Cali - the eyes have it

Cali is a place that everyone seems to go when travelling through Colombia and it is famous for its night life. And according to our guide book, people say that Cali is home to the most "beautiful women in Colombia". I won't comment on that only to say you could substitute the word 'beautiful' for the word 'flirtatious'. Seriously, if you want to walk down the street and feel like Brad Pitt or George Clooney, hang out in Cali. Perhaps they appreciate the western man in Cali. Or perhaps they see a money bag with a dollar sign on it - like in the cartoons - I don't know. What I do know is that there was no shortage of batted eyelids whether it be in the supermarket or the salsa club. A French guy we met seemed almost bored with it, but then I suppose that is no surprise. Cali women must be at opposite ends of the scale compared with Parisian women!

As with most major towns and cities, there are areas you shouldn't go after dark. We stayed in the Granada area which is supposed to be the safest, though even there we were warned to watch out for a gun-wielding couple on a motorbike apparently out robbing people. But, like everywhere else, you just need to keep your wits about you. And the taxis are so cheap that there isn't really any need to go wandering at night.

The city really isn't very pretty. The good looking buildings are few and far between and the photos I took are misleadingly flattering. We walked through to San Antonio which is home to some nice architecture and then further up to the church where you can get a good view of the city. It's not an impressive sight and isn't worth the trek.

Anyway, back to salsa, it's pretty much the main reason for a visit to Cali. They absolutely love their salsa music and it seems like a genuine love and not just something cultural they want to hang onto. After looking around the city we decided that the best way to see the place is at night. (The city is definitely not beautiful). So we teamed up with the aforementioned French guy, Philippe, and none other than Dutch TV sports broadcaster Ronald Strater. OK so unless you're Dutch you may not have heard of him, but he is YouTube-able! They were both great guys and we had a lot of fun, including a couple of late night/early morning finishes. Our secret to success was: start out at the Chipichape Mall food court and take in the calories - including delicious waffles or crepes. Next, head to a bar on Avenida 6 and take in some rum. Then head to a club and take in some salsa - you'll need those calories!

As in Colombia in general, the people in Cali are lovely, friendly and only too keen to teach you some salsa should you so fancy. I managed the most basic steps for a little while, but by then it must have been 3am and getting any sort of coordination on the dance floor was a major achievement!