Trip: Sthlm – London – Miami – Cali

Having gotten the pleasant surprise of a 46 kg baggage allowance (easily filled with, among other things, a 5 kg Kubb-set) I was quickly about to discover why Heathrow has the reputation it has as one of Europe’s worst airports. Flights to and fro were delayed, causing me to land so late that I considered skipping the plan to visit a friend in London (i.e. crash on his couch). In the end I arrived 3hours later than planned in my designated bed, but was still happy for getting the pleasure of 4 hours sleep, sharing a relaxed breakfast and conversation before heading back to Heathrow for my flight to Miami.

Killing time in the underground at 1 A.M.

Already when I was queuing for boarding I noticed that most people were speaking in Spanish. I’ve been told that Miami is the unofficial capital of Latin America, and by the looks of that crowd it was easy to see why.

Bahamas from above. Next destination, perhaps?

Miami’s airport was a positive experience: U.S. migration was much friendlier than I remembered, plus it was very cool to hear so many people switch perfectly back and forth between Spanish and English.

Miami from above

On board I chatted with my fellow travelers, who were surprised to find a Swede next to them and even more surprised when they heard that I was heading to the slums of Cali. They did teach me some useful slang though.

Once safely on the ground, I thought my 42 hour journey was over, but apparently my luggage had other plans. One bag was missing, the other was missing its pad-lock. The second mystery was solved when I opened my bag and found my stuff slightly rearranged and damaged plus a note from TSA saying that my baggage had been searched.

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Cali

Colombia’s third biggest city, with a population of about 2.5 million is situated in a valley in the Andes. The valley floor is at an elevation of almost 1000 meters, guaranteeing a very nice climate which is never too warm or too cold, but instead constantly 26 degrees Celsius. One could almost call it eternal summer, and I don't mean this kind of summer. In addition, the high mountain ranges (up to 4000 meters) protect it from much rainfall.

The valley is pretty wide (30-50 Km, I guess)

The city itself sits just at one of the sides of the valley, meaning that certain parts of the city are stretching up along the side of the hills adjacent to the mountain range.

The city seems to be doing well economically, the streets are mostly clean and there is a multitude of shopping centers. The city authorities are also almost done with upgrading the city with a new public transit system. In addition, the real estate sector is booming like crazy.

I said "almost done", certain areas are still under construction

Right now is the season for flying kites, mostly due to the brisk evening breeze in July and August. Hence the sky is full of big and small kites. I know that this is a common phenomenon in many countries, and maybe used to be popular in Sweden too, but my upbringing was pretty kite free so I find it fascinating to watch the birdlike shapes climb to up into the sky until they are mere dots, then elegantly veer left, right, dive, spin and then return to a graceful glide.

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