Bogotá, Part Five

Part Five:  Day Two, The Salt Cathedral at Zipaguirá, Part One

For Monday we had booked a tour to the Salt Cathedral at Zipaquirá.  I had done some online research and found a company via TripAdvisor.  The tour was pricey for Colombia, at about $125 each.  It was an eight-hour tour, with private driver and individual guide, and included lunch.

Given that I’d had an especially bad night’s sleep and was having issues with the altitude, it crossed my mind that maybe it was best not to do the tour.  But, the alternative of missing seeing the cathedral wasn’t very appealing, so I figured I would suck it up and go.

We went to the lounge for breakfast but I had no appetite so I had just a couple of bites of fruit and left it at that.   A call came from the front desk:  our tour company was on the phone and they wanted to confirm we were still going on the tour.  “Yes, as long as there are seatbelts in the vehicle,” I answered.  The person on the other end of the line seemed perplexed by the question.  (If you have been following along you know my observation that the Colombians hate seatbelts.)

When the tour guide came into the lobby, he introduced himself and told us that he’d gotten our question and that the vehicle did have seatbelts.  I know all of this must seem very silly to the Colombians but, the way they drive, I wanted to be strapped into the car if it hit something, a possibility I could certainly envision.

The vehicle was a sort-of truck/SUV, with bucket seats in the front, a bench seat in the back, and then some sort of a covered storage area in the back.  It was almost an off-road vehicle.  The ride there was bumpy, even though we were on freeways most of the way.  On city streets, potholes ranging in size from small to axel-breaking were commonplace; only an alert driver makes it through unscathed, as one comes upon these potholes with no warning.  The freeways were generally pothole free but the pavement was generally buckled and made for a jarring ride.

At any rate, the drive across the countryside brought to mind some photos of Hawaii, with steep, lush mountains climbing up to meet the clouds, disappearing into the fog.  The Salt Cathedral was basically in a straight line, due north of the city, with mountains flanking us the entire 45-minute drive.

From the vehicle.  This was the scene each day:  clouds, sun, and rain

Some kitschy Taj Mahal replica in the countryside, flanked by lush mountains

Our guide was keen to share lots of details with us about Bogotá, Colombia, the salt mines, and the cathedral itself.  He had a real passion about the cathedral and its religious symbolism and especially about salt and other minerals.

Without actually having visited the cathedral it is very difficult to grasp the sheer size of the “rooms” inside the mountain.  There were several, each at least the size of two American football fields and as high as a ten story building.  It is said that over a million people could easily fit in the cathedral.  I certainly believe it.

The cathedral is actually a disused salt mine; actually it is part of an active salt mine that is no longer being mined.  Heavy equipment is used to haul out the mined salt.

Truck used to haul salt from the mine

Us, in the plaza at the entry into the mine

Going into the mine

Our guide talks about the salt on the walls

Us, standing next to a cross carved from the mountain's salt

It is really difficult to get a sense of how deep and large these caverns are.  These photos do no justice, but it’s the best I could do. 

Hard to see how deep this is, but it was difficult to see the end.

This one is a little better but still does not fully tell the story.

 By this point we were not even halfway through out tour.  More photos and narrative are on the way!

Next up:  more photos from the cathedral, including the main sanctuary, which is enormous.