Day 9 - Zipaquira and Cartagena
We got up very early in order to see more of Villa de Leyva before leaving this lovely little town.
The coach left at 10.00 and we made our way to the city of Zipaquira, north of Bogota to visit the Salt Cathedral..
First we stopped for lunch at a restaurant in the Salt Mine complex after which we started our tour of the Salt Cathedral.
Zipaquira is the home of the 2019 Tour de France winner, Egan Bernal. He has a mural painted in the city which was part of his welcome home.
The Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá is an underground Roman Catholic church built within the tunnels of a salt mine 200 metres underground in a halite mountain. It can accommodate 8400 and is 75m long and 18m high and is a place of pilgrimage for the Colombians. The temple at the bottom has three sections, representing the birth, life, and death of Jesus. The icons, ornaments and architectural details are hand carved in the halite rock. Some marble sculptures also exist. The Cathedral is considered one of the most notable achievements of modern Colombian architecture.
Just as we got under cover to enter the mine, we had another almighty downpour. The tour was 2kms into the Salt Mine. The first part was a series of carvings of a cross, which depicts Christ, and each had some detail relating to the cruxifiction. It was difficult to take photos of these due to the sheer number of people queuing to take selfies. Further down we entered a church with the alter completely carved in salt. Services are regularly held here. We finished the tour by going to the mirror lake. The lake looks very deep but is only 10 cms deep (as we could tell by the coins that some people had thrown in spoiling the illusion). Apparently salt water gives a mirror effect and the water reflected the roof of the cave.
We travelled on to Bogata airport for a late night flight to the Caribbean coastal resort of Cartagena.
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| Villa de Leyva Street |
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Villa de Leyva Main Square
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| Villa de Leyva house |
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| Villa de Leyva House |
The coach left at 10.00 and we made our way to the city of Zipaquira, north of Bogota to visit the Salt Cathedral..
First we stopped for lunch at a restaurant in the Salt Mine complex after which we started our tour of the Salt Cathedral.
Zipaquira is the home of the 2019 Tour de France winner, Egan Bernal. He has a mural painted in the city which was part of his welcome home.
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| Part of the mural (taken from the Coach) |
The Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá is an underground Roman Catholic church built within the tunnels of a salt mine 200 metres underground in a halite mountain. It can accommodate 8400 and is 75m long and 18m high and is a place of pilgrimage for the Colombians. The temple at the bottom has three sections, representing the birth, life, and death of Jesus. The icons, ornaments and architectural details are hand carved in the halite rock. Some marble sculptures also exist. The Cathedral is considered one of the most notable achievements of modern Colombian architecture.
Just as we got under cover to enter the mine, we had another almighty downpour. The tour was 2kms into the Salt Mine. The first part was a series of carvings of a cross, which depicts Christ, and each had some detail relating to the cruxifiction. It was difficult to take photos of these due to the sheer number of people queuing to take selfies. Further down we entered a church with the alter completely carved in salt. Services are regularly held here. We finished the tour by going to the mirror lake. The lake looks very deep but is only 10 cms deep (as we could tell by the coins that some people had thrown in spoiling the illusion). Apparently salt water gives a mirror effect and the water reflected the roof of the cave.
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| Zipaquira Salt Mine |
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| Zipaquira Salt Mine |
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| Zipaquira Salt Mine |
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| Zipaquira Cathedral - Church |
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| Zipaquira Cathedral - Church |
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| Zipaquira Cathedral - Alter |
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| Zipaquira Cathedral - Wall Paintings |
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| Zipaquira Cathedral - Michel Angelo work |
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| Sculpture of Pope Francis |
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| Mirror Lake |
We travelled on to Bogata airport for a late night flight to the Caribbean coastal resort of Cartagena.
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