Bogota - Columbian Culture
Breakfast buffet was over the top. Too bad that Bill could only have a crossaint and watermelon before sprinting back to the room. I throughly enjoyed my eggs, cheese, meat, grilled veggies, rice, tea and juice very much.
Bill had a 90 min recovery nap while I did research on the days activities.
We hopped into an Uber at 11am and headed to our first stop, the Gold Museum. This is definitely a must do for anyone that goes to Bogota. It does a great job of explaining the history, culture and religion of Columbia through the unifying theme of gold. We did not have audio guides, but managed quite well. The signage was really well done.
From there we tried to go to Iglesia San Francisco, but it was closed for the rest of the afternoon. We walked through the crowded streets, which is closed to auto traffic today. We were able to enjoy music, street performances and vendors as we did our tour. I enjoyed an order of plantain chips for $.80 enroute.
At Boliva Square we took a seat by the statue as I read the notes I had collected on the four buildings that flanked the square. At one point we were interrupted by a young girl and her father. They wanted a picture of her with Bill. Too funny!
The square was named for Simon Bolivar, Bogota's military leader who helped liberate multiple nations from Spanish rule. The statue was Built in 1846 and was Bogota's first public monument. The historic buildings surrounded the plaza on all sides: the National Capitol, the House of the Supreme Court, the Mayor's office, and the Cathedral of Bogota.
To the North, The Palace of Justice siege or Palacio de Justicia was the site of the 1985 attack against the Supreme Court of Columbia. Instigated by Pablo Escobar, members of the M-19 Marxist guerrilla group took over the Palace of Justice and held the Supreme Court hostage, intending to hold a trial against President Belisario Bentancur. Hours later, after a military raid, the incident left almost half of the 25 Supreme Court Justices dead and more than 100 people total. The military's role in the siege has been described as a holocaust and massacre by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. To learn more, watch Narcos on Netflix.
To the East, The Primatial Cathedral of Bogotá or Catedral Primada de Bogotá, is a Roman Catholic cathedral and the seat of the Archbishop of Bogotá. The Cathedral was built between 1807 and 1823. The cathedral holds the remains of Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada, the founder of Bogotá. The cathedral, its area 5,300 square meters, is the biggest in South America.
To the South, the National Capitol or Capitolio Nacional was built from 1876 to1926, by order of president Tomas Cipriano de Mosquera. It houses both houses of the Congress of Columbia and was designed by Thomas Reed.
To the West, the Palacio Liévano or Lievano Palace. The palace was built in 1907 and was converted into Bogotá's city hall in 1974. It was designed in a Neoclassical style and is rectangular, three storeys high and flanked by large sections with Mansard roofs at each end. The façade consists of 32 windowed bays on each of its floors, decorated with balconies, columns, pilasters and capitals with iron ornamental details.
Bill and I enjoyed the history lesson while soaking in the sun, site and sounds of the crowds in the square.
A few blocks from the square was the Santa Clara Museum. It was really unique and beautiful and we really enjoyed it. This church was built in 1647 and is considered to be one of the best examples of Baroque architecture in the city. Originally it belonged to a female religious community, the church became a museum in 1983 and now features a collection of artwork. Inside there was fabulous ornate ceiling 103 paintings and 24 wood carvings with figures from the 17th and 18th centuries.
The rest of the afternoon we slowly wandered through La Candelaria. It is an area of Bogota that has a mix of old and new, historic and modern. We checked out some of the graffiti that was near the hostel area with cafes and craft booths.
We headed back to the hotel for a short break before getting dinner. We were not feeling very hungry. Bill’s stomach is still not feeling well and mine started feeling poorly after breakfast. My scracthy throat has also turned into a mild cough. Looks like I did not dodge the cold season this winter either.
We had a short drive to Gordo’s for dinner and drinks. I was not able to communicate vodka and soda so, I had a really nice Pinot Noir instead. Bill enjoyed his first local beer, Club Columbia. We really enjoyed the prawns, beef belly and pork belly tater tots while watching the Super Bowl. We left at the end of the first half and really enjoyed JT’s half time show in our room.
I drugged myself up and headed to bed early.
So far I really like Bogota. It is very vibrant - street vendors, music and performers. It has a great cultural, religious and artistic undercurrent. It is friendly, honest and gritty. It has some modern, beautiful areas and yet some dirty and crumbling areas too. And it is all good!
The extra security/police/military is very noticeable in Bogota. We have also seen a lot of service dogs too. When we enter our hotel, we need to drop our bags for the dog to sniff.