It was a short 1 hour flight from Bogota to Cali, the Salsa capital of the world. In contrast, Cali is now one of the most dangerous cities in Colombia. The high crime rate has not yet recovered from the activities of the Cali cartel that dominated here in the mid 90s and managed the cocaine smuggling into the USA.

Attending a Colombian soccer match

In my Cali hostel, the Hostel Encuentro, there was a great homely atmosphere and it was easy to get in touch with the other guests. I got the tip from a Uruguayan I met in Bogotá, and I met him again here. The Colombians thought of him more as a "German" than they did of me.

He invited me to watch the soccer game América de Cali and Valledupar in the stadium the same evening.  We were accompanied by a Korean and an American. They played for the promotion to the first colombian league.  The Colombian audience cheered on their team, the devilish Reds, the whole time. After trailing 0-1, the home team won 3-1.

Crazy fast Salsa dancing

The next day I hiked with the Korean to a mountain near the city. A nice panaorma. However, Cali does not have such a beautiful panorama as Bogotá or Medellin. In the evening I went together with an Irishman to a nearby bar who had found his love in Quito. Still now he's living with his Ecuadorian girlfriend in Australia.

We saw why Cali is the capital of Salsa. As hip-stiff Central Europeans we were amazed how fast the Colombians were able to perform the Salsa steps. So I didn't even bother to try it myself. It would have just been embarassing.

Cali also has many cat statues and a beautiful neo-gothic Roman Catholic church.

After 3 nights in Cali I moved on to Ipiales, close to the Ecuadorian border