Day Three Cali Colombia

Where To Find Coffee

These two gringos found our coffee today at Gringo American Kitchen

www.elgringo.com

. Breakfast, American style! The restaurant is right on the corner by the Parque Del Penon. It's in a quiet, quaint neighborhood. They had it all! Elaborate egg dishes, extensive lunch menu, starters and dinners and drinks.

After our breakfast, we headed to the Mercado Alameda with our new friend Clara. We had more coffee and coca tea at Trinitario Coffee in the market. Coca tea is made from the dried leaves of the coca plant, the source of the alkaloids extracted for cocaine. However, in tea, its just a mild stimulant like coffee! Chris had the more typical coffee along with a lychee, an enchanting fruit we discovered.

What To Do After Coffee

Clara was kind enough to drive us to the Mercado Alameda and the traffic and parking situation was an experience in itself. There are parking attendees everywhere helping you find a parking space and to fit into the space in exchange for a tip from you. Mercado Alameda is a huge market where you can buy any kind of fruit, vegetable, meat, fish, and spices. You can also find lunch or coffee or tea.

The charming lychee fruit..

We even got interviewed by some independent reporters!

Next, we headed to Cristo Rey with Clara. Cristo Rey is a 26 meter tall statue of Jesus on top of the Cerro de los Cristales in the village of Los Andes. There are roadside shops and curious sculptures along the road to Cristo Rey. The surrounding mountain area was actually my favorite part. It was a stunning vista!

We ate at Pizzeria El Balso, a little place with a great view!

By nightfall we went to the Church of San Antonio. We ended each night with a walk at this park and Chris saw the sunrise here every morning. It was a gathering place every evening with food stands and people selling trinkets, clothes even shoes surrounded by bars and restaurants and overlooking our hostel.

Sunrise

View of our hostel

Finally, we couldn't leave Cali, the salsa capital of Colombia, without going to a salsa club. So, we went to La Topa Tolondra Nightclub to check out the salsa dancing.