Cali day 4 - Monday

Today was a quiet day, taken up primarily with errands for Patricia, Sofia and Mama Leny. I tagged along to look at the sights and sounds around the city and occasionally practice my poor Spanish.

The malls in Cali are open, airy and clean with excellent amenities and we went first to buy earings for Aunt Lia. The Chipichape mall buildings used to be the engine sheds and repair shops for the Colombian railway system in the central plateau, but with the decline of the railways the buildings fell into disuse before a private company took over and converted the disused buildings into a mall with wide corridors, multiple cafes and a large selection of stores on two floors.

While the ladies shopped I checked out several sculptures of partially naked ladies adorning one of the open air food courts. The sculptures are by a Caleno called Emilio Hernandez (http://www.hernandezemilio.com/) Interesting sculptures. I wouldn't mind one of these in my back yard.
Minor fact. None of the malls are air conditioned, the weather is cool enough all year round that as long as there are ample open air courts to allow air to circulate under the canopies that protect from the frequent rain showers, then there is no need for air conditioning.

The ladies were done soon enough and it was time to eat. Patricia had memories of a restaurant - La Cazuela - on Calle 6 that she ate at 10 years ago when she lived in Cali. Her memories were not just of the restaurant but of a particular dish made by that restaurant - Cazuela de Langostinos - so off we went. The branch she used to eat at on the north side of Calle 26 was obviously closed as we drove by, but our driver spotted the second branch of the restaurant 50 yards further down the street on the south side. We pulled up just as the owner was taking the padlock off the front door.

It was a strange and surreal experience. We were the only diners in the restaurant all the time we were there. They had run out of beer and wine - the owner said he had not yet ordered after being closed for Holy Week - and the owner appeared to be the waiter and the chef. With some trepidation we decided to stay and ordered the Langostinos and some lemonade and sat waiting for the ghosts to appear, the doors to mysteriously close and lock, the walls start to close in and the lights to dim.

None of this happened. Cazuela de Langostinos is a thick red soup, piping hot and full of small shrimp and a few onions. The soup was served with fried plantains, white rice and French bread and we were offered, but declined, Colombian hot sauce. It was excellent. The broth was made from fish and the flavor was delicate enough not to overpower the shrimp, and there were shrimp galore and they were very tasty. This was our most expensive meal to date in Cali, a little over 110,000 pesos for four people - around $45 - but it was worth it.

The ladies still had errands to run so I accompanied them on the promise of a good cup of coffee when they were finished.

We had been searching for a Juan Valdez coffee shop for three days and I was beginning to tease that these coffee shops were a figment of their imagination. I was assured they were real so late in the afternoon we headed to another mall where they knew a Juan Valdez existed, and voila, there it was. Juan Valdez coffee shops are Colombia's answer to Starbucks, the only thing that disappointed slightly was the size of the paper cup. The largest of the three sizes was equivalent to a small Starbucks, but even so, the Latte Arequipe (Caramel Latte) was excellent.


Once again it was time for supper, and we decided to repeat the Arepas de Choclo, but this time at a roadside cafe Lucero knew close to Jamundi. It appears that Cali is somewhat like Houston in that nowhere is close to anywhere else. We always drive miles and this was no exception but the drive was worth it to see the open ovens used to cook Arepas. The restaurant was Mazorca Tierna on the side of highway 25 just north of Jamundi.

We (here Manuel Jose and I inspect the Arepas in the oven) were given a demonstration of Arepa cooking from start to finish by the cook and we enjoyed Arepas de Choclo, roasted corn and Agua Panela with cheese (and an Aguila beer for me, no one else in Patricia's extended family drinks alcohol)

Cali day 3 - Sunday

Lunch is the most important meal of the day in Colombia. Lunch is the big meal and then dinner / supper is usually a snack rather than a big meal.







After eating an early lunch at Humberto and Lucero's we drove to Jamundi where Humberto and Lucero have bought land so they can build a house in the country. This view is from their plot looking west to the Los Farallones de Cali montain range. The services in the development include a club house with a swimming pool, sauna and steam room and a soccer field and two tennis courts under construction.
We then took a drive several miles into the mountains on a dirt road. The scenery was spectacular, but the drive was somewhat harrowing with big trucks, cars of all shapes and sizes, motorbikes and cyclists also traveling on the single lane road. We eventually turned round after we reached a bridge over a scenic river and headed back to Cali.







After dropping Lucero, Manuel Jose and Sofia at home we continued into Cali to look at some of the sights. This is a statue of the founder of Cali - on July 25, 1536 (Sofia's birthday) - Sebastian de Belalcazar.

Once again there were many entrepreneurial vendors at the site, and we bought some roasted corn to eat.





Next was the church of San Antonio standing on a hill with spectacular views of the financial district and downtown. Once again there were many vendors arond the parking lot and we bought some more roasted corn to take home for breakfast in the morning.





This a view from the San Antonio church across the artist's district of San Antonio - where it is prohibited to build houses taller than two storeys - to the skyscrapers in the finacial district and city center. The skyscraper on the left is a residential building just outside the western edge of San Antonio district.





On the western side of the Belalcazar monument parking lot is a view of the Cali River seen through the trees.

This view of the river is in the west of the city. The river winds through Cali from east to west and at one point has a dozen or so painted cat statues in a park next to the river.


From San Antonio church we drove through the San Antionio area looking for El Penon park where we had been told there was a street market of paintings for sale. We wanted to add to our collection of paintings from places we had visited. We eventually found the park and looked at the large varirty of oils and watercolors and found an artist who painted watercolor scenes of the area. We liked and bought two paintings, one of Hacienda El Paraiso and one of the San Antonio church.

We made one more stop at a book store and bought a book on Colombia with pictures by an English photographer and ordered a second book with Colombian recipes that we will pick up on Tuesday.

For our last stop of the day we went looking for Arepas de Choclo. These are Arepas cooked in a special earthen oven, then split in two, filled with Colombian white cheese and reheated. Despite the fact that I don't like corn bread, I love Arepas de Choclo and these are essentially the same as cornbread since they are made with corn and sugar blended together. An Arepa and a Poker beer made for a nice supper before we headed home for the night

Cali Day 2 - Saturday

Eating at someone’s house is an experience not to be missed when traveling. Meals contain local fruits and vegetables and breads and meats and there is no possibility one can revert to the safe – and unadventurous – food one would eat at home. And so it proved this morning. Fresh fruit was offered for breakfast – Zaporte – soft pink interior surrounding four large seeds wrapped in a tough brown skin, with a taste a little like Papaya – Apple Guava – crunchy guava that looks like an apple, the texture and crispness of a nut – mandarin – small oranges – Kumis – a drink similar In texture to liquid yoghurt, but lighter in flavor – freshly squeezed orange juice and Colombian coffee. All delicious.

Patricia wanted to visit with her family and Humberto had to take the car to a repair shop to have the exhaust fixed so he and I drove to an area of the city where there were dozens of repair shops and parts stores for cars and motorbikes. A female relative of Humberto’s ran a shop where exhausts are repaired so we left the car in her competent hands and walked to the bus stop for the Mio. The Mio is a recently completed mass transit system that consists of dedicated lanes for air conditioned buses and bus stations with enclosed air conditioned ticket and waiting areas. There are half a dozen routes through the city, so we spent an hour riding the T39 and T41 lines through the city center and the financial district, then south down Calle 7 and back to where we started. Very interesting.

As we got back to Humberto’s house a street vendor drove by on his bicycle with a cooler full of champus. Patricia ran out of the house with a large plastic jug, the vendor filled the jug and we sat down to drink Champus – a delicious drink of corn, pineapple, and several other things (recipe to follow when I find out what exactly is in the drink) and eat lunch before we headed off to visit the Hacienda El Paraiso.

Patricia, Lucero me and Mama Leny (Patricia's mum) are enjoying champus.

Hacienda El Paraiso is the restored house and grounds of the site of a famous Colombian love story (we site in Spanish http://www.inciva.org/) The grounds are lovely and the story behind the house is interesting. Unrequited love because the young lady in the story died.

This is Humberto (Lucero's husband) and Lucero (Patricia's sister) and their son Manuel Jose

The whole group at the entrance to the house and grounds. The house was restored in 1983 and opened to the public in 1988 with period furniture and pictures so it looked as close as possible to it's condition when the family in the story lived in the house.

There were several very large and very old trees in the grounds, this is just one of them.

There were a dozen vendors in front of the grounds, close to the parking lot, being entrepreneurs and taking advantage of the opportunity presented by the visitors. They were selling roasted corn, sugar cane sticks and sugar cane juice, arepas and various fruits. Here Sofia and I are eating "oblea" which is like the crispy covering on an ice cream sandwich, but instead of ice cream the inside was smothered in caramel.

And here are Patricia and Sofia engaged in a duel of corn.

The journey to Cali, Colombia

We descended through the clouds at 10,000 feet and as we transitioned from the brilliant sunshine above the clouds to the overcast views below, the Continental Airlines Boeing 737-800 completed its crossing of the Panamanian isthmus and turned slightly east to fly over the Pacific Ocean parallel to the coast. The Panama Canal was easy to see with boats lined up to cross the Pacific to the Atlantic and we had a spectacular view of the Pacific entrance to the Canal followed by the profusion of skyscrapers on the waterfront and in the center of Panama City. East of the city, approaching the airport, the beaches were wide and sandy with a backdrop of mountains a few miles distant.

The first leg of our journey was nearly over. A journey that had started eight hours earlier at 4:30 am in Katy, TX and seen us driving along I-10 and up I-45 as dawn broke so we could be at Houston Intercontinental airport at 7:00 am in plenty of time for the flight.

Panama City airport smells and looks new, or perhaps it is the absence of any strong smell of humanity that marks the newness. The airport was quiet when we arrived, there were more people selling duty free than there were passengers in the profusion of stores that lined a wide plaza running parallel to the main concourse and few people were waiting for planes to depart. The next scheduled departure from the airport appeared to be more than three hours away, so perhaps they only have flights arriving and departing in groups in the morning and the evening, with occasional flights at other times.

The dearth of passengers was perhaps fortunate, as there was only one restaurant /coffee shop/snack bar in the airport and there wasn’t a single vending machine selling soft drinks, water or snacks anywhere to be seen. This may only be a temporary problem as it appeared work was continuing on a mezzanine floor that we guessed would contain additional restaurants and snack bars.

Our original plan was to spend the six hour layover eating a casual lunch downtown Panama City in a restaurant overlooking the Pacific Ocean. An extensive conversation with a Continental representative scotched that idea. Today is Good Friday and since Panama is mostly Catholic, 90% of the restaurants and stores were closed and taxis would be very hard to find. Consequently we spent the next six hours in the airport. We ate lunch at the Tierra Firme restaurant, walked from one end of the airport to the other, wandered in and out of the duty free shops and then Graham slept for a while lying flat on a row of chairs while Patricia typed up the log for the day, then we walked some more until, at last, it was time to get on the Aero Republica flight to Cali.

Panama City airport was much busier by this time, planes had arrived and taken off and there were lots of people milling about looking for, and waiting at, the gates. Despite the large number of empty gates, we still had to board a bus and be driven out to the edge of the airport to board our plane then after we taxied to the runway we sat and waited while four incoming flights landed on the active runway. The flight was uneventful (as they should be), we were served a ham and cheese sandwich and a packet of lays chips and I had a free glass of wine.

One hour and fifteen minutes later we landed in Cali. Exiting passport control and customs went reasonably fast and was less onerous than anticipated and Humberto, Mama Leny and Sofia were waiting at the exit to drive us to Mama Leny’s apartment in the south west of Cali. Cali airport is actually in the city of Palmira, about 25 km east of Cali, almost like saying that Intercontinental airport in Houston is in the city of Humble. The drive into town is on a highway at least as good as I45 though we had to navigate city streets to get across the city.

Fairhope, Alabama

Point Clear and the Grand Hotel Marriott are on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay about half way between the top and the bottom of the bay. About 3 miles north of the hotel, is the picturesque town of Fairhope (http://www.cofairhope.com/). Fairhope is nominated as on of the 10 best places to retire and also has the distinction of being a “Single Tax Community”.

12,000 people live in Fairhope, and from our brief experience, it appears that most of them are either retired or are working hard to make money from the few tourists that pass through the town. The town is off the beaten track. The only hotel of any consequence nearby is the Marriott resort and most people come to the Marriott for the amenities offered by the hotel –golf on two golf courses, the spa, cycling, horseback riding, the beach, the indoor and outdoor pools-. A few people arrive to the hotel in boats and dock at the hotel’s marina.

The location of the town therefore is not conducive to a large influx of tourists and this seems in many ways to have helped the town preserve its character and quaintness. The “single tax community” status appears to have resulted in a budget surplus and this additional funds have been ploughed back to improve Fairhope. Prime example is the Municipal Pier and Rose Park. Even though it is not the right time of the year to see roses blooming, the fountains in front of the pier and the gardens were all very pretty and well maintained.
Patricia and I spent several hours wandering around looking for a painting that would remind us of our visit to Fairhope. We had a picture taken by the town clock which apperars to be one of the most famous architectural features of the town. We visited a co-op gallery in which several local artists are collaborating to display and sell their paintings. Though there were a large number of paintings on display, none of the originals represented a unique view of the area. We also visited a frame shop and gallery, a gift store that was in the process of moving, the maritime gift shop, and then finally a large gallery containing many prints but no originals from the same artist.


So we decided to rest our weary feet at Andre’s Wine Cheese and Things and enjoyed and afternoon snack of wine (for me), tea (for Patricia) and a very nice cheese and fruit platter. Refreshed and nourished we continued our quest and stopped by a news-stand that announced having paintings by locals artists on display. And voila! We found our painting, a watercolor by a local artist, Connie Brandt, of the boat piers that jut out into the bay from the houses that line the beach just south of the hotel. We were attracted to that painting because it reminded us or our morning walks along the seafront.

To end our last day in the area we looked for a restaurant in Fairhope and found The Old Bay Steamer. Though we had no reservation, we were seated promptly in what appeared to be an overflow dining room. The menu was extensive with a nice range of seafood, steak and pasta and a selection of sandwiches and burgers and a small selection of wine and bear by the glass and the bottle. We started with Onion Spirals as an appetizer. Sofia enjoyed Grilled Chicken Alfredo and commented that it was all right, not the best one that she has ever had. Patricia had a Mushroom; Bacon and Cheeseburger served with frozen French fries and said that it was good for a burger. I had a Grilled Garlic Shrimp Kebab served on a bed of yellow rice and it was ok. We drank Abita Turbo Dog beer while we waited for the appetizer and I drank a glass of white Chardonnay with my main course. Total bill was $65 including tip.

Bellingrath Gardens and Home

Bellingrath Gardens are not easy to find. Lola, our Tom-Tom GPS has no record of Bellingrath Gardens though it did find the Bellingrath Holiday Inn and Bellingrath RV park, neither of which are close to the gardens. So we checked at the hotel and the directions they gave us said go to exit 15-A on I-10 and follow the signs to Bellingrath Gardens and Home. So that is what we did. Exited at junction 15-A and turned south on US-90. After almost three miles we turned left onto County Road 59 after almost missing a giant billboard that told us to turn at this particular junction. Another nine miles down this road and we came to the parking lot for Bellingrath.

It was early afternoon but the gas lights that are perhaps intended to illuminate the parking lot – or at least provide ambience - at night were lit. It may be that the cost of gas to keep the lamps lit is less than the cost of sending someone out in the morning to extinguish the lights and again at night to light them with a taper. There were few cars in the parking lot, though it was interesting to note that out of the ten or so cars, seven states were represented on the license plates – Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, Illinois, Texas and Florida.

We paid our $11 each to view the gardens ($19 if you also want to see the house) and started the self guided tour. This was winter so we did not expect much from the rose garden, though the conservatory was full of interesting colors and tropical plants. There were, of course, no butterfly’s in the butterfly garden and the brick patio and great lawn were given over to Christmas light decorations that end to look rather lifeless and stillborn during daylight. But then we got to the Mermaid pool and Fountain Plaza and the gardens sprang to life. The absence of color was hardly noticed as we discovered the water cascading through the Bellingrath Grotto, the delightful views of Mirror lake and the interesting signs and markers on the Ecological Boardwalk.

We really enjoyed the walk along the north side of Mirror lake, past the lion statue, across the rustic bridge and then we sat for a while beside a small waterfall and stream cascading across rocks rushing down a narrow gorge towards the lake. It was peaceful and romantic. A great place for Patricia and I to rest a while and absorb the beauty and the calm.

We were not quite finished yet. The last garden on the tour is the Oriental-American garden with narrow path that winds around a lake surrounded by bamboo and crossed by a Japanese bridge. We stayed in the gardens for more than two hours and made a promise that we would return in spring or early summer to see the gardens in full color.

From Bellingrath we asked Lola to take us to the nearest coffee shop. She directed us to Sedia’s Coffee 15 miles north, so we followed instructions until Lola announced we had arrived at our destination, then we switched her off and looked around for the coffee shop in one of the adjacent strip centers. Eventually we found a sign over a store that said “coffee and ice cream” and went in. We were there, except the coffee shop is now called the Joyful Cup Café. The Caramel Machiatto coffee was OK, but not up to the standards set by the chain stores, though Patricia and Sofia enjoyed the ice cream.

From there we went looking for an Italian restaurant and from the selections offered by Lola we set off in search of Bilotti’s Italian Café. Lola found the restaurant without trouble and we enjoyed a homemade Spinach and Artichoke dip with hot slices of crispy toast and a Meaty pizza with extra mushrooms. A good meal in pleasant surroundings with reasonable service. 4 out of 5 stars for restaurants of its type which we would class as small local pizzerias. One appetizer, one large pizza with extra topping and one beer, $40 including tip.

New Years Day in Alabama

Lola, our GPS, said it would take 7 hours and 49 minutes to drive from Houston to Point Clear. The distance was 489 miles. But we stopped a couple of times, once at a mall to look for a swimsuit for Patricia (which we didn’t find), then once at a Macdonald’s for something to eat. Then Lola told us we were at our destination a couple of miles before we got there so we drove around for a little while before finding the entrance to the hotel.

Eventually we arrived a little after one a.m. over nine hours after leaving downtown Houston and were given a small suite for Patricia and I connected to a regular guest room for Sofia. Dropped Sofia and Patricia at the Spa block, where our room was located, then went to look for a parking space. Eventually found a space in the area reserved for valet parking, several buildings away from the Spa block, on the other side of the large central pond. After I made it back to the Spa block we took the elevator to our floor and our room then pretty much all we could do was marvel at the room and the view before collapsing into bed.

We woke late on New Year’s Day, the skies were generally overcast, but the sun kept trying to come out as we looked at the view from our balcony overlooking the small hotel harbor. We could see Mobile in the distance across the bay.

Breakfast was delicious; an extravagant buffet of hot and cold foods, fruits, breads, omelet’s and waffles, so after eating enough for breakfast and lunch, Sofia went to the exercise room and Patricia and I went for a walk along the sea front on a path that ran along the property lines of the beautiful houses lining the beach. Many of the houses had wooden jetty’s leading out over the water to a boat dock. It looked as though most of the houses were unoccupied and we speculated that many of them, even though they were ornate and large with carefully manicured yards, were summer homes and not occupied all year round. Some of the houses may even be rental properties that were only occupied during vacation season.

After our walk we drove to Oak Hollow Farm so Sofia could take a trek on a horse. After arriving at the gathering point on the farm, we were taken for a hay ride to the stables. It was the first time Sofia had been on a horse and she enjoyed riding a pretty brown horse called Tater. While Sofia was on her trek, Patricia and I walked from the stables through the fields back to the gathering point, swung on a two person swing for a while then walked back to the stables after we saw the trail riders approaching.

We then drove into Fairhope and Lola found us a coffee shop called The Coffee Loft where we drank latte and hot chocolate and laughed at the posters promoting Willie Bean as mayor of Fairhope. Willie Bean is the owners Labrador dog and a quick search on the internet for The Coffee Loft turned up dozens of references to Willie Bean and his run for mayor and no sign of a web site for the coffee shop itself, though the coffee and hot chocolate were delicious and the place was very eclectic and comfortable.

After coffee we went on a search for a restaurant and though Lola found us several restaurants, unfortunately it appeared that this part of Alabama was closed on New Year’s Day. We drove to Mobile and back before spotting a Mexican restaurant called El Giro serving “authentic Mexican” on the road between Daphne and Fairhope. Since this was the only restaurant we had seen open in 30 miles of driving, it, by default, became our place to eat. Sofia tried beef fajitas, Patricia tried beef quesadilla and I tried Enchilada Verde, chicken enchiladas served with green salsa and refried beans. The food was plentiful and filling, and including a couple of Dos Equis and a frozen margarita – the first frozen margarita I’ve drank that was green colored – the bill was only $40 including tip.