After months in the Ferroalquimar shipyard, at last, we broke away from Cartagena to explore some other cities and the beautiful countryside of Colombia. This trip far exceeded our expectations.
Bogotá, Colombia’s Capital City, is a short flight from Cartagena. At 8,661′ elevation, the climate is cool and refreshing. We stayed in La Candelaria, the cobblestoned center of the city, at Hotel de la Opera, within easy walking distance to many sights and colorful neighborhoods. The hotel is located next to the state department, so there were armed guards everywhere. We watched with interest from our balcony, a protest in support of Ukraine, against the issuance of visas to Russians.
We packed a lot of sight seeing into our 4 days in Bogotá. Enough so, that we learned once again that we needed more time!
Cerro de Monserrate
The Sanctuary of Monserrate sits high above the city. It’s a sacred place and religious pilgrimage for many. Up on this hilltop, there are also some excellent restaurants, beautiful walks, gardens, and even bird watching. You can walk up the Pedestrian path, approximately 2 miles uphill. Given it was Michael’s birthday, we opted to take the Funicular for a scenic ride, but we did get some steps in walking the Stations of the Cross.
The Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá
We hired a driver to take us to the spectacular Salt Cathedral located in the town of Zipaquira. We were the last to board the packed van, so we were stuck in the back seats. The ride there was one hour long and rough. This van had no shocks and Michael’s back in particular felt every bump in the road. It took him a few minutes to straighten up once we crawled out of there! Luckily, the driver was merciful and promised us the front seat for the return trip. It was worth it to see this cathedral carved underground some 600 feet within a former salt mine. Mass is held here every Sunday. Imagine the queue for Easter or Christmas service! Michael had two stations of the cross for his Birthday…. A virtuous life..
Here’s a pretty amazing light show in the Salt Cathedral
The Botero Museum
A short walk from our hotel was the Botero Museum. 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. (Wikipedia) The museum, which belongs to the Banco de la República de Colombia, was founded in 2000 when Botero donated more than 100 of his own works, along with 85 from his personal collection of other artists’ work – a haul that includes pieces by Picasso, Monet, Matisse and Klimt. At Botero’s instruction, Admission is free to all. It’s located in a beautiful colonial building with an interior courtyard for lunch or rest.
Museo del Oro
Not to be missed, the Gold Museum contains more than 55,000 pieces of gold and other materials from all of Colombia’s major pre-Hispanic cultures. It was a feast for the eyes. We couldn’t pass up the gift shop and brought home a book to study more about this incredible collection and history of the people. Here’s a small sample:
Next Stop: Medellín
Another short flight from Bogotá to Medellín, the 2nd largest city In Colombia. Admittedly, prior to our visit, our knowledge of Colombia was limited to and somewhat tainted by the popular Netflix series, “Narcos”, about the infamous Pablo Escobar, narcoterrorist and leader of the Medellín Cartel. Of course, what we learned is that this city is so much more than what was once called the most violent city in the world. In fact, Medellín is known colloquially as “la Ciudad de la Eterna Primavera,” or “the City of Eternal Spring.” This alludes to the weather, where most days are sunny and mild. Flowers grow abundantly, and are a major export for the country. The people are warm and proud of their city. They welcome conversations about the history of violence, which includes a civil war, the drug cartel, gangs and a corrupt government. People were happy to talk of the transformation that began not long ago under then Mayor Sergio Fajardo, who believed that “aesthetics is a tool for social transformation”. Needless to say, we were inspired during this visit. While politics was a central thread of discussion and interest here, we especially enjoyed the beauty, the food, the weather, the ice cream and so much more!
We stayed in the neighborhood El Poblado, at Hotel Park 10. The hotel was lovely and included a wonderful breakfast buffet with an incredible spread of the freshest fruit including dragon fruit (a new one for us), omeletts to order, and unlimited dark rich coffee. We enjoyed daily walks around our neighborhood, with a park across the street and a large variety of restaurants and shopping to choose from. We grew quite fond of an afternoon treat at Amor-Acuyá Gelato. And we took a few tours.
Comuna 13 Graffiti Tour
We met our english-speaking guide, Arturo, at the Poblado Metro Station. Medellín’s metro is the only rail-based city transit system in Colombia with the first line opening in 1995. The Metro is a source of pride to all. It helped transform the community, giving people easy access to work, education, etc. It also brought people to their communities, which increased tourism and broke down the barriers of fear and isolation, especially for the Comuna 13 neighborhood.
Throughout the 80s and 90s, Comuna 13 was considered one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the world. It was run by violent drug trafficking organizations, who used the poor, sprawling hillside barrio as a transit route in and out of the city, and served as a stronghold for guerrillas, gangs, and paramilitaries. In the mid-90’s all this began to change, under the guidance of the Mayor Sergio Fegardo, who encouraged people to take back their communities. He invested in community projects (including parks) to bring people outside. In 2011, the government installed the escaleras electricas, a series of outdoor escalators that extend for 1,260 feet (384 m), connecting parts of the once chaotic and isolated hillside neighborhood to the city below. Now, tourists–like us–visit this vibrant community, which helps to sustain their economic progress.
Our tour began with a metro ride, then a bus, then a tram, then onto the outdoor escalators. We then hiked up the hillside barrio taking in the sites and hearing many stories of what has endured in this community.
Guatapé and Coffee Farm Tour
Our next tour took us out of the city for a drive around the countryside. Our tour guide, Daniel, picked us up at our hotel for a private car tour. Daniel was an engaging storyteller and provided insights into the history and culture of Colombia. Guatapé is a resort town east of Medellín. It’s known for its houses decorated with colorful Zocalos, painted panels on the houses that portrays the original occupants trade or history. It sits by the man-made Peñol-Guatapé Reservoir. Piedra del Peñol, a giant granite rock southwest of town, has hundreds of steps to the top, where there are sweeping views. We enjoyed the leisurely drive to Guatapé, stopping at a family-run coffee farm on our way.
Pablo
We had to do it. We took the Pablo Escobar tour. Thankfully, our tour did not celebrate Pablo as a hero, but rather showed the sights of his life story and detailed some history. Interesting facts: to serve his prison time, Pablo had his luxurious Prison site (La Catedral) built high in the Mountains, overlooking his City, Medellín. He did escape with the help of the guards. The prison site is now a serene setting for a senior housing site run my Jesuit Monks; The site of his home in Medellín was transformed into a Memorial park, honoring victims of the violence Pablo and his Cartel inflicted on the community.
The Casa de la Memoria Museum
On our last day in Medellín, we visited the House of Memory Museum. Created in 2006 —this museum serves as “an exercise of memory to the understanding and overcoming of the armed conflict and the various forms of violence in Medellín, Antioquia and the country”. It’s a place to remember, to reflect, to forgive, to heal. It was very moving to visit this space. The museum includes displays with artifacts of things lost or torn apart by violence. And a room which uses video clips of photographs of the many victims, many who disappeared, never to be found again, but all remembered here.
It was a fantastic trip and we look forward to exploring more!
Fair winds-
Lisa and Michael