I was a little confused however, as I checked my wrist compass the whole time and from Tocumen airport we seemed to be flying due North West the entire time, which could not possibly be correct and so I think that maybe there are big magnets in the front of the plane confusing my little compass.
The airport was pretty tight upon landing, they went through my luggage but only briefly, and I was a little disappointed that the airports facilities were only on the outgoing part of the terminal, and the inbound was non existent, as soon as I had cleared customs and retrieved my luggage I was out into the street late at night with no ATM's, Taxi firm, Information kiosk or other such device to cushion the shock of arriving in a foreign city.
I managed to avoid the pouncing taxi drivers by diving back upstairs to the International departure lounge, but you could tell that the place was emptying for the night as all the shops and restaurants were closed and I decided that this was not a very safe place to get my laptop out and start mucking around doing stuff. I should have go my cellphone out though, as once I got downstairs I found that there were no buses going into the city centre ( at least none that I could find ) and so I had to let one of the taxi hawkers lead me around and I always hate the feeling of helplessness.
I really do suggest to everyone not to arrive any later than 5pm in a foreign city if travelling by plane, that way the sky is never pitch black, there are always a few places still open ( thus possibly someone might speak your language ) and the chances of a bus or coach going to the city centre are still favourable, plus the added benefit of that it probably won't be too dangerous to grab a taxi to your hostel or hotel from where you leave the bus or coach.
Regrettably I was in no position to haggle for a good price, and they knew it, so despite my attempt at haggling I didn't manage to budge the price from 45,000 COP, which worked out to be around £12 for a half hour taxi ride, which is still cheap for England but here was a bit over the odds. However I sort of got revenge by paying in a mix of US / Ecuadorian dollars and COP's once I got out and while the driver was busy trying to work out what I gave him I made a calm dash for the safety of the hotel.
During the taxi ride I could not help but notice the large luminous sign of "Motel - Sex and Love" only about five minutes along the interstate from the Airport, and this was just the first, setting a trend and being a bold reminder of what Cali has now become famous for, after it's Salsa dancing fiesta's and former drugs cartel infamy.
Arriving at my hotel I was glad to be able to put my rucksack down and get a internet connection, but I was a pain that not only was there nothing good to watch on the TV but also that the hotel porter / receptionist only spoke Spanish.
In an unusual display of pure michief I decided to casually ask if women were allowed in the rooms and his only reply was to pause for the briefest of moments before nodding and saying yes for a price, as he greedily rubbed his fingers together in the universal language of "give me a tip to look the other way and its not problem".
Of course I had no intention of doing so, I was just curious as to if all the internet rumours about Cali were true, most of which I now feel are fairly accurate, and in fact I also think that had I known enough Spanish I could probably have him russle me up a chica, but I was just glad for the double safety and security of a private room and the chance to regroup with the internet for the days to come.
The next morning I read an email that my friend here was out of town and would not be back til Thursday, so it looked as if this would be a city that I am to visit solo, my first since leaving Cusco in Peru and I had sort of taken for granted that I would have at least one friendly local face that could understand me, so this was a small set back and a lesson not to take things for granted.
What was a bigger disappointment was that the hotel I was staying in had no city of tour information free for its guests, they even charged me 1,000 COP for a city map, so I was positive that my decision to move to a cheaper but more centrally located and international hostel was a wise idea, as in hostels you almost always get freebies and there is a chance that perhaps here someone would be able to speak English.
The taxi from one hostel to the other was by meter and cost 5,000 COP, so perhaps the nighttime taxi was not such a complete rip off as I first thought, and I saw plenty of nice western style places to eat and quite a few discotheques and salsa halls which would be a good place to visit later if I had someone to go with, translate for me and of course to watch my back.
I am so very glad that I took Spanish classes back in the UK and have tried to practice it here as much as possible, as the receptionist in the hostel was also unable to speak or understand any English and yet I was able to check in, get information about local tours ( or lack thereof ) and find out the nearest big shopping centre and how to get there.
I also understood enough at the last hotel to have a brief conversation as to why I was leaving after only one night instead of the three that I had originally booked, and concochted up a story that I had a friend who was waiting for me and preferred this other hotel.
My verbal skills are still far from fluent and my vocabulary is fairly limited, but I can tell that I have made a big improvement from where I was at six months ago and almost everyhere I go I am comlimented on my clear pronounciation, so I am more than ever determined that when I return to the UK I will once again take up my study books and go at it with a renewed interest.
The hostel is in a nice Salsa Club dominated area of the city, and I think that I will enjoy a wander while it is still the middle of the day, grab a bite to eat, take a few piccies and see if there is anything on at the local cinema, and then when it starts to get dark I will return and book early tours for the morning. I might even have a stab at a half day rappelling, bungee jumping or paragliding as I spotted a flier in the hostel that offered all these things, so it just depends on the price and if anyone on the tour speaks enough English for me to be able to do it safely.
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