On to Cali

February 2-5, 2025

Alejandro picked us up at the Hotel at about 11 and we started the 4-1/2 hour trip to Cali. The more we thought about how much of a pain it would have been to hire an Uber, get to the bus station, buy a bus ticket, find the bus, ride the bus, arrive in Cali at some unknown time and then find another Uber to take us to the Airbnb; the happier we were that Alejandro was driving us!

It is a LONG, steep, windy road down from Manizales to the Valle de Cauca traveling at what felt to me at break-neck speed. I got pretty carsick. When we reached the valley floor, I was so relieved; and, delighted to find that the valley totally reminds me of the California Central Valley in the summer. The main difference, sugar cane instead of rice and peaches.

We stopped for lunch at a random truck stop. Ted went off birdwatching while Alejandro and I had a heart to heart conversation about handling grief and how to move past the pain we all will experience in life. It is amazing how much can be shared even when two people barely speak each other’s language. I’m grateful for that time.

When we finally got to Cali, at first we couldn’t find our Airbnb. With a little persistence we did arrive. I can’t believe I didn’t take pictures because it was a really wonderful apartment on the second floor of the building. If you ever go to Cali, let me know and I’ll find the listing on Airbnb for you. An additional perk was the location next door to an ice cream shop and one of the best bakeries we have tried in Colombia! It could be dangerous for a long term stay!

We intended to go to the Botanical Garden on our first morning in Cali. We hired an uber, rode through an interesting neighborhood and had the driver drop us off. THEN, we figured out the Botanical Garden is closed until the weekend. Sigh. Sometimes we aren’t very good planners! Fortunately the Zoo is only a kilometer or so back towards our apartment. We started walking and decided the Zoo was a better option anyway.

Can you believe how many layers of houses are up that hill?

The Cali Zoo is pretty nice. We did spend some of the time trying to hide from the noisy school kids while looking at the cool animals. About half of the animals we enjoyed were just hanging out at the zoo and not really part of the exhibits at all (iguanas are pretty interesting)

The next day we went to the famous Cali outdoor market. We bought several exotic fruits to take back to the apartment and drank coconut water.

Our general impression of Cali was not as good a Medellin – it seemed a little seedier to us. However, it is hard to judge a city of a million people by just a few neighborhoods.