It was super
convenient leaving Medellin for Cali I by way of Juan Pablo II
airport. It is close to my apartment - indeed planes fly over it with
alarming proximity. My Dornier 328 left promptly and the flight of 45
minutes passed uneventfully.
Arriving at Cali I
quickly found shuttle the bus to the bus terminal and then caught a
taxi to Hostel Jovita in the bohemian district of San Antonio. The
Hostel, themed for salsa and yoga offers free group classes in both,
private dance lessons with about 4 different instructors and cycling
tours. Perfect! My room, in close by and quiet annex offered me en
suite simple accommodation at only £12 a night.
San Antonio looks
as if it was the older part of town and seems to be undergoing some
regeneration as a fashionably gentrified zone, mainly residential but
increasingly focused on the chic restaurants, coffee bars and
boutique hotels. There is a nearby park, a few galleries, the usual
corner shops. The climate in Cali is such that you can take a few
beers and empanadas on the street or eat al fresco on the veranda of
small cafes in the balmy evening air.
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| San Antonio |
I have tried group
salsa and Yoga and have enjoyed my first Salsa Caleña lesson with
Francy a lively and fun teacher who I also found on the Cali
Couch-surfers forum. She is very detailed in her expectations pulling
all sorts of faces at my native English lack of rhythm and style but
a good partner and a fantastic dancer. So I've booked a block of 5
lessons.
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| Francy, dance teacher |
By the second
evening all was well with my classes and in the evening I knocked
back a couple of beers, the flavourful dark Apóstol Blocs, in a
super chilled and lovely bar called Toasky.
I began my third
day in Cali with a city cycle tour with Carlos who runs a small tour
business from Jovita's hostal. In truth I'm not sure there is a great
deal to see in Cali. It is a little grimy, quit busy with traffic.
Carlos pointed out various discos - there are loads but only a few
dedicated to salsa. There are a few green parts and a nice park by
the river with statues of cats themed on real women, the girlfriends
of a grand Tom sitting imperiously above his harem.
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| City cycle tour |
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| park of cats |
The rest of my
short break passed pretty well. Francy continued to insist on
perfection which I was unable to muster and for the evening group
session the male instructor schooled us in crossover styles with big
movements and lots of arm and body waving. I probably need to work on
suspending my inhibitions!
Later I had an
overpriced salad and too sweet chocolate cake in a trendy cafe but
the next day a nice crepes breakfast back in Toask cafe which I found
out is also a B@B. Later I visited Ceramics el Palmomar a wonderful
ceramics shop, cafe and garden that is really beautiful and
definitely worth a visit. I bought some nice souvenirs and I hope
they will survive my journey home.
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| garden of ceramics |
I continued to
consolidate my salsa culminating in a group outing to Tin Tin Deo a
lively and fun salsa club with reasonable space in which to dance.
Francy danced with me a couple of times making me look better than I
really am and I performed adequately with other partners - following
a few beers and a margarita all I felt well into it and the club
atmosphere was really great and there were some talented and fast
dancers. But then the club unexpectedly closed at 1am - most of the
rest went on to another club but I folded and shared a taxi back to
the Hostal with 3 others.
The next morning,
nursing a slight headache I decided to walk up the local big hill. It
sports 3 large crosses and an assortment of aerials.
Even at 8.30 it
was getting uncomfortably hot - I trusted to luck that I would be
able to buy a drink en route but it was half way up before the first
walker's rest where an enterprising man had set up shop with a cold
box of gatorade other drinks and fresh fruit. The climb up isn't very
pretty but the views are ok and there was a police presence to add to
the feeling of security for the morning walkers. Although never
dangerous the climb is somewhat arduous with some scrambling over
rocks. At the top there is a small police station, more vendors and a
group of mainly young and buff men working out on weights and benches
provided for public use.
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| View of Cali from hill of 3 crosses |
The descent was quite straightforward and I
arrived back for a late breakfast and a snooze before checking out in
time for my flight back to Medellin
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