So, I’m writing this post 2 years after our trip. It is a continuation of our Guatemala / Colombia account.
We were in Medellin before and we got to Cali via airplane. There’s two reasons for this, one was time constraints, and two was safety. Apparently, hijackings are common with buses.
Writing about our experience two years later is a little challenging but generally I remember liking Cali. It’s smaller than Medellin, a little quieter, it has some nice residential neighbourhoods, and felt more open (more nature around). There were some good vegetarian restaurants too, which always helps.
So, here we go, let’s look at some pics.
Hotel Del Puente, Cali, Colombia
This is were we stayed at Hotel Del Puente. I know, it doesn’t look great, but our room was actually very comfortable and roomy, and overall it was a nice place inside. Plus, it is just outside the old town centre. A short walk from the hotel brought us to the main town plaza as seen below. A busy spot.
Church at the main plaza, Cali
Downtown Cali
Downtown Cali offers many interesting contrasts of old and new.
Street scene in Cali
Don’t I just blend in? That’s me on the left hand side in above pic.
Newspaper Vendor in Cali
There I am again, buying a newspaper. In this whole trip, despite our moving around a lot, I actually gained quite a bit of weight. Pant’s top button was probably undone. Just too many fried eggs, and frijoles I guess.
Lottery tickets vendors in Cali
This was interesting. A long row of lottery ticket vendors. I hadn’t seen this in the other parts of Colombia we visited.
Street scene in Cali
I included this shot because I was surprised by this woman’s fashion style — woman on the right. You can see by looking at the other two women that this style is not de rigueur. Although, I think in Medellin I saw more of this.
Making a living in Cali
This older woman was pushing a pram which held a suitcase of cigarettes and candy, if I remember correctly. This seemed a common way to make a living.
An art gallery in Cali
Just outside the town centre, we went for a walk and found this really nice neighbourhood. This building housed a commercial art gallery.
Unfortunately, two years after the fact I cannot recount any interesting details but I do remember that we both liked Cali and felt quite safe there.
