Blogs from Cali, Colombia, South America

I arrived to Cali around 2PM on Friday, June 10th. From the bus terminal I took a taxi to my hostel and that was quite difficult for me, I’m still very paranoid in buses and taxis more so in cities. The bus ride had only taken 3 hours but it had been a very hot minibus and so I was very happy when I finally arrived at my hostel. Eddy had said some friends of his had stayed at the El Viajero hostel and had quite liked it, so I went there. The staff could not have been more welcoming and friendly and the hostel was very nice. Dorms were spacious, everything was clean, there were lots of hammocks and a nice pool area with a bar. After lunch, I went back and chilled in the ... read more

Salsa Capital: Cali (02/05/2018-05/05/2018) If you don't like salsa, then don't come to Cali. It is everywhere! The people of Cali eat, breath, and sleep salsa. It is more than just a dance, it is a religion. The World Salsa Festival is even held here. We had a long bus ride from Salento to Cali and then Sal and I said our goodbyes. Immediately, this felt like the sketchiest place yet... and the horror stories began flowing. Every shop and restaurant had a locked door (see Exhibit A). So if you are wondering why there are very few photos from Cali, it is because my camera stayed in a locked safe in the hostel the majority of the time... that, and, I think the last computer I used deleted my Cali snaps.. oops! Private Salsa Lesson ... read more

Ok, so I'm a little behind on the blog entries... I'm going to try and catch up over the next couple of days. Starting with the Underwater Rugby World Championships, which were in Cali from the 26th July to 1st August. The week before we had a tour around a few cities in Colombia to improve our skills in the lead up to the tournament: The majority of the team had arrived in Bogota by the 18th July and we played a game against the Castores. Then we all headed to Medellin (some in the bus, and others, including me, on a plane). In Medellin, we had some training with the Orcas who are one of the best teams in Colombia. Actually, majority of the selection for the Colombian team were from the Orcas! We played ... read more

Cali, one of the most racial diversity cities in Colombia -if not the most- is located between sugarcane fields and huge mountains in the southwest of our country. Quite far from Bogota (9 hours) and the Caribbean coast (15 hours), which may be the reason for not being on the list of the most tourist places of Colombia. For ages, the Sucursal del Cielo, as it is proudly called, has been an important city to the lives of many Colombians; many international sport competitions have been hosted here: the PanAmerican Games in 1971, the 1992 World Wrestling Championships and the World Games in 2013. If you are a night lover, this is the right city to be, specially, on a Friday or saturday, when the heat of the day is gone, and you are about to ... read more

Odchadzam za kamaratom Petom do Cali. Kamarat z Petrzalky, ktory sa tu ozenil a teraz skusa stastie v kolumbijskom hlavnom meste salsy. Petova manzelka ma rodicov z Japonska. Ubytuju ma u nich v hostovskej izbe a to je prvykrat, co mam izbu celu pre seba. Tesim sa z toho! Peto mi da pred spanim este skolenie, ako sa zachovat v pripade zemestrasenia a ukazuje mi miesto pod pracovnym stolom, kam sa mam napchat, ak takato situacia nastane. Ze dobru noc! Na druhe rano na mna caka prekvapenie na kuchynskom stole. Cerstve pecivo z pekarne, tzv. ´pandebono´, miestna specialita. Stavam sa zavislou hned po prvom zahryznuti. Uz len zistit recept. Ranajky zacali skvelo. Doobeda pobehame mesto, na ulici kupime tyopicke ovocie Chontaduro so solou a medom a poobede mame na plane Zoo. Udajne je zoologicka zahrada v ... read more