25/05/2019 – Exploring Cali, Colombia

We had dedicated ourselves a slow day today. We had a nice lie in and then hostel breakfast, scrambled eggs on toast and a nice mug of coffee. We put some laundry on and then left the hostel to see what Cali had to offer. First we walked to Parque Artesanias, a market selling handcrafted bits and bobs. To be honest it felt eerily quiet, not many of the stalls were open, I am not sure if it is a bank holiday or if the grey skies ahead promising rain had put the vendors off. Josh still hasn’t got a Colombia magnet, talk about last minute! Uninspired we decided another coffee would make up for the lack of magnets! Coffee always helps! We went to a nearby café called ‘Zahavi’ (Lonely Planet recommendation) and had a delicious coffee and shared a bagel and a brownie too. It was a beautiful fancy bakery with fresh produce being made in front of our eyes. Then we walked to the ‘Iglesia de San Antonio’ to see the views of the city from the park it is in, which were great! We got a little lost wandering around the city but eventually found the museum of modern art. We decided we didn’t want to pay to enter so we used the facilities and browsed the shop (really nice colourful handmade camera straps!) before walking along the river in the pouring rain until we arrived at the ‘Museo Arqueologico la Merced’ where we viewed a collection of old pottery in an old convent, Calis oldest building! It was welcome respite from the rain and a beautiful building. The pottery was cool too, monsters and bowls made back in the day by the major cultures from central and southern Colombia. Ready for some food we found a falafel place and had a late lunch before heading to ‘Mandala Café’ for a nice coffee. Probably our last proper coffee in Colombia sadly! We headed back to our hostel and chilled in our room for a few hours. We hung our laundry up and packed as well we could. A bit later we popped to a Vegeterian restaurant ‘El Buen Alimento’ recommended by the lonely planet (and conveniently the end of the road) for a light dinner, before home, shower, Narcos and bed. Cali was a nice little chilled stop and broke up our journey to Ecuador well and the area of San Antonio where our hostel was located was quite charming with some nice graffiti. However, one day felt enough. I think people really come here for a salsa and partying, which we didn’t try out!