The ugly / Where the devil dances salsa

Cali, you ugly [https://vakantio.de/uploads/ea629010-78d3-11e7-8feb-0d9e949d4c87.JPG_large.jpg] Cali, you ugly! It's hot, my back hurts again, and I'm tired as we reach the city entrance of Cali. Almost automatically, my hand goes to the bus window. I draw the curtain so that the really gloomy-looking figures outside don't see that a tourist is sitting on the bus. What the hell is wrong with me. The prejudices catch up with me again, and I get a strange feeling when I see the people and the masses of vehicles. I pull back the curtain and a street vendor with a bag of chips is practically stuck to the window. I startle, quickly draw the curtain back and think to myself.... At least it wasn't a gun! [/uploads/a09f8fa0-79e6-11e7-84b5-45a507598f75.JPG_large.jpg] Church in the city center. If you're looking for beautiful colonial architecture, you won't find it here. Cali. The city with the second worst reputation, right after the most dangerous city in Colombia, Buenaventura on the Pacific coast. What brings us here?.... The recommendation of two pot-smoking street musicians. Well then, let's go. [/uploads/75560780-78dc-11e7-8feb-0d9e949d4c87.JPG_large.jpg]I've seen him!! 'The devil is a handsome young man with red shoes' and to no one's surprise,..' He dances salsa.' The most elegant description of evil comes from the myth surrounding the three crosses on one of Cali's hills. The elders say that the city is cursed. That's why three crosses were built to banish the devil himself from the city. Some people believe that this is also why so much evil still happens here. Well..if you have the devil in town, you have work ahead of you. [/uploads/f4e9fb90-78dd-11e7-8feb-0d9e949d4c87.JPG_large.jpg]Memory of Dante's Inferno. A guardian angel high above the city. [/uploads/fad30b50-78dd-11e7-8feb-0d9e949d4c87.JPG_large.jpg]Paradox. Underneath the large pedestal of the statue are remnants of prison cells. Memorial of a sad story. Criminal youths were locked up here back then. [/uploads/a6c990f0-78de-11e7-8feb-0d9e949d4c87.JPG_large.jpg] Street neighborhood in Cali [/uploads/b2ed53e0-78d3-11e7-8feb-0d9e949d4c87.JPG_large.jpg]Street neighborhood in Cali. At night, men armed with sticks patrol to protect parked cars from theft in exchange for a tip and to explain the way to lost tourists. You usually only find expensive, trained security services in front of public buildings or clubs. Our taxi ride to the salsa club took us through a different city. As soon as the last rays of the sun disappeared, nothing is the same anymore. The streets are almost empty. Few things indicate caution in a city as much as an eerie emptiness. Locals advise you to stay close after dark. Taking a nighttime stroll through the city is too dangerous. Unfortunately, it still is. However, the night was great. We danced, drank, and celebrated until the early morning hours. [https://vakantio.de/uploads/f2896ff0-78d5-11e7-8feb-0d9e949d4c87.jpg_large.jpg]Children and youth police, a special unit set up for criminal minors, only exist here out of sad necessity. Cali was once considered the most dangerous city in Colombia. The powerful Cali Cartel conducted ruthless gang wars here. Even after the cartel's downfall, drug crime is still the highest recorded cause of death in the city. An inglorious legacy that is unlikely to be shed quickly due to the high level of corruption. Although people here venture outside more since the decline of the Cali Cartel, to lookout points, for jogging or cycling, Cali comes out as a sad winner. As an example of a working-class city that hasn't fully overcome poverty, drugs, and corruption. In addition to all the grayness, smog, latent danger, and of course the devil himself, I am still searching for the other Cali... And I find it. [/uploads/0fe7aa50-78d4-11e7-8feb-0d9e949d4c87.JPG_large.jpg]At night, everything is gray. During the day, the city looks quite nice in certain corners. For example, in the accessible 'gato del rio' park. A must-visit for cat lovers and art enthusiasts! [/uploads/e04c3f70-78d5-11e7-8feb-0d9e949d4c87.jpg_large.jpg]Cali's backpacker district is home to a few gems. For example, this lovingly furnished restaurant with a garden ambiance. The meat platter is amazing and almost free. [/uploads/8ee63c30-78d5-11e7-8feb-0d9e949d4c87.jpg_large.jpg]Look into the kitchen. The service here is more attentive than in many European countries. There is almost no salary. Therefore, tips are often included in the bill and amount to 10 percent. [/uploads/f5dbdd50-79e8-11e7-84b5-45a507598f75.JPG_large.jpg]A different kind of statistic: soccer field behind the city's hills.Cali has produced no less than 14 famous athletes and a few composers and musicians. And of course, salsa. Cali has the most salsa clubs and the most famous salsa schools in the country, if not the world. And for those who have had enough of the heated city life, they go a little further to San Cipriano. The former slave colony in the middle of a jungle nature reserve fulfills almost all Indiana Jones dreams..[/uploads/3a2486f0-79ea-11e7-84b5-45a507598f75.JPG_large.jpg]PS: It's normal for everyone to walk around with machetes here. Ah! And the motorcycle on the rail is a creative means of transportation. There are no brakes, and sometimes the little wheel jumps out of the rail at 60km/h...But who wants to live forever... [/uploads/226bae80-79ea-11e7-84b5-45a507598f75.JPG_large.jpg][/uploads/44c0be80-79ea-11e7-84b5-45a507598f75.JPG_large.jpg][/uploads/d6b21540-79eb-11e7-84b5-45a507598f75.JPG_large.jpg][/uploads/1c3c0df0-79ec-11e7-84b5-45a507598f75.JPG_large.jpg][/uploads/59885880-79ec-11e7-84b5-45a507598f75.JPG_large.jpg][/uploads/83a0dd90-79ec-11e7-84b5-45a507598f75.JPG_large.jpg][/uploads/8f4f6f80-79ec-11e7-84b5-45a507598f75.JPG_large.jpg][/uploads/a564f830-79ec-11e7-84b5-45a507598f75.JPG_large.jpg][/uploads/a0c19260-79ed-11e7-84b5-45a507598f75.JPG_large.jpg]And when it's in the Lonely Planet....Tourist invasion!!! And if you survive all of this, you should be aware of one thing. Sometimes, just changing your point of view is enough to see things differently. [/uploads/d4ede520-79ed-11e7-84b5-45a507598f75.JPG_large.jpg]Our star photographer and guide through Cali. [/uploads/c7ccfe80-79ed-11e7-84b5-45a507598f75.JPG_large.jpg]Chicken-flavored chips! Fantastic!!!!! [/uploads/07865c00-79ef-11e7-84b5-45a507598f75.JPG_large.jpg]Turn around once. Cali's surroundings are breathtaking. When the curtain falls! Cali without smog [https://vakantio.de/uploads/a9e85e20-78d3-11e7-8feb-0d9e949d4c87.JPG_large.jpg] When the curtain falls! Cali without smog.