Wednesday, February 17, 2010, started out as another beautiful sunny day in Bogota. Today was the day that we went to the Salt Cathedral in Zipaquira. Both Jacob and Luciana woke up happy. One was eager to start the day and the other not so sure he wanted to take another taxi ride.
We all headed out of the hotel at 10 am to the van waiting to escort us north to our destination. We were accompanied by the Thompsons and the French family (Sebestian and Stephanie and their two daughters). Juanita, the cook, was excited to send us off. Possibly so she didn't have to make lunch for us or maybe she just wanted some peace and quiet.
It was 50 km to the north of Bogota. A quick drive through an open valley tucked in between two sets of mountain ranges.
A little history about the Catedral de Sal for those of you who have never heard of it before. Sorry if I bore some of you. Those who aren't interested in the history can skip to the pictures below.
In 1801, Alexander Von Humboldt visited the Salt Zipaquira and was interested in a mine estuary. He wanted to penetrate to the center of the earth to search for pure salt. In 1816 a German engineer created a tunnel on the second level which was 2710 meters above sea level. This level was called Potosi.
In 1934 Alejandro McDouall Davinson began operation of the first level at 2730 meters above sea level. This second level is called Guasa, which means hole. This is where the first Cathedral of SAL was built. The miners that assisted in the construction of the Salt Cathedral formed the devotion to Our Lady of the Rosary of Guasa. This cathedral was opened in 1954 and closed in 1992 for safety reasons.
The new Cathedral of Salt was designed by a Colombian architect named Roswell Garavito Pearl. It was said that 250,000 tons of salt were extracted during the construction of the new Cathedral to open tunnels. They used 79.5 tons of explosives during the process with 247 miners. Our taxi driver told us that it only took six years to complete this.
This climbing wall sits near the entrance to the mine on the edge of the Ceremonial Plaza.
This is a map of the Cathedral and salt mine.
Jacob was in good spirits and excited to use his camera inside the Cathedral.
At the entrance to the mine we were separated into two groups. Can you guess what the two groups were? It has to do with language. Yes, Spanish speaking tourists to the right and English speaking tourists to the left. As you can see our line is very small. Our line included the French family, the Thompsons, our family, and one man from Ohio! After waiting for 15 minutes for the English tour our taxi driver (Coque) did not wait any longer so we joined the rest of the Spanish speaking tourists. We slowly distanced ourselves from the group so that Coque could tell us what each station was in English. Three individuals from Denmark overheard Coque speaking English and they inquired if they could join us since they did not speak Spanish.
The entrance to the Cathedral.
We started the descent to the depths through the Holy Axis, "the tunnel of oak". This processional route prepares the "pilgrim" for the transition from the outer world to the inner world, from earthly realm to the spiritual realm.
The tunnel was held open by layering eucalyptus trees and supported by silver beams painted red.
Notice the detail in this tunnel. And to think that it only took six years (according to Coque).
Before we started to go through the 14 Stations of the cross there was water dripping from the ceiling of the cave. Jacob needed assistance by Dave as he stretched out his hand in hopes of catching at least one drip to taste the pure salt water. He was successful and wanted to keep going back for more. Mmmm....salty water. After tasting the water he wanted to lick the cave walls. His Dad was not discouraging him in anyway but I urged him not to. Think of how many people probably have touched or even licked the walls. YUCK!
Stations I through IX of the cross had the cross cut out of the salt and each had several kneeling benches in front of them. We chose to show the tenth station of the cross because it was very unique.
The X station symbolizes when Jesus was stripped of His clothes.
This station of the cross was different than all of the other stations. Instead of the cross carved out of the salt and standing alone, this cross was carved into the side of the cave and illuminated with lights on the inside. Coque's interpretation of this station was that Jesus was enduring so much pain and shame that he wasn't "whole". That statement struck me after I took this picture of Jacob. We are only whole when we are in Christ.
After you complete the 14 stations of the cross you enter into a dome. As you can see, to get the full effect, Jacob laid on his back to take the picture of the dome.
This is what the top of the dome looked like with blue lighting.
Exiting the dome leads you to the three naves of the Cathedral. The nave to the left represents Jesus' birth, the middle nave represents the life of Jesus (pictures from the balcony above), and the nave on the right represents the death of Jesus.
Another picture of the central nave. This Cathedral is believed to accommodate 10,000 people at one given time.
We spent close to two hours inside the Cathedral with Luciana sleeping through the majority of the tour. When we emerged into the light it felt good for the kids to run around and play on the playground equipment before heading to lunch.
The Thompsons told us about a restaurant in Chai, Colombia that had the BEST steaks ever with a unique atmosphere. We all loaded back into the van and headed toward Andres Carne De Res. We arrived around 3:00 pm for a late lunch but much to our dismay the restaurant was only open Thursday through Sunday. We were a day early. Coque got directions to another steakhouse in Chai called El Humero.
We ate in the building to the left. On weekends this restaurant is hoppin' and has very long waiting times requiring the use of both buildings to accommodate all the patrons.
Behind the restaurant is a playground. I think that they built it to occupy the kids while the food is cooking (it is not a very quick service). Fortunate for us there were only two other sets of couples dinning the entire time we were there so the kids had free roam of the restaurant.
After dinner the kids needed to burn off their chicken strips and papas before jumping back into the van. Jacob enjoyed playing with Alejandra (who was 5 years old).
Jacob had a quick pose with Coque before heading south to Bogota.
The ride home wasn't too bumpy or herky jerky so Jacob was able to hold Luciana for awhile. That is something that he enjoys very much.
All in all it was another good day in Bogota. It was good to leave the hotel and see more of this awesome country.
Notice the detail in this tunnel. And to think that it only took six years (according to Coque).
Before we started to go through the 14 Stations of the cross there was water dripping from the ceiling of the cave. Jacob needed assistance by Dave as he stretched out his hand in hopes of catching at least one drip to taste the pure salt water. He was successful and wanted to keep going back for more. Mmmm....salty water. After tasting the water he wanted to lick the cave walls. His Dad was not discouraging him in anyway but I urged him not to. Think of how many people probably have touched or even licked the walls. YUCK!
Stations I through IX of the cross had the cross cut out of the salt and each had several kneeling benches in front of them. We chose to show the tenth station of the cross because it was very unique.
The X station symbolizes when Jesus was stripped of His clothes.
This station of the cross was different than all of the other stations. Instead of the cross carved out of the salt and standing alone, this cross was carved into the side of the cave and illuminated with lights on the inside. Coque's interpretation of this station was that Jesus was enduring so much pain and shame that he wasn't "whole". That statement struck me after I took this picture of Jacob. We are only whole when we are in Christ.
After you complete the 14 stations of the cross you enter into a dome. As you can see, to get the full effect, Jacob laid on his back to take the picture of the dome.
This is what the top of the dome looked like with blue lighting.
Exiting the dome leads you to the three naves of the Cathedral. The nave to the left represents Jesus' birth, the middle nave represents the life of Jesus (pictures from the balcony above), and the nave on the right represents the death of Jesus.
Another picture of the central nave. This Cathedral is believed to accommodate 10,000 people at one given time.
We spent close to two hours inside the Cathedral with Luciana sleeping through the majority of the tour. When we emerged into the light it felt good for the kids to run around and play on the playground equipment before heading to lunch.
The Thompsons told us about a restaurant in Chai, Colombia that had the BEST steaks ever with a unique atmosphere. We all loaded back into the van and headed toward Andres Carne De Res. We arrived around 3:00 pm for a late lunch but much to our dismay the restaurant was only open Thursday through Sunday. We were a day early. Coque got directions to another steakhouse in Chai called El Humero.
The menu at El Humero was all in Spanish. Thank goodness for Coque....he translated all of the entres for us. It took us quite some time to decide what to order. Finally, Dave and I decided to split Lomo al Trapo. It was a trimmed beef tenderloin crusted with a 1/2 pound of salt and wrapped in a cotton cloth. It was then charred on a bed of fiery embers. When it came out it looked like a burnt log. The waiter cracked the crust and out emerged a succulent beef tenderloin.
We waited for more than a half and hour before we could enjoy this steak. Let me tell you, it was well worth the wait. I cannot recollect when the last time I had a steak taste this good. I wonder what they feed these cows?
We ate in the building to the left. On weekends this restaurant is hoppin' and has very long waiting times requiring the use of both buildings to accommodate all the patrons.
Behind the restaurant is a playground. I think that they built it to occupy the kids while the food is cooking (it is not a very quick service). Fortunate for us there were only two other sets of couples dinning the entire time we were there so the kids had free roam of the restaurant.
After dinner the kids needed to burn off their chicken strips and papas before jumping back into the van. Jacob enjoyed playing with Alejandra (who was 5 years old).
Jacob had a quick pose with Coque before heading south to Bogota.
The ride home wasn't too bumpy or herky jerky so Jacob was able to hold Luciana for awhile. That is something that he enjoys very much.
All in all it was another good day in Bogota. It was good to leave the hotel and see more of this awesome country.
Feliz Cumpleanos, Jacob. Te Amo Mucho, Caroline
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