Bogota, the capital city of Columbia

Travelling in Columbia requires long distances over often mountains and winding roads so many people choose to fly which we did from Cartagena to Bogota, about an hour’s flight. Bogota being the capital city is a large one with about 11 million people. We stayed in the Candelaria neighbourhood which was very central so we could walk to all the places we wanted to see in the city. 

Bogota is in a valley surrounded by mountains so there is lots of uphill walking, we stayed on the 18th floor of an apartment building at the top of this street. It is situated at an altitude of 2,640 meters (8,660 feet) above sea level, high in the Andes mountains range, making it one of the highest capital cities in the world.  The altitude takes some getting used to...Don was suffering for the first couple of days. 

Once Don felt better to get a good sense of the city, we took a gondola to the top of one of the mountains called Montserrat..which is even higher...3,152 metres (10,341 ft) ab.

Here you can see the few tall buildings in the very center of the city...

And here to the mountains...

Not only is Montserrat a good view point it is also a place for pilgrims to visit the church at the top...

Along the uphill climb there were beautiful sculptures marking the Stations of The Cross...

And pilgrims offering prayers...

We also visited Bogotá's most famous museum and one of the most fascinating in South America, the Gold Museum which contains more than 55,000 pieces of gold and other materials from all of Colombia's major pre-Hispanic cultures. It is owned by the National Bank who set out in the early part of the 20th century to try and preserve these treasures so they put a call out to the country and many of them were brought in by private citizens.

Some of the pieces....

This was a seashell covered with seven layers of gold, the shell has since disintegrated but the gold form is still intact.

Many images of jaguars as they were powerful religious symbols...

Lots of very intricate pieces, quite an impressive collection...

We also took a walking tour which was very informative, we saw lots of churches which were built by the Spanish, nestled in between the higher buildings.

Churches that were built by the Colombians to celebrate being freed from the Spanish...

The heroes who died fighting for freedom were often buried here, in fact all over the city there are plaques and memorials dedicated to the freedom fighters....

Speaking about heroes,  one of the most respected in Latin America who led the movement for independence from Spain in Hispanic America was Simón Bolívar. The  countries of Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia were all led to independence by him in the early 1800s. Thus one of the largest squares in Bogota is called after him...

It is surrounded by government buildings and the Cathedral and is a central meeting place for the citizens...

Inside view of the grand Cathedral...

As we walked around the city we were taken with how lively and lovely it was, lots of street artists...

And street performers...

From traditional music, to puppet shows...

And epic chess games...

We stopped into local markets to learn about local fruits of which there are many that we have never heard of, this one apparently causes diarrhea!

The national game of Columbia is Tejo which is often played in drinking establishments so I think it is more of a drinking game. There is a mud structure fitted with a circle made of triangles and gun powder so they explode when you hit them with a large stone disk...

My attempt...

Don passing around the obligatory liquor which tasted like zambuca...

After the tour we shared a beer with the other Canadians we had met, Paul from Manitoba and a young couple from Montreal. The topic of a very lively conversation was “ Canadian politics! “

Once we got a feel for the city and how safe it felt we walked a lot on our own. A couple of weeks before we came there had been a bombing in Bogota so there were police with their dogs everywhere...

We were there on a Friday night when there were a lot of people in the streets drinking and the police were out in riot gear!

Just as we saw beautiful street murals in Cartagena they were everywhere in Bogota, with many of them of a more political nature, there are even Grafitti walking tours to view them. I took many pictures of them and here are a few that stand out to me...









The beginning of Bogota was in the hills above where the Center of the city is now and here too are colourful streets...

Plaza Chorro de Quevedo was the place where Bogota was founded in 1538...

A small but very cute plaza.

There are lots of museums in Bogota as well with the art of Botero being housed in this beautiful building...

Fernando Botero Angulo is a Colombian figurative artist and sculptor. Born in Medellín, his signature style, also known as "Boterismo", depicts people and figures in large, exaggerated volume, which can represent political criticism or humor, depending on the piece. I had seen this work before but did not know the artist.

Typical piece...

His Mona Lisa...

His sculpture...

There was also a nice collection of other artists including Picasso, Monet and Dali...

And to see this impressive collection the admission was free! 

Another day we took the train for an outing to visit the Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá which is one of two underground cathedrals in the world, the other being in Poland that we visited years ago.

The train trip was very interesting as it went through many parts of the city before reaching the countryside....

Homeless shelters...

Leafy neighbourhoods...

And hillside barrios...

These rise straight up the mountains in a large part of the city...

We had a leisurely two hour train trip with most of our fellow passengers being  Colombians out for the day as this church has been named the Number One attraction in the country. The original underground church was built in the 1930s by the miners who prayed for protection when working there. Over the years it became unstable so a new one was built in the early nineties, 200 feet below the first one at about 220 meters underground.

It consists of 14 naves containing crosses representing the Stations of the Cross, they are carved from salt and are very abstract in design and meaning...

Some are very large, others smaller...

There is also a huge sanctuary with a very large cross...

Sandstone sculptures....

And beautiful chandeliers carved from salt...

Since it is a functioning church there was a mass being held while we were there...

It was a very interesting visit, quite different than the one in Poland but definitely worth the trip.

We enjoyed a stop in another town for food and a little exploring on the way back...

We ate here at a Parilla restaurant which are quite common in Columbia as they serve different types of grilled meat.

Speaking of food the Colombians love their sweets...

All of the food we have eaten in Columbia has been tasty and plentiful.

Great presentation, this was a delicious seafood crepe...

And at the neighbourhood restaurant, the Menu Del Dia which means you get what she is cooking for the day for 3 or 4 dollars a meal. This soup tasted like our pea soup at home...

Overall, we both enjoyed our stop in Bogota which exceeded our expectations of a large South American city. It was safe, full of culture and history with very friendly and helpful people. A few more pics from our walks around the city...

The TransMileno is the public transit system consisting of a train of buses that have their own dedicated part of the street so they can move quickly through the city.

Lovely spaces to walk...

Beautiful people...

And last but not least, lots of coffee cafes where they take their coffee very seriously! Here is the barista making a cup for Don, stopwatch and all...

Another great destination, now on to the mountains!