Full day in traditional Cali, it was hot and the start of the food adventure :P

Since this would be a short visit to Colombia, I did some research about Cali and surroundings, so I'd be able to do as much as possible here, including a gastronomical one ;) First day would be about visiting traditional Cali. Cali is the 3rd biggest city in Colombia and has a lot of history. It was a good idea staying in this area, so we'd be able to start our day early with everything just walking distance.

I was expecting I'd sleep longer, since I went to bed today, hahaha. But it wasn't even 6am when I woke up. I couldn't believe it wasn't sunny, buuuu. Oh well, it was still early. Last night I was so tired that I didn't notice the shower had just 1 tab, oh oh, that couldnt' be good. And it wasn't! There was just cold water! Brrrr. No way I could wash my hair with cold water, no no no. This is the only bad thing about this hostel... well, I'll write a review about it.

Before leaving we'll do check out. According to the plan, hahaha, we'll move to another area of the city, one closer to the party area. So, I started to arrange my things and by the time I was ready, it was sunny! Yay!!! I talked to Paola and asked her where to exchange money and she told me there were exchange houses at the Main Square and also at a hotel nearby. Since next stop was Main Square and needed money for breakfast, let's go there! hahaha

We were just walking distance, cool. I'd read about the city and could recognize some of the buildings in our way to the Main Square, such as the different churches and squares. I also read about the street food and it was a torture seeing so many yummy things and not being able to buy any of them, although I had money! But no the local currency, so hurry up! But I couldn't help it to take tons of pics and it was early, so the exchange house might not be open yet. Yes, it was early, but the sun was shinning a lot!

Ok, finally the exchange house. Exchanging money is different in each country, but here it was too much! It deserves a review! But to make a summary you need: ID or passport, fingerprints and to sign a declaration. Pfff, the receipt was long. I took a pic of it. So, exchanging money wasn't that quick ;) Now we had money! I felt rich! hahaha. Before keeping on with the sightseeing, it was time to eat! Yes, feed the monster! hahaha.

In our way to the Main Square, we saw several eateries, so the Food Tour started. We stopped at a cafeteria and Shawn got an empanada - I had already tried them in Ecuador. Then we went to another one. We chose this one, since you could see a lot of food at the entrance. So we just pointed what we wanted, hahaha. It was so hot outside and we were thirsty. 2 juices, please! "Why do the juices look so thick?" If you don't want milk in your juice, you have to ask for it "al agua", otherwise they'll add milk. Ughhhh, I should have known it. Well, at least the food was very good. I got a "pan de bono" which is bread with cheese. It was yummy! Shawn got an arepa with egg. It was supposed to have some egg inside, but the egg was overcooked and you could see the hard egg white. And wasn't that tasty, so an empanada again, haha. Empanada is common in South America, but different in each place. Here the stuffing has meat and potatoes. I saw so many tasty things to try, but we were just starting, so better keep on moving, hehe.

We were just crossing the street, when I saw a stall of food with some fruit. Oh! That looks tasty and fresh! This is my kind of food. This was a common snack in hot Cai: "salpicon" which is like a fruit salad. So fresh! Perfect for the hot weather. We got our salpicones and decided to re-start the sightseeing. People were really friendly and enjoyed the fact of having me taking pics of everything, haha.

Back to the Main Square, but this time stomach was full, so it was time to take pics and went into the Cathedral. We were about crossing the street when I saw a man carrying 2 thermos, I didn't find it strange until I saw he was pouring something in a small plastic cup. What's that? OMG! He was selling coffee. Then I realized there were several people with this thermos selling coffee aka tinto. I told Shawn what I saw and he got a cup of coffee, hahaha. First coffee in Colombia was in the traditional way they drink it, how nice!

There was another church I wanted to see and we had to walk a bit further. Colombia is crazy for the lottery! there were so many kiosks and shops about the lottery. I don't know if I saw more lottery kiosks or people with "public" cellphones. There were lot of people wearing bright color vests advertising phone calls, interesting. We arrived to another square. It was very sunny and finding a stall selling slices of pineapple was wonderful. Of course I bought one, hahaha.

Traffic was crazy and the number of motorbikes is large. I was about saying there were many policemen driving, when I noticed that everybody, yes everyone, has to wear a bright color vest, when they are driving a bike. Interesting. We found the other church, which is a nice and charming one. Went inside, took a couple of pics and was ready to keep on moving.

Started to walk and saw a pig! Well, not alive, it was cooked but was the whole thing. I saw heads in Peru and Ecuador, but not the whole body. It was in a small restaurant. I came closer to see it better and the owner approached. I said hi and told him I was just watching, I wouldn't buy anything. He didn't care about that and started to tell me the story of the pig and how they cook it for and why they do it, haha. At the end he even gave us a sample to try, how sweet of him!

We were going back to the square and then to the hostel, but first we stopped at my favorite sports store and ended up buying stuff, hahaha. I had a nice backpack, but wanted a purse or something to use during the day and found it here ;) Then kept on walking around the old streets and finally went back to the hostel.

When we arrived to the hostel it was almost noon, but we weren't hungry at all. Fortunately we met Paola when she was just leaving, so we were able to pay her, since we weren't sure at what time we'd leave. Haha, the taxi was more expensive than the room, haha. Paola left and so did we. I just needed to leave all the things I bought and didn't want to carry, like coffee ;) We were staying at San Antonio neighborhood, a traditional and bohemian one. It was a MUST in my list too, but before walking around it, I'd like to see the famous "Gato Tejada" or "Tejada Cat". It's just a big cat sculpture. Yes, doesn't sound that interesting, but sort of fun. And I wanted to get pics of Minigunther there, hahaha.

It turned to be that it was just walking distance, we just had to cross the Cali River. I wasn't sure what to expect. The sculpture was big, but it wasn't all we found there. There were quite a few female cat's sculptures there. The exhibition was called "the girlfriends of the Gato Tejada". Cool! After several pictures, we'd go back to San Antonio Area.

It seems to be that the time stopped there. Everything is so charming... but in order to enjoy it the best. It's better if you climb the hill and get a nice view of the city. And that's what we did. I was thinking, ok, a small hill... Yes, it wasn't too tall, but it was so hot that it was hard to climb, pffff. Water!!! The chapel at the top was closed... so just walked around the park and started the way down. It's a nice and quiet area, wasn't even able to find a restaurant, hahaha. I wasn't hungry, but really thirsty... but Shawn couldn't help to buy a donut. Well, if you are expecting an American donut, it's not at all. It had a piece of cheese (just at the border) and jam in the middle, but just a little. I had a bite and it was very dry... now I was thirstier!!! I like to walk around this area. It's like a small town inside a big city ;)

The idea was moving into the new hostel, but it was still early and maybe this would be the last chance to walk through downtown, so decided to go back there to buy my magnet (always a must) and grab something to eat, just a snack, not a full lunch. My list of things to do in Cali included food to try, hahaha, and I was happy to see one of the Must drinks while walking and even happier it said: "just on Fridays" and today was Friday, cool. That's what I call perfect time! I wasn't sure if I'd like the "champu". Here we have a dessert called the same, also made with corn but it's thick. In Colombia it's more like a drink and it has a regional fruit: "lulo" which turned to be the Ecuadorian naranjilla, hahaha. The drink was ice cold, was really refreshing, perfect! Started to walk and ended up at a cafeteria, hahaha. Ordered just 1 papa rellena (stuffed potato), which was different than the Peruvian one. Here it's fluffy and soft. This one was deep fried and maybe it was cooked really early, because it was dry... not a very good choice, but the Colombian beer made thinks better. First beer in Colombia, cheers! Well, it was time to go back to the hostel, pick up luggage and move. Paola was already back at the hostel and she called a cab for us. Calling a cab doesn't cost extra, but it's safer not only for the passangers but also for the drivers. In the meanwhile a guy at the hostel was suggesting places to visit in the city. Ok, taxi arrived. It was time to say good bye. Maybe the hostel wasn't the best place in the world, but Paola made it a great place to stay. A review is coming soon.

Arrived to the hostel around 4pm. I made the reservation while I was in Lima, so everything was ready. When the girl was showing the hostel I paid special attention on the shower. Oh no! Just 1 tab again... well, it was so hot and water wasn't too cold. A good shower was just what I needed. I was a bit tired, but didn't want to sleep, so just organized some papers, watched some tv and was lazy, hehehe.

Right now we were in a different area, Sta. Monica, which is a residential one and is close to the party street: 6th Ave. The girl at the front desk recommended a place to eat, but it was empty and the menu (actually what they offered since they didn't have a menu) wasn't that appealing. .. Then we saw a local fast-food. Yes, it doesn't sound interesting, but it looked good. It was about sandwiches. I'm not a big fan of sandwiches, but was ok. And this chain was popular among the locals. Shawn got a Thai Sandwich, which was a wrap and I got a salad. I was missing my veggies so much... My salad was good, but Colombia is also famous because of their sweets and I couldn't help it stopping at a bakery and getting a "cocada" whics is coconut with tons of sugar. Yes, it was a sugar bomb! hahaha

Ok, let's go back to the hostel. I was so tired, that the tons of sugar couldn't keep me awake, hahaha. I didn't even notice how hard the bed was until next morning...