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Colombia - Popayan and Cali

Published: 10.01.2019

Welcome to Colombia! You can walk across the border.
Welcome to Colombia! You can walk across the border.


So that was it with Ecuador for now. It was beautiful there. I will definitely come back - especially because of the Galapagos Islands, which I skipped this time. The border to Colombia was quite confusing. There are only a few places to cross. We were at the main crossing in Tulcan/Ipiales. It was busy there, especially because many Venezuelans are stuck there. Most of them want to go further into Ecuador. Therefore, there were refugee organizations, Red Cross, border guards, police, and many more. In addition, there was the normal daily business with Ecuadorians, Colombians, and tourists like us. The whole process took about two hours. We shared a taxi to the terminal in Ipiales with a Mexican. Funny enough, we had exactly $4.80 to pay. That was also the last of our coins. And the Mexican also got rid of his coin load. That was quite a coincidence. From then on, we continued with Colombian pesos. The exchange rate is also excellent. One euro is about 3600 pesos. For a piece of coffee and cake, you pay about 10,000 pesos. Most of the time, you only get 50,000-peso bills from the ATM, so the struggle with change continues as usual. I still have to get used to the currency. There are also new and old bills. So two different types of each. We take a night bus and head directly to Popayan.

Popayan

Popayan - the white city - is a quiet town with a charming colonial core. It's already the 3rd Sunday of Advent - 30 degrees and sun will be the new standard - and traditionally, there seems to be a religious military parade. It's also Beautify Your City Day, and everyone is busy covering graffiti and other scribbles with white paint. We stroll through the old town and go up the lookout hill. And in the afternoon, we continue with the next long bus tour to Cali.

Popayan
Popayan's streets have a nice, calm atmosphere. Especially because of the colonial white houses.
Actually, it looked like a Christian procession for the third Sunday of Advent. However, police and army troops also joined in from time to time.
Actually, it looked like a Christian procession for the third Sunday of Advent. However, police and army troops also joined in from time to time.
Even from a distance, it didn
Even from a distance, it didn't look any less impressive at Parque el Morro.

Cali

The salsa capital of the country and the whole continent. Cali is already very hot. Slowly but surely, we are leaving the Andes behind. We focus mainly on the classic tourist program. Fancy cafes and restaurants, a walking tour, a visit to the brightly lit family hill. And last but not least, an actual salsa taster course. After all, Cali is the place where the fastest salsa is danced. And it was amazing. At the beginning, we learned some basic steps and quickly moved on to a kind of 25-second flash choreography that you dance at the upcoming Fiestas de Cali. It took us about 10 minutes to learn the first 4 seconds of this sequence. We bravely danced along until second 20, but then we left the floor and enjoyed the show from the bar. And we concluded that half of the people in the place were more like professionals than beginners. The next morning, we continued to the famous Coffee Triangle - the Zona Cafetera.

La Ermita. A somewhat bizarre church. It is said to be modeled after Ulm Minster. The bright color is supposed to hold back the sun a bit.
La Ermita. A somewhat bizarre church. It is said to be modeled after Ulm Minster. The bright color is supposed to hold back the sun a bit.
This is the trumpet of, which represents the sounds of salsa. It
This is the trumpet of, which represents the sounds of salsa. It's quite funny. Each cone represents a different element of the music. So, percussion in the first, melody in the second, and all together with vocals in the third. Really well done.
And it looks good from the inside too.
And it looks good from the inside too.
This poor woman has tried to sell this absolutely unspectacular and not particularly tasty fruit. The only way to get it down was to drown it in honey. Besides the tourists who tried it, she couldn
This poor woman has tried to sell this absolutely unspectacular and not particularly tasty fruit. The only way to get it down was to drown it in honey. Besides the tourists who tried it, she couldn't sell it to anyone.
In contrast to this delicious sugar cane juice. And this great machine from the past century. If you chew on the sugar cane sticks, it actually tastes like sugar. It seems much easier to extract sugar this way. Compared to the rock-hard German sugar beet. 😉
In contrast to this delicious sugar cane juice. And this great machine from the past century. If you chew on the sugar cane sticks, it actually tastes like sugar. It seems much easier to extract sugar this way. Compared to the rock-hard German sugar beet. 😉
Cali - like the rest of the country - is absolutely crazy about Christmas lights! Here in a rather successful version on the hill San Antonio right next to our hostel.
Cali - like the rest of the country - is absolutely crazy about Christmas lights! Here in a rather successful version on the hill San Antonio right next to our hostel.
This is also a very popular meeting place for families.
This is also a very popular meeting place for families.


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