A bandito town called Caldono

After a final double lunch at the temple, I am off exploring south.

I am forewarned by Govram to be especially careful of the bandit country into which I am treading. As with all advice about dangers in this country, it proved to be untrue. 

Caldono is a small town well off the main road to Popayan. It is full of indigenous people and my CS host works as a nurse trying to spread preventative advice in this population.

Although "Ikari" has only one room, he is actively involved in CouchSurfing and happy to talk about his time in Germany, heavy metal and manga. Sleep proves troublesome; the floor is harder than expected, or maybe I am getting softer. He is so dedicated that he has invited me to stay, although his girlfriend is visiting at the same time. 

Not much to see in this mostly agricultural town, but the locals are friendly and the food fresh. Discovered that drinking Poker beer (the beer drank by the real Columbian) and hanging out in pool halls are the extent of nighttime activities here. And everything closed before 10pm on a Saturday night.

Time to get on the Jesus bus to Popayan. Sometimes it is really worth having a deity nearby for those death-defying bus maneuvers on cliff-sided roads. Great view though. 

Krishna needs to get a life

As the guru/ maharaja is in town for a week, there are lots of events over which he needs to preside. 

Last weekend, it was the christening of two devotees with their official Hare Krishna name... Generally this means adopting a very long, and hard to remember, Indian name in place of the one on your birth certificate. Lots of bunting was hung and extra food was prepared for the fire ceremony. 

After lots of chanting the HK mantra and  reciting the HK principles (re: gambing = no, intoxicants = no, diet = no meat/ eggs, sex = only in marriage with the aim of making babies), time to light the ornately devoted fire, burn some bananas (Freudian significance?) and dance around the fire. 

Learning some of their cooking recipes as I spent another morning preparing food for the masses. This time for a seminar in the university (!) to be given by the HK maharaja. Just in case this was the final brainwashing step, the one that finally converted me, I decided, instead, to enjoy the sunshine and go swimming.

Some more observations about HK cooking and diet to share. Although I previously learned that tasting was not allowed before it is blessed, as it is "Krishna food" (pasana), today I was warned against smelling the food - something that is difficult to do, unless one has nostril plugs. 

Also, as Krishna needs to bless the food, this means that the food is generally served lukewarm at most - not really a complaint as the food is great and Colombia is already warm - but I figure this could be a problem for the hungry devotees in more wintery climes. 

Oh yeah, Krishna has his own special crockery, that cannot, naturally, be washed with mortals' delf. 

And, la piece de resistance, most days in the year have special dietary rules, including no bean/ pulses days and no grain days. I kid you not, there's an-app-for-that, in case you have not memorized the Krishna diet restriction calendar.

That pain-stakingly decorated fireplace for the fire ceremony mentioned above. 

Galleria and lazy afternoons

Was invited to join the weekly shopping trip to Galleria. The temple hosts many people each week, which mean that we have to get plenty of fruit and veg at rock bottom prices. YaYaChuta is the man for this task. Equipped with a long shopping list - approx 50 items - we set off. We take three crowded buses to the other, more ghetto, end of town. 

Galleria is a large street market, selling all sorts of food. Although there is a lot of activity, there are no "hard sellers", even when they see this gringo. We meander through the endless stalls and small shops, comparing prices and haggling. Mangoes and some other items have increased in price considerably, so YaYa makes many phone calls back to the temple for advice of whether to buy. Approx 40 big mangoes costing 10€ gets many shakes of the head and comments like "que caro", to which the vendors agree but insist its the best price. We sample before we buy, a very good policy when the fruit is this delicious - my ever-growing mango addiction is going to cost me a lot when I get back to Berlin. After 5 hours we have crossed all the items off the list and amassed enough food for a medium sized vegetarian army. On the way, I proved a curiosity to some local women, who promptly questioned my martial status and then tried to insist that I take various women as a wife. I countered their offers with talk of Germany being "demisiado frio" (too cold) and that they would not find a vegetarian diet (ni pollo, ni pesce!!!) difficult to adopt. 

We filled up a taxi with food and made our slow journey home, partially due to traffic but mostly due to the overladen suspension which dragged the undercarriage on the road on each bump. 

Spent the afternoon swimming in a local pool. Seems like I am nearly the only one who swims here during the week. 30m pool all to myself as the sun bakes down - no other way to fly. 

Hare Krishna - cooking 101

Today is a first. Shaving, having a shower and brushing my kitchen before going on a date... This date was with a deity. Gotta be clean, clean, clean for preparing food to be offered to Krishna. 

Cooking food is considered an act of devotion in the HK lifestyle and has many rules. 

Of course, it is vegetarian and uses no eggs, as you sully your body with the negative death struggles of the animal. 

OK, by me so far. 

Apart from the cleanliness while cooking, one must use utensils and food holders specific for Krishna - one cannot use the crockery or cutlery used by us morals in preparing the food. 

Although preparing food is a devine act, one cannot think of the food as food until it has been blessed in the temple. This obviously excludes tasting of the food and salivating (I guess). Pavlov's reflex be damned. 

I will happily abide by these rules, I. Order to glean some secret recipes. I never knew just how much gee (Indian butter) and sugar goes in to all the food. 

Fiesta - Hare Krishna style

As luck would have it, I am told that there is a big party in the HK community on 5th of March. One hundred people will come from all over Cali to celebrate at the temple here. This is to celebrate the births of two of the HK idols. 

In practical terms this means cooking and preparing the place for 100 guests. No problemo for these guys as they are used to feeding large groups. They regularly participate in the "food for life" which feed the poor in Cali. This HK program feeds 2 million people worldwide daily. 

Party starts at 16:00 with everyone in traditional indian/ HK garb. Chanting the HK mantra in various disguises and rhythms using HK instruments (small organ, drums and small symbols) takes up the first hours. Then the golden idol statues are revealed and everyone gets a chance to bathe them in yoghurt, gee and fruit juices - the only time in the year that regular people (even this gringo) are allowed bathe the deities. 

Afterwards, the younger adults put on a dramatic recreation of an event in the deity's life. 

After these few hours sitting, it's time for the frantic dancing to begin. Vamos!!! Girls on one side of room and guys on the other. Microphone blaring, everyone gets their chance to chant and vent that pent up energy. 

4 hours later... (20:00)... Food is served to all 100 people, incredible food. Indian food, inspired by South American ingredients. HKs have not eaten all day, finally get to feast and mingle with each other on the warm veranda. 

Haré Krishna temple near Cali

An overnight bus brings me to Cali, the second largest city in Colombia (pop. 3m). I have signed up with a volunteer position through workaway.org to volunteer building a Haré Krishna temple. I am chaperoned back to the temple by a man in orange, the typical attire of the Haré Krishna devotees. I know nothing of  this religion except that they seem like they like to sing and dance through the streets of Dublin and they are vegetarian, or was that vegan?

First impressions of this HK community, is that it is much more peaceful and less polluted than in Bogota or Medellin. The accommodation is basic and I share a bunk bed with a devotee. I soon learn that the simplicity of life does not stop there: the shower/ high-tap-on-the-wall emits cold water, mosquito nets are a luxury. 

The HK community lives around the temple. There are about four families and they all participate in the daily chores. Local kids also come by regularly to practice the HK music and praying. 

The daily schedule (not yet fully adopted by me) starts at 4am with prayers and meditation for three hours followed by breakfast. The food here is simple but prepared with such love by Goa and the ingredients all fresh and local. The cuisine is based on Indian cooking (rice, falafel, humus) and using the local staple of plantains nearly in every meal. I work after breakfast for four hours, helping to paint and renovate the small temple here. There is another prayer session at 12:00 until 13:00. Lunch is served at 13:00 and then i get the afternoon off. Another prayer session starts at 17:00 until 18:00. Dinner is at 18:00 and then everyone makes their way to bed before 21:00. It certainly imposes structure on my life. 

Tomorrow there is to be a fiesta (party)! I am assured there will be no rumba or even salsa. The downside of this party is that no one will eat until 18:00 tomorrow. When in a HK temple, do what the HKs do. 

 

Life in Medellin and FMB#4

Medellin really is a cool city. Safe, perfect temperature all year long (~27C), wonderful spirit and warmth from the people. 

Spent the day in a barrio (district) with a wonderful Colombian family, celebrating two birthdays (Melissa (20) and Hemelly (9)). Greg's (CS host) Colombian girlfriend invited us. Although language difficulties ensued (need to learn Spanish quickly), the warmth and joviality of this family. With little money but rich hearts, we had lunch, which was specially made for the first vegetarian gringo they had ever met. I showed them Riverdance and how we dance in Ireland. They were curious about Ireland and European culture and thought that knowing three languages was a sign that I was "muy intelligente". The afternoon was spent in a mixture of music and dancing, followed by the "traditional" bursting of balloons. 

FMB # 4, the bike forum, had interesting content and ideas over the past few days. Cycle lanes, tactical urbanism, Copenhagen wheel, ciclovía initiative, corporate involvement and bicycle-inspired street art were some of the topics. All inspiring but not all relevant to cycling culture in Europe as they had a strongly South American context. 

What really inspired me was the conversations I had with Alain (France) and Neil (UK). On separate rides but both long distance cyclists - 38000km (~40,500km is the circumference of the planet earth), who just happened to be in Medellin at the time of FMB after having been on the road for 3 years each! That doesn't work out as many kms per day but the journey is the destination. 

The presentation I gave on Saturday was in an interactive session and lasted two hours, mostly due to the relentless questions posed by the small audience. Lets see if the next BikeSurf location starts somewhere in South America. 

Tomorrow night will head to Cali. Planning to volunteer to build a Hari Krishna temple in the jungle nearby. Yoga, vegan food and some good ol' hard work sounds like the antidote to this urban lifestyle.