Simple everyone's taking cocaine
Trip Start
Sep 01, 2005
1
17
65
Trip End
May 11, 2006
Bogota,
Colombia
Thursday, November 3, 2005
Tato's family are being very hospitable and generous towards me. They are treating me like one of the family. They are also ferrying me around to all the sites. They say it's not safe to travel on my own but I think it would be fine, I aint afraid of no Colombian drug lords. In all seriousness I think Bogota and the surrounding province are relatively safe. The country side surrounding the city is open and there isn't much jungle and therefor nowhere for the Guerillas to hide. Cocaine is not grown in the region either which is another reason for it being safer. Having said that there has been Guerilla activity in Bogota in the past, in 1985 the M-19 Gurillas seized the Palace of Justice and in the resulting gun battle 100 people were killed and the building was burnt to the ground.
Earings
I think today has to be one of my best days here so far. After getting the cable car to the top of Montserrat for views of Bogota (there is a church at the top, people climb the mountain every Sunday to worship) we drove north to Plaza Del Minero. As far as God stuff goes, this place is pretty cool. It is a salt mine that provides 70% of all Columbias salt, but in part of the mine they have built a huge cathedral. It takes half an hour to walk down to the cathedral, along the way are 14 "Stations of the Cross" that represent the 14 times Christ fell when carrying the cross up....... em a hill (this is where my knowledge of the Bible falls apart).
When you think of a mine you think of a tiny dark cramped place with no room to move. Dark it is, cramped it is not. The place is huge. Each mining chamber that sprouts off the main walking tunnel is 18m high and 30m in length, the photos don't capture the monumental size of the place. Each station is at the opening of one of the chambers and the cathedral occupies 3 of the chambers, these 17 chambers are around a 6th of the whole mine, which is still in use.
The huge cross that "hangs" at one end of the main cathedral chamber is actually concave in design and lit from the back and sides
Flying fish
. The illusion makes the cross appear to be of solid stone hanging in mid air. The cathedral has great acoustics. One of the rooms off the main hall has a dome shaped ceiling, when stood exactly in the centre of the room all the sound from your voice is reflected straight back at you and the effect is like instantly hearing your voice in a set of headphones. So weird that I jumped right off the spot as soon as I started talking.Yesterday Louisa and I visited the Museo De Oro (Museum of Gold) in the centre of Bogota, I don't need to say much about it other than everything in it was stunning. Just look at the pictures.
I have met a nice Columbian girl here (one of Louisa's friends), she is a child psychologist. Very intelligent and good looking. It's a shame I have to leave on Saturday.
Tomorrow we are getting up early to drive somewhere. I can't remember what it's called and I haven't quite worked out what's there but apparently it's hot.
P.S Mauricio, I lost the jumper you bought me.....Sorry. I forgot to take it out of the strapping when I checked my bag in and when I picked my bag up it was gone. I'm not sure how I can make it up to you. Once I have worked out how I will return home.
Stupid map's lost the plot.
