Before I start talking about the small trips I made so far in Colombia, I want to mention all the delicious food I’ve tried so far. I have tried a marranito, lulado, champu, arrequipe, empanada colombiana, papa rellena, dedo de queso, and chicken flavored chips. A marranito is is a plantain snack stuffed with chicharron, pork rinds. A lulado is is a drink that mixes lulo, a fruit, with water, ice and sugar. A champú is a drink made out of a mix of corn and fruits. The only thing I did not really like was the champú . There was too many different flavors in that one drink for my liking.

We went to so many place in the span of two weeks. I’m impressed and glad that we got the opportunity! We went to Las tres cruces, El museo la terutlia, El gato del río y sus gatas and el zoologico de cali.

My housemates and I have traveled and explored Colombia a lot. we hiked to Las Tres Cruces. It was a long hiking route that lasted two hours. I was completely exhausted and pushed to hike under the sun. I had hiked before, but this was a lot more stamina based. It was necessary to stay hydrated at all times. I did find it interesting that whoever we encountered on the hike would say hello to us. Once again, the people are very friendly and respectful in Cali, Colombia. 

We went to el Museo La Tertulia, a well-known museum in Cali. In the museum, we saw a lot of Colombian art and one of the curators gave us more information about the art pieces. My favorite artist was Hernando Tejada because he created very controversial art pieces that went against the beliefs of the church. You can see one of his paintings below.  

We also went to see el gato del río y sus gatas. It was really cool to see so many cats. I found it cool that there was one cat at first (el gato del río) and then there was Cali competition where they chose the other cats (las gatas). The big brown cat is el gato del río. The yellow cat is one of my favorite cats. All the cats have a biography describing their personalities. Specifically, this cat represents the culture and folklore of the Colombian people with pre-Columbian designs.  

I was also able to visit the zoo this week. I saw a lot of animals that I had not seen before. Honestly, I cannot rename them because they had weird names. I also saw flamingos pictured below. I noticed the zoo had its own cat too. I found it awesome that the zoo was not only about seeing the animals. The zoo has a lot of displays that explained global warming and the destruction of animal habitats in a fun and informative manner. I also went into a place where they had all the butterflies and they were all so beautiful and colorful. It was an amazing experience.