Cables and Infrastructure

My first meeting today was at the Institution of Environmental Studies (IDEA) at the Universidad Nacional de Caldas. I learned a lot about the meteorological observation network and the way that they issue early warnings for floods and landslides. Forecasts are basically worthless around here, they say, so they just go based on soil saturation as determined by amount of rain over the past month. If at least 200 mm have fallen, they start putting areas under "yellow alert" and start mobilizing emergency response teams just in case.

They also have a teaching model of all of the different types of landslide prevention infrastructure. The person I met with even demonstrated how they all work by turning on the water. Below, I am terrorizing the tiny inhabitants of the model houses.

My second appointment failed to show up for the second time in a row, so that was it for the day. I decided just to wander around the artisans market, buy a couple of things, and then head home. I walked past the cable that takes you down the mountain from the center of Manizales to one of the towns below and randomly decided to take a spin. It was pretty cool to see the city from above. I saw a bunch of abandoned factories, a lot of homes, pretty landscapes, and some real-life landslide prevention infrastructure!

Then I took the bus back to the neighborhood that I am staying in, which is named El Cable after the original cable that was built here. The tower still exists, but the only riders are some art statues dangling from a model of the old cable. Right next to the tower is a Juan Valdez Cafe, which is the Colombian version of Starbucks. Juan Valdez Cafe was one of the first to figure out that the money is in the roasting, so they started cashing in and opening the cafes all over the country.

I really like Manizales. I could live here, and unless Peru knocks my socks off I probably will!