Bogota - Salt Cathedral

This is just a brief entry to tell you about the underground Salt Cathedral which we visited this morning. About one hour`s drive north of Bogota is a large mountain made of salt, and inside they have carved out a cathedral which can accommodate 2000 worshipers. The mountain is still a working salt mine but people can visit the church part, and another area beside it for conferences or concerts. You pass by the 14 stations of the cross as you make your way along the tunnels to the main cathedral. You absolutely need a guide as it is a labyrinth. It is a very modern concept and much symbolism is used. The lighting is blue, yellow and purple. They even have a chamber called the Sistine Chapel where there is a circular, flat marble carving of Michaelangelo`s Creation of Man. It was done by a Colombian studying in Italy and then transported. The cathedral is not really down below ground level as such, but it is 140 mts below ground. The mountain is rising up above it!It was quite an amazing thing to see and unlikely to be replicated anywhere else in the world.

Some impressions of Bogota as we get ready to leave. It is a beautiful, exciting, sophisticated city and the people who live here feel very safe. The kidnappings have dropped by 60% since the current President was elected and they are mostly directed at rich Colombians (for money) or political figures (to get their friends out of jail) Any foreigners who are kidnapped have been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Most of the visible security is to stop robberies. We really think Colombia has a great deal to offer the tourist market, but people in the industry need to speak fluent English. Colombians are very friendly and go out of their way to help, but when they are giving you directions in Spanish it is usually not that helpful. Its young population will make it a dynamic country in the future, and you can feel that it is moving that way now.

Off to Cartegena tomorrow. We´ll be glad to get back to sea level and some warm weather.