Popayan day five - day at museums

Stiff beds make unwelcome travel companions.  By this point in the trip I felt there was nothing left to do, and the Hotel La Plazuela was starting to feel less charming by the day.  Not only did the bed feel stiffer than ever, but the early sunrise and stream of traffic noises coming into my second-floor room were affecting my sleep.  I was ready to move on to Bogota, but financially needed to stay in Popayan.  I decided to make the most of the day.

I first went to the Guillermo Leon Valencia museum where I learned about the man who was President from 1962-1966.  A short walk brought me to the Museo Negret.  Edgar Negret is 92 year old sculptor well known in Colombian art circles.  I was told the museum was closed.  I tried my powers of persuasion because I had nothing else to do and after a couple of minutes was handed an invitation and told to return at 7pm in better clothes.  Next was the Museum of Natural History.  There I saw a place that had kept a taxidermist busy for some time.  There were all sorts of collections of animals and rocks.  Colombia counts the second highest number of species in the world after Brazil.  I concluded the day at the Catholic Archdiocese Museum, where more than anything I felt what it was like to see the same art that people saw 200 years ago.  They were the only place that had an admission charge, but waived it since the guide never showed up and I was forced to walk it alone.

At night I put on a shirt and tie and went to the Museo Negret.  There was a recognition that night that the museum was one site of 12 that was part of a national focus on the arts.  I chatted brifely with a couple of people but was mostly ignored.  This musuem was interesting for about 10 minutes.  The crowd was the same sort of artsy crowd you could find in any city of the world.  I left after the presentation and went for some good eats before trying to turn in early and get ready for my early flight to Bogota.

At this point in the trip I felt that a trip to Popayan proper was really only worth one or two days.  In hindsight I would have shortened my trip by a day or spent another day in the capital.

The bliss of bike riding

For many people in our sedentary, car-obsessed society, seeing the city from anywhere but behind a windshield is a foreign concept.   It's a moderate exercise which can be sustained for longer periods without the boredom or being too easy or the fatigue of being too difficult.  And the things you can see!

I was careless with a bike when I was about 13 and it was taken or stolen depending on your opinion.  I left it unlocked behind some bushes at a shopping mall.  Since then my relationship with them has been complicated because I don't want to spend money on them to somehow make up for my error.  This summer I was fortunate to receive a good bicycle for free and the more rides I've taken, the more it has grown on me.

I would classify myself as a recreational bike rider.  I wear no helmet and my bike is built more for comfort than speed.  I often see speedy cyclists zooming around in the spandex and colorful shirts, with helmet and a serious focus.  I think they miss a lot.  I prefer to cruise down hills to feel the wind in my face and take detours into places I haven't seen.  I can bike through neighborhoods I wouldn't want to walk through.  I can look at historic houses for 15 seconds instead of the three or four you'd have in a car.  I see people walking and talking, hear dogs barking, cross over the river and back, and get sprayed by sprinklers.  I take the sidewalk until I can get in the street and then retreat back when necessary.  It's like being a kid again, before I was old enough to drive. 

Popayan, day four part two Coconuco

At this point in my trip I was settled, relaxed, and ready for more.  Having first experienced hot springs in Mexico last December, I was eager to try them in Colombia.  Jose and Elsa had mentioned this as a possibility before so we decided to take the trip from Silvia back through Popayan to Coconuco.  There are two types of hot springs locations there, one is Aguas Herviendo which is 'boiling water' and the other is Agua Tibia, where we decided to go.  Jose and I enjoyed the two springs there.  One was about 5.5 deep and lukewarm.  It was transparent so that you could go underwater, see across to the other end, and not feel salt or chlorine.  The other spring was a brownish tinged water, warmer and shallower.  Both were enjoyable in their own way.

Coconuco is 2850 meters above sea level and near Purace National park.  Located in the central Andean range, it's a small town the relies heavily on the tourism to the two hot springs.  The views from the springs are as nice as the water.

I find with hot springs that the benefits are temporary.  It feels so relaxing to be in this special water but I've found that the buzz wears off within hours.  Nevertheless any day that I could be relaxing in a hot spring would be better than most.  I highly recommend Aguatibia and will definitely go back if I ever return.

Another soccer practice, lessons learned

This season I've started applying some tactics that I think will make me a happier and improved soccer coach of 14 7 to 9-years-old children.  First of all, take all of the help you can get.  If any of the parents are willing to help, welcome it.  Even if it's really a grandpa and another guy with B.O., take it.  This allows me to apply the divide and conquer tactic and get the kids more repetitions in smaller groups.  Second I'm sweating some of the details that I'd normally gloss over.  I am insisting that the players learn right from left.  If we're stretching to one side, they have to get it right.  I taught them the trick of holding up their left hand to form an L with the thumb and index finger.  They also need to know where to line up.  Finally, I am doing regular huddles where we do a 'ready, break'.  I use that occasion to give them their next set of instructions before the break.  It seems to be working.  One of the knuckleheads was better today.  I have a few more to work on.

Our first game is Saturday morning.  I am expecting the kids to be engaged in the game and to go after the ball.  There is some individual talent on the team.  I really think kids of this age respond well to physical activity and some structure.  I find that most of the people, including myself , that lament the days of children playing outdoors until the street lights came on are not investing the time and effort to create a habit or show them it's better to be outdoors playing sports or goofing off than settling for indoor electronic activities.  This is another example of when I need to take the medicine even though it doesn't always taste good.

Happy Birthday on Facebook, or not

Most of us are a minority but often not in a racial, religious, or some other identifiable way.  I'm referring to things more subtle and less important.  It could be that you like anchovies or have a ham radio.  I am a Facebook user that does not have a date of birth on his profile.  I've grown indifferent to my own birthday and more so of others.  Every March approximately five of my nearly 300 Facebook friends wish me a Happy Birthday instead of the few dozen wishes I could receive.  I know this from the steady stream of birthday requests I see on my profile.  Most of my Facebook friends are not people in my social circle.   I'm always surprised by how many people want to wish me Happy Birthday and nothing else. 

Al McGuire once commented that people should buy their friends a beer while they're alive.  He felt showing up at the funeral was too little, too late.  It was a good quote that I don't have handy at this moment.  I feel the same way about Facebook birthday wishes.  Real friends deserve an occasional call or email, an unprompted 'how are you doing?" one or more of the other 364 days of the year.  If you do that and still want to wish your friend a happy birthday all the better.  To practice what I preach I'm going to reach out to some friends via email or phone call.  This might lead to something more memorable than the ephemeral "HBD!"

Popayán day four, part one Silvia

My wonderful hosts Jose and Elsa were lifelong residents of this area but oddly had not been to many of its places, or if they had it been limited and long ago.  Today was going to be even better than the trip around Purace because I was with friends that were good conversationalists.  Also, they have a nice car and most of the roads we were going to drive on were paved.

About an hour's drive from Popayan is a city of 35,000 called Silvia.  When I remarked that on the roads  my hosts told me that the famous drug kingpin Pablo Escobar had invested in the area because he and henchman liked to visit the more temperate Silvia on the weekends.  Their city of Cali can be very hot and is only about an 90 minutes away.  In the years that had passed their houses became unidentifiable but the roads that Escbar funded remain a legacy. 

Silvia also has an indigenous influence.  One of the better-known groups in the area are called the Guambianos.  When we arrived to Silvia there was a parade that was about to start.  We watched the parade, then climbed up to see a small church, and then visited the city square.  The parade seemed to be part celebration of themselves and part protest and the Colombian government.  Guambianos wear traditional vestments of black and blue.  They do not seem to be approachable, and are used to being looked at by foreign tourists and Colombians alike.

Here's a look at the city from the hilltop church.

One way to get a picture with a Guambiano is to sit next to one in a nonchalant way.

In this one we pressed our luck.  We sat by a group of young girls.  A couple got cold feet
during the process while the rest stayed and had a laugh with us.

I remember the car ride and tour of Silvia as the part of the trip as when I started realizing the benefits
of being on vacation.  Occasionally I read about how Americans have less vacation than Europeans or our puritanical streak causes us to forgo vacation or work while we're taking them.  I've improved at taking them over recent years.  The world is not going to end because I'm not at my desk.  It's best just to leave my impatience and other flaws back home and enjoy the ride.

Ten 80s videos I like - #1 UHF

I struggled to decide on a tenth video and looked at several options.  If I put in a typical 80s video it would lessen the value of the other nine.  I finally decided the appropriate way to finish this list of 10 was to include a Weird Al video.  Fortunately there is a video from 1989 where Al makes a parody of music videos.  It's a song and a movie, UHF.  I've never seen the movie.  I plan to watch it someday when I break a leg or get mononucleosis.  Until that day I can watch four minutes of it.