I was not entirely sure tagging along was the right thing to do for me, as I needed some time for myself and I did not want to spoil the good vibes from Barcelona Alta. That proved right as both environments being really different definitely changed people’s behaviours and expectations. I became a night owl, but not much of a party‑goer any more. This taught me I should trust my feelings and thoughts more. :)

We spent the second evening on going to Ubari, a rave party which seemed promising and ended up being not so great. I’ll blame it on the crowd that seemed more like a social‑network type and the extremely repetitive music. One funny anecdote is that, at least in Cali, there seems to be multiple places that share the same name, sometimes not making it easy to search what you’re looking for. In this instance, the address on the flyer seemed to lead to a community lead bakery, in a really different direction than the venue.

I tried to attend salsa classes once, twice and thrice, and the salsa did not want to cooperate: the classes did not happen or ended just as I arrived. Serendipity; I focused on visiting the city (including eating too much pan de chocolate from La Baguette and “white chocolate, almonds and coconut” ice‑cream from Pollyanna).

The food was also pretty eclectic with a good lot of options. I still would like to try the Teatro Mágico Del Sabor if I’m going back to Cali.

The San Antonio area is enjoyable to walk trough, with tons of graffitis and paintings, maybe more than in the rest of the city. Streets and shops being pretty much empty on Sundays, the big market in La Alameda was surprisingly animated with wedding ceremonies merging with people going about their groceries all together.

Scouting the city involved going to Cristo Rey, which I would not recommend at that point. The journey was unnecessarily long and complicated if you don’t take a taxi or drive yourself, and the view is not the best I’ve ever had from a city lookout.

It happened Cali International Festival of Animation, La Truca was set to run the week we were there, so I had the chance to at least see Coco in Spanish. I found it is an amazing movie about Mexico. Disney still know really well how to play with cultural references: the beautiful introduction really made me miss the country. The story also made me want to call my grand‑ma; this happened the next day and I believe the discussion ended up being one of the longest we had on the phone, ending in my usual heartbreaking feeling she might think that conversation was the last time we would talk to each other.

An evening encounter with a beautiful person also brought back a lot of memories from someone I miss from China. It’s funny how doppelgängers can affect your spirit sometimes.

Overall, Cali was a nice city to explore (for a short time) and the people met there are really amazing; this is a common pattern in Colombia, it seems. I most likely be back if I’m going to Ecuador next, maybe salsa and myself will find a new beginning?