This is Milena who I mentioned before! She cleans the apartment and is also my Paño de Lagrimas (agony aunt)!
Around 11am, I decided to take a walk to Arborlera Shopping Mall but I didn't actually get that far! I walked down Calle 14 towards the centre and was very pleased to find a small tech gadget shop along the way. They had a VGA cable which meant that I could connect the monitor that I brought with me. I use that for Photoshop but it is still easier using the screen on my laptop when I am writing text because it is so close to the keyboard.
I stopped for a coffee and suddenly realised I was right next to Plaza Victoria. When I was with Nini, we always took a taxi so I didn't realise it was so close. I stopped for a coffee at a kiosk and chatted to the woman behind the bar about the difference between ser and estar!
Then I received a message from Alejandra who said that she was free that afternoon and we could go to the Thermals which are close to Sta Rosa which is where I went with Nini's mum. I walked into the plaza, had some lunch and then went back to the apartment to wait for Alejandra at 2pm. I couldn't find my swimming trunks which was a bit annoying because I was thinking that maybe I left them in Cartagena. Fairly expensive Speedos!
Alejandra came at 2pm and we drove, firstly to Sta Rosa and then took the rough track to the Thermals. This was one of the places that I had arranged to go to with Nini but it really needs a car. There were some coaches there but the excursions would probably have been expensive.
This was me prentending to dive into a river!
Alejandra showed me eucalyptus leaves! (er, not sure. I think that is another plant).
Here is Alejandra at the kiosk where we paid for the entrance. I had to include this photo because she looks terrific!
We walked up the path to the centre and the cascade came into view.
Maybe the pictures tell the story. We had enormous fun. The water in the pools of the river was cool but not cold. But the water in the pond was like a hot bath as you can see from the steam rising!
Alejandra often grabs my phone, points to a space for me to stand or sit.... or splash around. And takes a photo. Which explains why there are so many pictures of me here!
She took this photo of me in the pool on her phone because I left mine with my clothes in the changing room. When we had the meal, she did a bluetooth transfer of her photos to my phone.
We stayed till around 6pm when suddenly it became dark. Why? Well of course we are near the Equator and the sun sets at 6pm and rises at 6am all the year round. And when it dives below the horizon, it is a vertical drop! Not like those balmy summer days in the UK when it dips gently below the horizon for only a short time close to the summer solstice.
We went to the changing rooms - I left the towel behind which I had brought from the apartment, so when I left on the 10th, I gave them 15 mils for a replacement. Colombians are more modest about their bodies than the Spanish. All changing rooms for sports and also here at the Termales, have (obligatory) cubicles for changing. I realised that too late, oops!
Nude swimming is unknown here. Well, there are very few beaches anyway. Virtually nothing on the Pacific cost. In Spain, there are at least two free beaches near where I live, in Plaja de Pals and Sant Martí de Empuries. A very relaxed atmosphere - wear as much or as little as you wish. Meaning, nothing, of course. When I go to the beach on my bike, it means I can travel very light!
We stopped on the way back for a meal of chorizos which to me are like small sausages. And Alejandra dissuaded me from having a beer and instead ordered Aguapanela con Queso which is a sweet liquid into which you drop pieces of the soft cheese which is very common here.
Suficientes fotos, Alejandra?! My previous posts didn't have many photos but the problem was that many of them were of people or children which I couldn't post. And shopping malls!
So I hope I am catching up now in this post. I will go back to the old posts and try to make them more photographical! But today was exceptional, it is no wonder I had loads of photos!
And what a fantastic surreal day, steam rising, thunder rumbling around with flashes of lightning. Thank you, Alejandra, for a super day!
As a foot-note, written much later in June 2018.... On my second visit to Colombia earlier this year, Alejandra was emphatic about only meeting for a coffee. We didn't even get round to that because she sent some angry messages in WhatsApp which I didn't understand. It was something about her nationality and that I was European. Maybe she was jealous of Nini, I don't know. She also wrote one or two draconian emails about the dangers of Colombia. She was obviously angry about something but I have no idea what!
You reminded me about sunsets. I remember living in Puerto Vallarta how the sun set almost instantly once it got near the Horizon. It seemed to dive into the sea. Up here in the northern US, the sun lingers on the horizon, as if it would rather not set at all. I suppose that's the way of the world.
ReplyDeleteI really want to visit the Pacific coast of Colombia but it is not easy. Alejandra has given me one or two ideas!
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