Cali

Santiago de Cali booms with Colombian craziness between the green, coffee-growing hills of the Valle del Cauca. This is where the highlands that bridge the gap between the country’s three Andean strands give way to the Cordillera Occidental as it sweeps down towards the Pacific; a unique geographical spot that makes for a unique climate in a truly unique town. Yes sir, the sultry days here are backed up by a vibrant Latin-Carib charm that’s difficult not to fall in love with, even if the downtown’s mishmash of terracotta roofs and stained high-rises circa 1980 aren’t the prettiest to behold. Parks and mountains pepper the city; here alive with curious modern art sculptures, there rising to a peak at the Cristo Rey and the famous monument at Mirador Sebastian Belalcazar. The roadways teem with maize sellers touting buttered corn ears to munch as you stroll, the museums burst with pre-Colombian relics and Spanish churches lean in from the colonial heart of town, mixing with Gothic masterpieces like the La Ermita. And through it all, as soccer crowds roar from the Olympic Stadium, and Cali tour guides reveal peaceful getaways like Pance, the salsa beat continues: the indubitable backing track of Cali.