Home in a backpack: Cali. Colombia 21-24.01.16

How to get there: We got there by bus from Tulcan. At the border crossing we were offered a bus for COP55.000 each, and a taxi included in the price to get to the bus terminal. It took 12 hours to get there.
Arriving to Cali: There isn't much to Cali city centre, but what looks like a suburb with little organisation. On arrival we took a taxi to a cheap hotel in the centre. "Hotel Cali Real" is right in the centre and it does the work. The hotel hasn't got any air conditioning, so you rely on a fan to cool the room down. Mosquitoes love it.

The church at the square in Cali

The centre of Cali is, like I mentioned, messy. A hard place to get around as all the streets look just the same with street stalls and paper signs all over the place. We did enjoy the craziness for a while and went along with it strolling through the streets of the centre until we found a small area that finally had some attraction to our eyes. A church beautifully done overlooking a simple square where some sellers tried to make a living out of Guarapo (a drink made of sugar cane) and trinket.

After one night in this basic hotel, we researched and decided to move to an area closer to a football stadium, that looked neater and safer. The area of San Fernando is only two kilometres away from the city centre, but looks very different. While Cali looks old, disorganised and energetic, San Fernando looked new and neat but also quiet and sort of out of the life that Cali had.

We stayed at the hotel San Fernando Real. The hotel is a simple and straightforward 10/10. From the moment we walked through the doors, the staff offered help with our luggage, asked about our journey and gave us a room before the official check-in time. The room was as impressive as the welcoming: perfectly air conditioned, neat and spacious, it just didn't seem right for the price we paid. Complimented with a swimming pool, we couldn't think of a better option to spend our time until the football game.

San Fernando feels safe, even at night the streets are quiet and mainly empty. Even though it hasn't got much around it, but a square we decided to have regular walks around the area. Here we tried our first bit of Colombian desserts. The cake shop sold slices of cake separately, and they were delicious (a recommendation if you go to Cali).

Definitely we weren't left indifferent by Colombian food. From the minute we arrived we tried the famous breakfast dish "calentao de frijoles" which basically means beans and rice with eggs and fried banana, all thrown in a plate to make new unforgettable flavours.

Cali is the 9th most dangerous city in the world and even though we don't agree with it, we do agree that it is city of salsa, and everything around it is a reminder of it. The character of citizens is happy and carefree, and they are extremely friendly towards foreigners that come to visit, always wanting to know more. So even though, it might not have as much to see as other Colombian cities, it is where we received our first bit of local kindness and great food. So for a relaxing weekend, why not?