Tuluá so he would be prepared to meet us early the next morning. 

It was a lovely early morning ride; we arrived on the outskirts of  Tuluá and we were left in the care of 2 missionaries and a taxi driver as President, Hermana, & the assistants hurried on to see missionaries in Zarzal. They took us to SaludCoop, gave us directions to the branch building, and asked if we needed help. We said,  "No--thanks so much," stood for a few minutes, perused and photoed the clinic, and stepped inside.

We glanced around the typical crowded waiting room, wondering how best to pass the 'dragon lady', when a smiling young man in a red checked shirt and lab coat approached us with an outstretched hand. After hasty introductions, he motioned toward his office, and we followed.  We explained what we needed, he recommended 3 different doctors in other specialties and Clinica San Francisco. After looking up a couple of addresses, adding one more orthopedista, and bidding a cordial farewell, he ushered us back into the waiting room, and called for his next patient. Rafael is a very busy young doctor, 36 years old, works 6 hours in SaludCoop and 4 in a dialysis center 6 days each week... and fits family, caring for the missionaries, & church into the extra hours. He was so kind to help us find medical care on very short notice. 

We loved walking around Tuluá. There are far more motos than Bogota or Cali and lots of girl drivers...especially in the highest of heels.  Just in case you want to feel you are walking around, here are a couple of short clips....
                                            

Here's a local church..we stopped in the park to cool off.

We enjoyed surveying the local business opportunities and photoed a few. James maneuvered past a truck in the entry to amuse a few workers in a local woodshop with some photos.

All things here are OSHA approved :)

Guys in the woodshop enjoyed hamming it up for photos.

The local fruit stands are always perfectly stacked.

An advertisement on the way into town.

In spite of the advertisement--all things leather...
we found many things of questionable fabrics...

On the way back to meet the president for lunch... after being stonewalled at Clinica San Francisco (the directors are only in during the week..this is highly unusual...) and at the office of an internist who was out of town, we were impressed to try to visit another orthopedic surgeon. His office door was posted with a notice to go next door. We did, and walked into a new clinic. When we explained our desire, the girl at the desk said, "Wait," and we sat down, delighted for a cool place to sit for a few minutes. After awhile, we asked, "Do you think it will be 10 minutes, or half and hour, or how long?" We could hear voices in a room nearby. She stepped into the office and a few minutes later a smiling, energetic young man emerged. Julian was enthusiastic about helping us and excited to show us the new clinic he is building & introduce us to the administrator.  He has high hopes of 7 floors, but is finishing one at a time. The first and second are almost finished... all the clinic is well-planned and seems to be moving forward at a rapid pace. We felt so very thankful for a watchful hand who opened the way to find this good man and his clinic on a day few doors were being opened.

President and the elders spotted us on the street as we were about to step into a taxi--the taxi driver was not happy when we rode with our traveling companions to a modern mall for hamburgers at El Corral ("100 times better than McDonalds"). James was a bit disappointed to be served a hot dog when he thought he was ordering a wrap :) and more than happy to help me with my burger. (The jalapeño hot dog was actually pretty good.)

Early in the afternoon we realized we still had one name we had not contacted who lived in Tuluá and worked in Zarzal. We dialed and reached Carlos who immediately warmed up at mention of the church... he said he was cleaning the church with the young men and would meet us in front of Clinica San Francisco in 5 minutes. We climbed the steps and leaned over the railing to see a smiling young man in shorts and a t-shirt drive up on a motorcycle. We drank water in the shade of a shop across the street and talked. He will be  delighted to see missionaries here or in Zarzal. So, here are the 2 or 3 advocates we hope for. Hooray! We started for the chapel to write it up! We never expected it to go so well on a week end... but after all it is not our work and we do not do it alone.

No chance to see the rice thrown or the getaway...
they were thronged after the ceremony.

Lots of older vehicles here
--this old ford is a Beauty!

In a short break at the capilla, we walked down to a nearby park and heard a wedding processional... thinking we would see more, we moved closer...but mostly saw the after-wedding clump and only a bit of rice throwing. It was nice to see a wedding here, living together unmarried seems more common. Weddings are expensive, yet necessary for baptism.

Farewell Tuluá. President will be back in a month.
Missionaries will come & go.
As for us...we will not likely meet again.