Our apartment is 2 blocks from Cerro El Volador (Hill of the Flyer), prompting us to head up there whenever we can for a little exercise and the best views of the city. The last time we went up, we had a little dialogue with a security guard who was surprised, not just to see gringos who can hold a Spanish conversation, but to see gringos at all up there. He told us there used to be a museum at the top and agreed that with only a few thousand dollars, the City could fix up El Volador to be as big of a tourist attraction as its little brother Cerro Nutibara and Pueblito Paisa:
On our way up, we were passed by a tourist bus, prompting us to wonder if that security guard had gone straight to City Hall and proclaimed: "see, I told you gringos would like this place, let's get cracking on the tourist developments!" I also saw tents set up at the summit, flanked by an ample crowd and an unusual amount of kite flyers jockeying for the best winds. The crowd was there for the 9th Annual International Poetry Gathering. The gentleman who happened to be reading had a peculiar, but eloquent Spanish prose, which later turned out to be Sri Lankan. He read mostly in Spanish but then switched to English, citing the need to convey some of his poems in their original format. The audience was less receptive to the English poems but Brent and I made sure to clap extra loud, showing that someone was listening closely. Though not big poetry fans, we enjoyed seeing that many people at El Volador and I can expect that El Volador will see a dramatic renovation in the not-too-distant future.
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