Bogotá, Part Six

Part Six:  Day Two, The Salt Cathedral at Zipaquirá, Part Two

(This is the second part of our day at the Salt Cathedral at Zipaquirá.  The first part is here.)

Soon we found ourselves at the Salt Cathedral’s main attraction, the principle sanctuary, which is enormous and, though a bit kitschy, certainly impressive in size and scope.  One’s first impression comes from a sort-of balcony/mezzanine, overlooking the sanctuary below.  As before, the photos do not really do the space justice, but one gets the idea.

First view of the main sanctuary.  Look closely and you can see the people standing on the floor below.  That is the closest you can get to understanding the magnitude of the space

Philip with the sanctuary behind

Walking from the mezzanine to the sanctuary floor below, one passes a "salt fall."  Once upon a time, we can assume, water flowed here but eventually the water stopped leaving just the water

With the people one gets a sense of scale

Upon the sanctuary floor

The cross, up close

One last shot of the sanctuary

This sculpture was on the floor of the sanctuary.  It helps to give a sense of how kitschy the whole place is

On the way out, we passed this:  it is a sculpture carved into the salt on the wall

The Salt Cathedral was interesting enough, and I would certainly recommend a visit, but I don't know that I needed a full tour of the place.  If you are really into minerals, mining, or the religious symbolism, then a tour would be helpful; otherwise, if, like us, you just want to see the place, get a hotel-sponsored taxi to the cathedral for a quick look.

Coming next:  a quick visit to the town of Zipaquirá.

Lasik Update

A couple of folks asked me lately how the whole thing with my Lasik touch-up worked out or for an update.  So, here's one!

Thursday I had a final, pre-op appointment.  This appointment was to confirm that my prescription has not changed, since one needs their vision to have been stable for a bit before the procedure.  It has not changed and I am scheduled for my touch-up for the end of September.

Of concern, though, is that she tried initially to talk me out of the touch-up.  The doctor told me that being a "little nearsighted" was actually not that bad, as it would delay my need for readers from mid-40s to early 50s.

When I told her I wanted to proceed, as I needed glasses to drive at night and to see the television sharply, she described the procedure:  she will lift the "flap" created when she did the initial surgery, and then laser the eye for about two seconds.

Now, and here is the part the sound of which I dislike the most, if the flap has healed too thoroughly, a different approach is required.  This alternative method involves scraping the cornea.  That method requires wearing a clear contact lens on the eye for a few days until the cornea heals.  Great.

So, I am a little torn if I want to go through it, since it did not go spectacularly the first time.  As a dear former colleague once said "I don't know why I even bothered."  Indeed.  Good thing is that I have a few weeks to think it over and convince myself to go ahead or to settle for what I have.