Cali, is the capital of the State of Valle del Cauca, one of the regions of greater industrial development in Colombia, and well known for its sugar cane exporting capacity to the international markets. It is a region of fertile lands and fine agricultural enterprises. (Looks like a very metropolitan city, there are many universities in the region)
Cali is situated in the tropical zone and has a moderate climate due to fresh air coming from the Andean Mountain Range and because of its proximity to the Pacific Ocean. It is an urban center of around two million people, who live in a cosmopolitan atmosphere. (A large city by Canadian standards)
In Cali there are a great number of multinational industries, converting this region into one of the most developed zones of the country in technological, academic and scientific areas.( this is great to know !)
Some say that if you want to see South America, but you only have little time, go to Colombia, because it's kind of a melting pot, that unites all the different characteristics of the other countries! ( It also mentioned that there wasn't too much of a Asian culture present. I wonder why ?)
Maybe the greatest wealth of Colombia is its variety in very different landscapes, and its great mixture of human races. In Colombia you can find any type of climate from the wettest tropical forest on the earth, over boiling hot coast areas, salt and sand deserts, and highlands, to eternal ice (be prepared on your trips for important temperature changes!). Colombia occupies the second place (behind Brazil) in amount of vegetal species in the world (some 49'000!) - it's true that nature in Colombia seems to do everything possible to boast with its great variety, no matter how small the area! Some 20% of all bird species are found here. In Colombia you can also find any kind of the human races (only Asian people are relatively rare): mainly black people on the coast line, mainly white in Medellin, Indians in the highlands, and any shadings of these in towns like Cali. ( Sounds like Canada ! We don't have anything approaching a tropical area. I wish we did though our winters sure tend to stretch on and on sometimes. )
Colombia has gone from bad to worse since February 2002, when President Andres Pastrana cut off peace negotiations with the Marxist rebel organization FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia). ( Here is where the really bad stuff seems to happen, the stuff we read about in the newspapers)
In Colombia, the Catholic Archbishop of Cali, Isaias Duarte Cancino, was shot to death on the steps of a church after he made public statements that drug traffickers were financing candidates in Colombia's upcoming legislative elections. It is believed that drug traffickers murdered him but other possibilities have not been ruled out. (Looks like even the city of Cali has its troubles with violence. But we have this kind of violence throughout the States and even Canada. I don't think the main Rebel factions and violence in South America is as high tech and could interrupt business over the Internet. The main cause of unrest seems to be for social justice and politically involved. The Internet and business should be fairly safe from interruptions.)
This place really impressed me. I love castles and impressive churches.
A Chiva . That is not some hippie bus but a official means of transportation. I love it.
50 years ago, in a small house in Cali, Colombia, Colegio Bolivar was founded by Mrs. Gladys Holt Bryson as a bilingual school for North Americans and Colombians. Today, Colegio Bolivar lays at the feet of the Andes, spread out over a large acreage of lush, fertile land. Looking out over the city of Cali, the school is nestled in its own tropical paradise. We now have over 1,200 students, 800 families, 250 teachers and about 1,500 alumni who make up our community.
I recognize the computer and those young fellows are definitely computer literate (nerds) . Especially the one sleeping