We’re not dead or missing! Yay!
I thought I would begin with my disclaimer since the post-once-a-week thing is a bit unclear. We do, in fact, promise to post once a week, sometime between Wednesday and Tuesday. This means that if we time things right (or wrong, depending on your perspective) we can post on a Wednesday or Thursday and not need to update for nearly two weeks… Which we realize does not make the family happy. Never-the-less there are times (like this past week) when we are internet-less and do not wish to worry you people… So don’t fret little pets, or at least, not until the full time has elapsed ☺! We love you all and do not wish you to worry needlessly!
But here is what we were doing right before we left the safe haven of Internet usage:
We were accidentally enjoying another Colombian feria and being surprise-visited by our Cali entourage! Perfect, right?!?
We had planned on stopping by Popayan later on our way out of Colombia, but since Cali is so hard to escape we ended up barely slipping out late on the 4th of January. We had heard of the Black and White festival in Pasto, but we were unaware that it is in fact celebrated all over the southern region. We had convinced our Korean friend to accompany us (she had a ridiculously difficult time leaving Cali as well, I tell you it’s like a magnet for tourists!) and on our first day walking about town we were warned to wear old clothing… Ominous…
Popayan is another UNESCO heritage city, and just walking about town between all the white buildings is an experience. I don’t think any of us had ever seen this much white in one place, and each door frame or splash of color seemed to stand out all the more! The main plaza is large, but the tall trees seem to make everything around seem small.
We, of course, slipped into church and took some inside pictures, (someone please tell me what the protocol is on these things!), since most of the churches were mysteriously closed up for the weekend.
Including my favorite (which at night is light up purple for the holidays):
The streets themselves were eerily quiet, until we were on our way up El Morro that we got our first experiences with the Feria: being sprayed with white soapy foam from a moving vehicle. In fact, this happened quite a few times until we reached the top.
That’s a statue of Bolivar on top of what is thought to be a pyramidal mound from pre-Colombus times. Trust me, there isn’t a better picture because this is when we got to join the Feria de Negros & Blancos in earnest. On our way to get supplies:
It was full on battle in the streets with soap, flour, and paint. For two days! And every evening around sunset there was salsa dancing to free live music. We were joined by more of our people from Cali and danced the nights away while being completely coated in goo.
During the day everyone would enjoy/battle around the parades. They showed us different local groups in displays of flowers:
and dance and music:
But mostly it was about playing in the streets and getting dirty. H was absolutely elated with the combination of the history of the festival, the wonderful dancing, and the playing battles while I was anxious to run away and stay as clean as possible. The aftermath in a quick breath of rest before rejoining the fray:
We had an amazing time, and got to enjoy the fantastic musical stylings of Gran Combo de Puerto Rico among others. Great dance partners, great time playing in massive crowds of messy people, and tons of laughter! Accidental Ferias seem to be the most rewarding, even if the combination of paint, flour, and soap gave my face either a chemical burn or a serious allergic reaction!
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Rule #2: Don't Die. 