Cali - a big city

Cali is a big city. It does not have that many striking features that make it stand out. If you asked a local, most likely you would hear that Cali is home to salsa dancing; at least this is what I most commonly heard. For the most part, I did not do too much in Cali, so it is quite possible that I missed quite a bit about Cali. What did I do?

Cali Walking Tour

I like to do the walking or bicycle tours when I visit a new place. Cali was no exception. I went with a Colombia Walking Tours. They are just starting their tour offering, so I think they have a little ways to go in terms of polishing the presentation. The tour started at the Merced (the first church in Cali). We went to the Gold Museum, the Cultural Center, the Opera House. We walked through some downtown areas and discussed some of the history of the buildings. I did learn that Cali was the first city to gain independence from Spain; that initially Cali was governed from Quito and that when Cali gained independence, shortly after, the rest of Colombia declared independence.

The one thing I did not get from the tour was a timeline of the history of Cali. I like to understand how a city came into being and what were its major periods of change.

Hike to Cerro Tres Cruces

I stayed not too far from the base of climb to the mountain top where three crosses were placed. In the 1830's, believing that a demon was haunting the city, a priest erected three crosses on the top of the mount with the goal of trapping the demon in a valley.

I thought it would be a short climb, but it turned out to be some what strenuous. I saw a number of people who were having difficulties. It was worth it to get a view of the city. They say you can see the mountain rage on the opposite side on a clear day. I could not on this day.

Pictures from the tour:

Pictures from Cerro Tres Cruces: