Cross Town Adventures

There are so many things I thought about sharing throughout my day today, but since it's now 10:30pm and I have to be at work again early tomorrow, I will have to keep this brief. In compensation, I have brought pictures!

Remember those orchids I mentioned before?  Well, I don't know about any of you, but personally, I've never seen orchids grow outside of someone's perfectly tended home, or a man-made ecosystem.  So, to have the pleasure of enjoying these gorgeous gifts of nature while simply strolling across campus is truly amazing to me.  Now, I know they don't look that stunning here, but that's because it was raining.  Which, it apparently does on a fairly regular basis.  This morning was absolutely gorgeous, but by 3pm, the thunder was rolling and the lighting was flashing.  Luckily, the downpour doesn't ever seem to last long, and the drizzle that follows for a bit is not particularly bothersome since the temperature stays in the high 60s.

So, despite the rain, I was determined to leave work a little early today in order to facilitate my search for a climbing gym, which the internet had informed should be somewhere equally far from work as home.  Even though it was a slightly hefty walk, I thoroughly enjoyed myself as my meandering took me through parts of town I had yet to see.

The first leg of my journey took me across the highway that runs through the middle of town (which I must correct since last blog, it in fact has 6 lanes on each side of the river, which are further divided by a median splitting each section into 3 lanes. But you can't really blame me for the mistake, as the lines are a bit more of a suggestion than a rule, and with the number of motorcycles on the road, it's nearly impossible to tell who's supposed to be where.  But more about traffic later.  I think that topic deserves it's own entry!).  Once again, walking across the bridge afforded gorgeous views of the city and surrounding mountains, most of which were swathed in clouds.  Only this time, there was also a roiling, swollen mass of water running beneath me as I idled along my merry way.

As I walked along, I couldn't help but think about the reputation of Colombia as a dangerous place, and what a contrast that is to my experience so far.  It may just be the neighborhoods I'm in, but so far, I haven't felt in the least bit threatened.  That's not say there aren't still signs that people take their security seriously.  The most noticeable of these being the armed security/police men on every other corner, and the massive iron gates that cover almost every single storefront, even when they're open.  If you want to buy something, you have to stand outside and ask for it.  There are a few exceptions, but they tend to be the newer, fancier stores, which often have their own security guards.  The less noticeable, but still evident aspect of this residue of fear can be seen in the way that everyone keeps a hand on their bag at all times.  That said, so far the only thing I've found any reason to fear is the traffic!! Too late to elaborate on that right now, but don't worry, I'll get there.

To make a long story short, I walked nearly clear across the city, inhaling far more exhaust that could possibly be healthy, and, with my fingers crossed, turned down the street that the illustrious internet had informed me should hold a climbing gym of some description.  As I passed the first intersection, I began to get worried, but resolved not to give up until all possible options were exhausted.  Just as I was rehearsing how to ask "where's the climbing gym" in Spanish, I glimpsed someone stepping out of a house to my left.  As I looked up, a beautiful view of multicolor holds suspended from an angled ceiling shone down on me through the window. YES! I did not lug my climbing gear all the way down here for nothing!

Once inside, I was given a tour of what turned out to be a surprisingly large series of bouldering caves pierced through by two chimney's with ropes dangling down.  Upstairs, there was a narrow hallway with lockers on one side and a bedroom on the other.  The front room held a kitchen and a cabinet full of climbing shoes and gear for sale.  Apparently, the owner has simply gutted the first floor of his house, punched through to the second floor where he could afford to do so, and covered everything in sight with 1/2 inch plywood.  The result was quite entertaining.  Rather than the usual wide open spaces with very little in between, the routes here wander back and forth across what was the hallway, over the ceiling of what was once intended to be a living room, and through a left over doorway.  All in all, quite a little jungle gym.

Although every hole in the wall had a hold in it, there were also a decent number of routes marked out. Except, there weren't quite like any I have seen before.  Here, each hold is marked with a colored number, with the start holds telling you which hand to use.  Then the routes themselves wander up and down, back and forth and all over the place.  After about 20 mins, I could no longer complete full routes, simply because of their length and my lack of endurance.  Not to worry, I'll just have to come back and work on that.

Anyway, since I'm probably boring everyone in the audience who is not a climber, we'll move on the non-specific experience.  Which is to say, I met some really nice people in the 2 hours that I stayed, including a lady who happens to be an English teacher at EAFIT!  Sounds like I might have found a new climbing buddy (one who has also offered to give me a ride over when she comes, saving me the nearly 40min hike).  In addition, I may have also got myself an invite to go climbing outdoors next weekend, which is apparently a holiday, and hence I shouldn't have to work that Monday!  Yay!  So excited.

Well, there were lots of other exciting things today, but it's well past my bedtime, so that's all for now.  Since I promised pictures, here's one more.  This one's showing my truly nerdish architectural side, but I'm sure some of you will like it.

Gabion wall bench with wood seat! so cool.