Post 71: The journey to Pereira, and my footy fix

F.A.,

11/26/11

Though we loved our time in Medellin, we had to move on. We decided to hit up Pereira so we could use it as a base for seeing the coffee region, and for the chance to see some football (soccer). We departed Medellin around 11 and made it into Pereira, "the Lovely City", about 4pm, giving us a few hours to find a place to rest our heads before the sun set. We looked at a few before settling with Home Sweet Hostel, on the outer reaches of the city. The owner Juan was very welcoming and hospitable. For dinner, we ate at a local fast food place, Sayanara, which ended up being our place of last resort twice the following day. It was a little pricier, but anything is better than street food. We got an early night sleep after eating.

11/27/11

Yesterday was a day I will not forget any time soon. We woke up early hoping to reach this park overlooking the city, but unfortunately we could not find it. We spent the mid day hours roaming the downtown markets of Pereira, a crazy place full of people selling pretty much everything. I picked up a small backpack for my camera and other items. We searched and searched for something decent to eat but as I mentioned earlier, we ended up resorting to Sayanara again (and then again for dinner!). Getting back to our hostel was a bit of a hassle, we were not quite used to the MetroBus system here and ended up going to all ends of the city before finding out way back.

The famous Naked Bolivar

Though the weather was starting to look rough, we ended up heading down to the local stadium to see if we could get some tickets. We asked a few police officers where the ticket offices were, and they directed us up a hill, where many kids were roaming around, stacks of coins in hand, begging people for change. The ticket office was a booth in an enclosed gated area, packed full of young "fanaticos". Us being gringos attracted them instantly of course and we were hounded repeatedly, for god only knows. At one point, a girl in the crowd pointed to us and yelled "money!". I tried my best to ignore them and just get the the booth to purchase tickets. I turned around at one point, only to see a giant horse, officer atop, staring us right in the face. Regardless of my experience in Cartagena, I was happy to see him there. We got whatever ticket we could communicate enough to get and got out of there as quickly as possible. Luckily for us, another officer on horse back followed us the whole way to the stadium, to deter anyone who may want to rob us. Lesson learned...if going to a game in the future, buy tickets early.

The game itself was a treat, and much more intense than any Union game I have been to over the past two years, regardless of the lack of a large crowd. The bulk of people in attendance were in the supporters end, surrounded by police who kept them in check, with force if need be. Their displays for their love of their local team was impressive, and fanatical to say the least. They sang and chanted the whole game, with very little let down.

no different than at home

view from our seats

The story for the local team, Deportivo Pereira, is a sad one this year, as they are at the bottom of the league table and will be relegated to a lower division. This was the last game of the season for them, and the last they will see of Liga Postobon for atleast 2 years. Knowing this, I feel the pain of their fans. Regardless of that, they played quite a game, defeating the 4th ranked Envigado 4 to nothing. Envigado seemed to play a very lackluster game, with only a few attempts on goal, hitting the top bar twice.

Today we head for Salento, a small coffee town an hour or so from here, to possibly see some coffee production and hike the Valle de Cocora.

Ciao for now,
Gavin

more photos after the cut -