South America

It seemed fitting to share photos of our visit to La Catedral de Sal on a holy weekend. We visited on our third day in Bogotá. The cathedral is an old salt mine that has been converted into a Catholic Church 200 meters below ground. Mass is held on Sundays at noon.

Inside the mines, long vacuous tunnels show the routes miners took when the mine was active. At different points, you can look over the edges of seemingly bottomless cliffs. As you enter the mines, the tunnels have been converted into the Stations of the Cross depicting the path that Jesus took to his crucifixion. Regardless of one’s belief system, I think it’s a beautiful representation of a spiritual journey. Each station is hand carved out of the halite and incorporates symbolic properties of the salt and the mines into each stop.

You can even pay a small additional fee and be a miner for the day. They provide hard hats and pick axes and you spend 30-45 minutes experiencing the mine through the eyes of a miner. We passed on this part. The thought of crawling through narrow, low caves made me catch my breath!

We did not get to spend any time in the city of Zipaquira which looked like a vibrant but quaint colonial town. On the way back to the city, we enjoyed the gorgeous views of the mountains and the lush countryside. We passed green fields dotted with grazing cattle and greenhouses nurturing the flora and fauna of Colombia. What a wonderful way to cap off our three days.

The best way to view these is by clicking on the first photo (twice). This will enlarge them and allow you to read the commentary. Hint: You may have to scroll down a bit to see the comments.

Catedral de Sal de Zipaquira

Carved mural at mine entrance

Leaving the light as we entered the tunnel.

Salt crystals along the tunnel walls

Estación VI – Verónica limpia el rostro de Jesús. Las ondulaciones de la pared representan el paño. Station VI – Veronica wipes the face of Jesus. The rolling curvature of the wall symbolizes the cloth.

It was not very comforting to see stretchers as we walked through the tunnels! ¡No servía de consuelo ver estas camillas en el camino!

View of the main chapel from above. The cross is over 45 feet tall. How much do you think it weighs?

A closer view of the cross in the main sanctuary. Did you guess how much it weighs? The cross is carved entirely out of the salt. Answer: it does not weight anything. The cross is a carved hollow in the wall of salt. If you look at the photo, it tricks the eye, sometimes appearing solid, sometimes hollow.

Coffee at 180 meters below ground.

The figure of a woman makes an offering under a canopy of trees.

Do you see the spider?

Estación IX: Jesús cae por tercera vez. Station IX: Jesus falls for the third time.

The camera flash makes it look lighter than it really is. A little scary.

A tall sculpture in honor of the miners who picked at the halite.

Frijolada con arroz, aguacate, arepa y chicharrón. Mmmmm.

The highlight of our second day in Bogotá was a visit to the Museo Botero. Fernando Botero’s paintings and sculptures are characterized by disproportionately large people and objects. I felt as if I was looking at the portrayals through a different lens. They made me smile.

The museum is located inside a roomy house built in the early 1700s for the local archbishops. It has wide verandas and beautiful gardens with views of the nearby mountains.

The museum also has a collection of art by international and local artists. This large textile was another favorite. It is the work of Olga de Amaral, a textile artist from Bogotá.

The tapestry is called Muro tejido No. 98 (Ca. 1972), made from animal and vegetable fibers.

Our last stop was all about shopping! The Galería Artesanal de Colombia had countless tienditas (little stores) full of local arts and crafts

I fell in love with these exquisite crochet bags handmade by Wayúu women. The bags are crocheted with cotton thread and come in vibrant colors and interesting designs, each unique to the woman who made it. Multiple threads are woven together to make the straps.

As young Wayuu women come of age, they learn to weave and crochet Wayuu Mochila bags. According to legend, the tradition comes from “Wale´kerü”, a spider that taught the women how to weave their creative drawings into the Mochila bags. Each design incorporated into every Mochila bag is unique to the weaver, telling a story through the bag’s colors, patterns and shapes. (Source)