Pereira

Pereira is a sleepy little town.

So much so that I've slept more here than anywhere else in Colombia. Yesterday was spent in and out of naps. And today I took a siesta after going downtown. There's not much to see in Pereira itself, travelers use it more as a base for the coffee country attractions. There are many farms, haciendas and plantations. The land is fertile and rich. I plan on checking out the countryside on Saturday when the buses run more frequently. There is a 6:20am bus to Salento on weekdays, but I have no intention of catching it. And the bus after that is at 11:20. Since it's a two hour ride out and two hours back, it doesn't make sense to try to make it for a weekday. Buses are hourly on the weekend.

Since it is coffee country. I decided to have some street coffee. It's really really really good. Really good. I'll take video of the guy making it tomorrow when I go back for more. It's so fresh and so cheap. Gotta love living where it grows. Farm to table at it's finest.

Downtown Pereira has one of the more interesting monuments to "El Libertador". It's called Bolivar Desnudo. It's a sculpture of Simon Bolivar naked on horse back riding into war. Somehow I think he had more armour than that!

In the same plaza there was a man and his son playing music. His other son was trying to sell the CD. Quite the enterprising bunch. I didn't buy the CD, but you can watch the music video below. I did tip him though. Just in case you were wondering...nosy people.

Speaking of enterprising, I saw a novel way of advertising products on the street. When there's a red light, these kids just walk out into the street with a giant banner and place it in front of the cars. The drivers have nowhere to go and have to look at the signage. It's genius!

The area I'm staying in seems like the "rich" part of town. You can tell by all the newer looking cars, the expensive restaurants and the decreased homeless presence. You can also tell by the massive five level mall which is gleaming it's so new. At least it looks really new. Feels like home, except better...and in Spanish...and pesos.