So, after doing a lot of research as to how to make your own way from Quito to Cali, I found a handy blog which told us what to do and how much it would cost for each leg of the journey so we had something to gauge against if we were being ripped off or not.
Our cab collected us from our hostel bang on 7am and he spoke great English after having lived in NYC for a long time. This meant the 45 minute drive from the old town to the north bus station called Carcelen went by quickly as we chatted about the Colombian culture. USD$10 for what would be an $80 cab ride back home didn't feel so bad!
Once at the terminal you need to go to booths 6, 7 or 8 I think (there are signs and people yelling out what they are selling anyway) and they will sell you tickets to Tulcán for about USD$5 per person. We chose to go with Pullman for no other reason than their bus was leaving shortly but they seemed to be a decent company. There are no allocated seats so you need to make sure you get on the bus fast as they do allow people to stand. Luckily we managed to get the last two seats together as I didn't really fancy being separated, or worse, having to stand for the five hour journey.
The bus stopped often dropping off or picking up people on the side of the road but we arrived on time and headed to a recommended restaurant from the bus concierge in order to watch the game and grab a bite to eat before the rest of our journey. After an ok meal and a fairly average final, we headed back to the bus station to get our cab to the border. It cost us USD$3.50 and takes about 10 minutes to drive there. Here you go into the Ecuador migration office, get your exit stamp, then walk over the bridge which you could say is the border, into Colombia to receive your entrance stamp.
It all went smoothly for us and so next was another taxi to the Ipiales bus station for 8,000 pesos (about USD$5). Our taxi driver recommended SuperTaxi as the company to go with for our 11 hour night bus to Cali. For a semi-cama seat we paid 50,000 pesos (about USD$25) each and they had bag tags which is always a plus as you know the risk of having your bag stolen is a lot lower.
We arrived at our hostel, La Maison Violette pretty much exactly 24 hours after we had left Quito the day before. So not quite the 17 hour journey that it is said to be if you go with Cruz del Sur, but it was about half the price and it meant we had the flexibility of leaving when we wanted, watching the game and the sense of accomplishment of having done it all on our own, and rather easily too.
Our French host from our hostel very kindly made us an amazing breakfast and let us check in early so we were able to enjoy the warm air whilst have breakfast on our balcony with a view out over Cali.
It was almost too warm to go exploring and the main attraction of Cali is salsa dancing so we figured we would enjoy the comforts of our lovely room (and fast internet) for a few hours and then explore a bit later in the day. Of course lunch time then rolled around so we went with one of the hostel workers recommendations a few blocks away. It was a place we would never have ventured to ourselves as it only had a small sign and was down some stairs behind a locked gate but it was so worth it. Two old woman were cooking up delicious menu del dias (soup for entree, meat, rice, veges, lentils & salad for a main and fresh mango juice to drink) for 5,000 pesos per person (about $3). I didn't even come close to finishing mine! We promised them we would be returning tomorrow and then wandered about some more before having to return to the cool confines of our room once more.
After a nice long Skype with Jan, Si and Oti back home, before we knew it we were thinking about our next meal. The hostel owner recommended a place a few blocks away called Teatro Magico del Sabor that does a kind of show for you while you are cooked for. Since we were only spending the one night in Cali we figured why not splash out a little bit and give it a try. We certainly were not disappointed!
With only us and another Australian couple in the restaurant, we had front row seats as he talked us through our meals while cooking them on a huge hot plate/grill/series of gas hobs in front of us while cracking jokes over his microphone and telling us how he refuses to sell bottled sodas and water due to the horrendous amount of waste it creates. Not to mention the money going to huge corporations like Coca-Cola who he referred to as being the Black Death. Which was a breath of fresh air after seeing how much litter there is everywhere in this continent, and almost all of it being Coca-Cola products.
For our entree we had home made bread with a lentil hummus which was a tasty change from the usual chickpea hummus. One to try and replicate when we get home!
Our next course was a chorizo, seafood and vege grill with a milk based aioli that he made infront of us. Not a raw egg in sight, so another one to try at home. He garnished it with kale chips too whixh was the first time I'd actually tried them. He was a big salt fan so basically they were just a taste of salty goodness. Oh and how could I forget, the cocktail made from a local fruit called lulu, rum, basil and mint. Devine! To my delight they had creme brûlée on the dessert menu so we had to get one of them to finish off our dining experience. It definitely didn't disappoint!
The Australian couple next to us had ordered one tasting menu and also a pork rib. The portions are enormous so they kindly let us try the pork which was amazing too, and seeing him cooking it meant we got a good fire show too. Sharing your meal with strangers next to you is certainly not something you would do every day, yet something our chef Michael prides himself achieving on a daily basis within his restaurant.
After Michael had finished cooking for us he got out his guitar and did some Neil Young numbers for us. It took us back to being in our teepee the night after our wedding and being woken up to Uncle John, Kramer and Mum singing Heart of Gold to us at 1am. What a lifetime ago that feels like! Jim even had a turn on the guitar with Michael jamming along with him on his harmonica.
By this time it was about 12:30pm and my eyelids were starting to droop, having not had much sleep on the night bus the night before. So we decided to give the salsa club a miss, also because it was a Monday night so not much would be happening anyway. We figured our Cali experience had been unique enough as it was so were happy to call it a night and head home to our hostel.
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