I went to a cockfight and bullfight last week as part of the Feria de Manizales festivities. I was raised well enough to understand that these events are morally wrong. I still went because I have always been curious about them.

I have to say that I enjoyed both fights, more or less. Not enough to want to go to either on a regular basis but I have to admit I had a fun time.  In a way I appreciate fighting for sport. I myself competed in greco roman wrestling way back for over six years. But unlike the cocks or bulls I never died the many times I lost a match. Our fights barely  compare in reality.

The Cock Fight

I found myself randomly waiting for a cockfight to start on a night out with friends in Manizales, Colombia. We were at a place with lots of traditional western-style bars (fondas) when I was told they were going to have a cockfight in the back a few minutes later.

A few minutes turned into nearly an hour as they prepped the cocks.

Meanwhile I saw the perfect business opportunity to work as a bookie.

Alright so in reality I bet US$5 on a cock. The real bookie was smart. For a while they showed off one cock while the other was hidden in the back. They fooled me and with everyone else without a clue. We all bed on the less talented bird.

Here I am posing with the loser before the match

Then back to taking more bets

At the time my friends and I were psyched taking shot after shot of aguardiente in anticipation. With a fight in progress we all enjoyed ourselves cheering at the novelty at it all. Until one bird mercilessly ripped the other apart. At that point we went from WOOOOOOOOOOO to ohhhh….ummmm..yeah.

The Bullfight

In Manizales Plaza de Toros my Swiss friend joined me after I found us some scalper tickets outside the stadium for US$30 each. Once inside the stadium we settled onto the bleachers and lit the candle provided. The stadium lights went out creating this view.

All around us were burning candles and the atmosphere left us without words.

The opening ceremony began with a bunch of steriotypical men on horses and properly dressed people saying something at the center of the ring. The national anthem and city’s anthem were both played.

It wasn’t long before the matador’s were ready and the bull ran out into the ring.

Then death ensued.

Does this make me a horrible person?

I woke up late on sunday and did the usual. Computer. Lunch. TV. I started thinking about what I am doing here in Manizales and felt a bit depressed. I really enjoy the time that I spend with her. We have fun, laugh, and I really really like her. However, I really do not enjoy myself in Manizales when we are not together. It’s a nice little city but there is not so much to do after a week.

The problem is that she started her next semester of university the next day, making her really busy. The relationship would definitely work well if I were also attending school and had my group of friends because I would be as busy as well. Unfortunately, I have all of the free time in the world, while she has very little now.

I decided we would talk about it the next day when she came over to my hostel for a few hours in between classes. I explained to her how I felt and she understood. We spent the next few hours realizing it would be our last.

I am really glad that I met her and have really enjoyed those weeks spent in Manizales with her.  I really liked the type of person I became when the two of us were together. I joked, laughed, and felt so upbeat. I will miss it.

Click here to view the embedded video.

You know those big buses that hoard Japanese tourists to different touristy sites throughout the world? I boarded one of those buses at 6:30 AM, except with a bus load of tourists from all over Colombia (Bogota, Cali, Cartagena, Manizales, Armena, and more).

The purpose of this trip was to see the Nevado Del Ruiz, a 17,000+ feet volcano here in the Caldas department of Colombia. The entire ride was tremendously scenic, beginning with the green mountains surroundingManizales.

We stopped at a roadside restaurant for a basic breakfast of a butter soaked arepa with farmer’s cheese, a few saltine crackers, and a bowl of sweet tea.

It was all pretty nasty. I ate a bit and preferred standing outside the restaurant where I could watch these guys preparing for a day of work.

The tour leader, dressed in jacket even brighter than the orange bathing suit David Hasselhoff wore in Baywatch, rounded us into the bus like a bunch of sheep. We continued on climbing higher and higher into the mountains while the scenery changed drastically.

We reached the entrance to the park and watched a quick introduction video in this building.

If you look below at the blue sign, “Tarifas de Ingreso”, you will notice that the price for “extranjeros (foreigners)” is nearly three times as much as the “adult” price.

Our David Hasselhoff rounded us back into the bus and we waited a bit in the cue to enter the gate into the park. We were not the only ones waiting, as you can see from the truck full of Colombian soldiers.

They always make for great photos.

The bus plugged away up the switchback roads. We drove along dirt roads on the edges of cliffs.

I am smiling in this photo because we made it to the top safely.

Snow! In Colombia.

The busload of us exited the bus and attempted to summit the volcano, walking just 500 of those 17,000+ feet.

The air was thin of course and walking even one step took some effort.

I still managed to find some time to enjoy the snow in between our short climb up..

But that was only until we got caught in the middle of a full out battle between the Colombian military and FARC rebels!

Haha only kidding. As we were walking up these soldiers were casually walking down the volcano. My guess as to what/who they are protecting way out there is as good as yours. But like I said, the soldiers make for incredible photos.

The end (I should mention we quit the summit half way and then went to a hot springs instead).

The night before my big trip to the Nevado del Ruiz, I met the girl, her friend, and another guy friend at 9pm. He disappeared while he went to go meet a new girl nearby. We waited at the front steps of the mall for a while and eventually he called and we met him a few blocks away on the corner where he and his friends usually buy a bottle of Aguardiente to drink.

It was pretty awkward since the girl I was dating did not know any of hi’s friends and they were a completely new set of people for me as well. We sat there in silence, smiling dumbly for a little while until the two of us jetted out of there. She and I spent the next few hours wathcing the city from one of the outdoor balcony’s in the mall.

I met here and her friend at 9pm after a strenuous day of riding a bus up to high altitudes and lying in a hot springs for a few hours. The three of us and another friend accompanied us to las Karpas where we drank some beers. Las Karpas is basically a big tent with tables and cheap drinks.

I usually make an honest effort to be a part of the conversations. This night I pretty much gave up. They kept talking so fast and the few times that I did understand the conversation they changed subjects before I could chime in. After nearly a week of this kind of stuff I am doubting whether its really possible to improve so much just by living in a country speaking the foreign language. So many people claim to be able to improve but I still can not see how. She and I communicate almost fluently but that’s probably only because she speaks clearly, explains things to me more than once when I do not understand, and will finish my sentences when I am having trouble with the grammar.

The four of us went back to a friend”s apartment and drank a bit more while dancing to some reggaeton and playing darts.

The next day was a friend’s last full day in Manizales before flying to Bogota to begin his next semester of university. He and a girl we met a few nights before showed up at my hostel midday. We talked and played a few games of pool before walking down the street to their friend’s house, where we watched the Butterfly Effect.

The girl I was dating showed up at my hostel the next day. We watched a bit of TV in the living room as always while I showed her some pictures of my family. For some reason I forgot to mention that my sister is Chinese, despite her big interest in China. She acted pretty surprised to see my sister in the photo.

We met up with her friend Stefanie a few block away at one of the cafe’s for a drink. I still had trouble following and participating in the conversation. It fortunately did not last more than an hour. She and I then boarded a bus to the city center where we wandered without direction for a few hours eating ice cream in one of the parks and making fun of the strangely dressed people.

I was reading at a cafe drinking coffee and eating cake when I got a phone call asking where I was. She had gone to my hostel expecting me to be watching TV. We met up a little later at my hostel where we watched TV for a bit. We later met up with a big group of her friends at Juan Valdez cafe and again I felt lost in the conversation. We followed up Juan Valdez going to a club which is more my style with loud music and less conversation. After a few drinks the group, including me, was up and dancing. Some guy even drew a caricature of myself and I have to say I look just like Obama.

I took a taxi with her back to her house. She pulled out a mattress and put it in the living room for me to sleep. I happened to be awake when at about 5am her Mother put another blanket over me. Honestly, their family is so hospitable. That was until I realized her mother and brother actually start their day at 5am.

I woke up at around 7am when she jumped on my bed. Her mother made us breakfast of an Arepa, omlette, bunuelo, and hot chocolate. She and I spent the morning and afternoon fooling around the internet and watching TV. Thats also when we realized that we accidentally forgot her backpack containing her jacket and mine at the club. That makes this the second jacket I have lost. Its about time I go shopping. It’s really not to bad considering I am spending only about $15-$35 each day for everything.

Her Mom returned home later in the day and cooked up some Chicken and rice dish with french fries. I took a taxi back to my hostel and spent most of the day sleeping…that is until 8pm when I walked to the supermarket to get a few groceries.

Who do I see?

Her, her brother Sergio, and her mother! They live in a completely different neighborhood and yet I happen to see them shopping at a supermarket at 8pm on a Friday night.

I spent this past Saturday in the city center sitting in a park with the old men wearing Fedora hats watching them play chess, while I at a cup of jello with whipped cream.

The highlight of my day was probably eating at the most authentic local restaurant. The restaurant was falling apart. It had to long wooden benches for the patrons and the place was bustling. I ate a whole fried tilapia with soup, french fries, rice, and salad for $4.50.

South America definitely has malls that are nicer or as nice as what we have in North America. However, they also have second tier malls. Its pretty much a big spiral!

The blog is nearly all updated to the present. But on saturday night I met 2 Irishmen from Cork, a Polish girl, a lawyer from Barranquilla, and a crazy German wearing a black leather trench coat and skull bandana who married at 19, has two children, and is now divorced. The five of us went out for the night, starting at one of the restaurant’s I often eat lunch at.

It actually turns into a disco at night with tons of people drinking bottles of liquor at tables and dancing.

The crazy German guy was not satisfied with such a relaxed placed and proceeded to ask any attractive girl standing nearby, where we could find a good, busy club. We took a taxi to this club overlooking the city.

We were dancing with this group of girls but they kept asking each of us what we were drinking. They fully expected us to buy them drinks but each time I responded with, “nada”. They ought to be the ones buying us drinks!

Just as it started getting crowded at around 2am we all left to go back to out neighborhood. All of the clubs in our area officially close at 2am so i walked home while the rest of them continued the useless search for someplace open.

During the Feria de Manizales the hostel provided all of us a free night of Chiva’ing throughout the streets of Manizales.

What an adventure!

A bunch of us jumped into the Chiva, which is basically a big party bus with a little live 3 or 4 piece band or just music blaring from the speakers, that drives around the city, eventually dropping its passengers off at a club.

I should mention that at least 3/4 of the passengers were Colombian, making for quite the cultural experience

A Chiva ride is not a Chiva ride unless the passengers are passing around huge bottles of ron.

The Chiva often made quick stops and then we would go stand by walls. I don’t know why.

When I said earlier that the Chiva drives all around the city, I really meant it. We drove on the highways with some passengers nearly jumping out the non existent doors.

Traveling is one of those things where age is not important. Grey hair or blond hair, everyone belongs in the Chiva.

Another one of those stops.

All aboard…

A few hours later a few of the Chiva goers convinced me to ditch the Chiva in favor of a discoteca. We met up with his girlfriend’s cousin and they helped me improve my abismal salsa and vallenato dancing skills.

We got back pretty late.

I am approaching day 9 here in Manizales, a medium sized city right in the heart of Colombia’s booming coffee region. But i’m not going to talk about coffee much this time. Rather, the 7 day Feria de Manizales that ended a few days ago. So choo choo, lets begin!

Many days begin with a cup of Juan Valdez coffee. Juan Valdez is like the Starbucks of Colombia, except it actually a coop owned by a union of coffee farmers.

These are some friends. Monica from Colombia, Jordi from Italy, and Diego from Buenos Aires.

The four of us hung out at Monica’s apartment my first night while Jordi cooked us one of his native pasta dishes, consisting of pasta with a vegetable based sauce of condensed milk, onions, peppers, carrots, mushrooms, etc.

Afterwards, the four of walked down the street for an electronic concert in the park. A quick observation is that this city is filled with soooooooooo many teenagers. Its ridiculous. Going out to discotecas or bars at night means hanging out with 15-17 year olds. The concert ended at 11 PM, just in time for the teenagers to get to bed.

Another day I was befriended by a Colombian couple from Bogotá.

They own a company that rents out musical equipment for concerts all throughout Colombia. They were here in Manizales to rent their equipment for huge sold out Marc Anthony stadium concert.

After chatting for a bit, they invited me and an Australian girl to come watch them setup for the concert the following night.

After an hour or so of wandering around the stadium, we walk directly outside to watch a car race around the stadium.

We met up again for dinner with a bunch of Colombians also staying at the hostel. This week has definitely been about practicing Spanish. My ability has definitely regressed from last year. My theory is that as I learned more complicated grammar is takes me more time to process what I want to say since I have a wider range of information to use.

By the way, I ate a pretty good chicken shwarma.

Walking back to the hostel revealed a very authentic looking US Army vehicle.

Wandering outside the hostel is a giant parade complete with beautiful Cristal Aguardiente (Anise flavored alcohol) girls dancing in a truck.

It is perfectly normal for Colombian soldiers with giant guns to help control the flow of pedestrians.

Another night some friends and I taxied it up to the city’s lookout point.

Of course we were not the only ones there as there was a widespread carnival going on, complete with games, clowns, etc.

Climbing this tower provides the view of the city.

Later that night I watched the Juanes & Miguel Bose concert. Juanes is arguably the most popular Latin American musician right now.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The following morning I watched even more live music at the Reggae, Reggaeton, and Hip Hop day in the park. One of my favorite groups, Dragon y Caballero happened to be playing!

Click here to view the embedded video.

They are pretty big, as you can see.

But before them, I and many others suffered through the performance of this reggaeton singer with a lisp. It was awful.

And finnally I am going to share a few random pictures from the park.

A bunch of Colombian soldiers huddled in the back of a truck.

Gambling with guinea pigs again.