A Grain of Salt. . .

About 50 km from Bogota (just two 1 hour buses) is the small town of Zipaquira. The town is one of the oldest settlements in South America. It’s a charming town with cobblestone streets -- a great place to visit in its own rite. But, the real draw here is the halite mine (rock salt).

This area was once covered by an ocean. When the ocean evaporated, it left huge salt deposits which were eventually covered with sediment. Then, 250 million years ago, when the plates shifted to form the Andes, these salt deposits were pushed up to create a dome close to the surface of the ground.

This salt dome was discovered by the local Muisca people who began mining the salt in the 5^th century. Later, when the Spanish came to South America, they improved upon the mining techniques and continued to remove salt. Over the centuries, three different levels of mines have been created and active mining continues today.

About 200 meters below the ground, in one of the abandoned mines, they have created a salt mine museum and tour for tourists to see how mining used to work and learn about the techniques used today -- they’ll even let a novice give it a go!

Back when actual miners were working in the mines, the job was very dangerous. Especially years ago before all of today’s modern safety advances.  In response, the miners built altars in the mines at which to pray before going off to a dangerous day on the job. Over time, the altars grew in size and importance, and eventually, the salt cathedral was born. 

The Salt Cathedral of Zipaquira is the big draw for Colombians. The current cathedral was built in 4 years and required the removal of 250,000 tons of salt. The cathedral holds 8400 people and about 3000 attend services underground every week.

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Clean Livin'

Despite any reputation to the contrary, Bogotanos seem to be very healthy people. Or at least they are encouraged to be!

My first day walking around Bogota I immediately noticed fruit vendors everywhere! Fresh fruit is a popular snack in Colombia and fruit and juice stands are basically at all major intersections and many points in between.  There are little baggies of cut-up fruit and big tanks of fresh squeezed juice.

A vast number of fruits grow in Colombia: mango, watermelon, papaya, guava, pineapple, three kinds of passion fruit, tree tomato, ground cherry, and many more fruits which have no English translation. A popular one is the lulo. It’s indigenous to Colombia and only grows here and on the borders of Ecuador and Venezuela. It tastes a bit to me like a sweet tart! But, as a fruit fan, I'm really enjoying trying all kids of new fruits!

It’s going to be hard to leave Colombia and all of it’s fruit. I’ve always been a fan of fresh fruit and I think people in the states would be a lot healthier if there were more fruit vendors than vending machines with chips and candy bars!

Another healthy habit of Bogotanos: bicycling. First there’s the CicloRuta -- more than 300km of dedicated bicycle lanes in Bogota. 

If that's not enough, every Sunday and holiday, from 7am to 2pm, the city sets up the Ciclovia.

More than 122km of city streets (including some major throughways) are closed to cars and dedicated to bicyclists, rollerbladers, and joggers. It’s amazing to see. More than a million residents head out every week for a little fresh air and to mingle with their neighbors!

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¿Ole?

For six weeks each January and February, Bogota holds the Feria Taurina at the Plaza de Toros de Santamaria. Translation: a bullfight festival with six weeks of bullfighting hosting famous matadors from Mexico and Spain.

I had never seen a bullfight. I generally believed that I was against the concept, but also want to be open-minded to other cultures and their traditions. Since I was in Bogota during the six weeks of the festival, I decided that I would go. I’ve long been a believer that I’ll try most things once. That said, I went in assuming this would be my first and last bullfight.

The origin of the bullfight isn’t certain, but it is believed to have originated with the ancient Romans. In “modern” times, it began in Spain in the early 1700’s. Bullfighting has traditionally been popular in Spain, Portugal, France, and many Latin American countries. Although the number of countries that still support the “sport” has dwindled in recent years. It is relatively popular in Colombia where many smaller towns also have bullrings. That said, most Colombians I met have never actually seen a bullfight.

The Plaza de Toros de Santamaria in Bogota was built in 1931 and seats 14,500 people.

The top level of the ring has boxes, not unlike those at stadiums in the US – each with a corporate sponsor where businesses can host their best clients and VIP’s. One box is painted in the colors of the Colombian flag – the President’s box. Not sure who was in the box that day (anyone know what Colombia’s president looks like??).

The bullfight started at 3:30 on a Sunday afternoon. The ring was packed!

There’s a lot of formality to the bullfight. Certain people (in certain clothes) doing certain things at certain times. Lots of pomp and circumstance. At the beginning, the matadors entered the ring accompanied by men on horses and lots of applause!

It's quite a spectacle. The matadors have such colorful outfits (always with pink socks, regardless of the color of the rest of the ensemble). The crowd was very rowdy until the bull entered the ring. Then the spectacle really began.

I learned a lot about bullfights that afternoon. For example, in a Spanish-style bullfight there are three matadors who each fight three bulls. I also learned that there are three parts to each fight. Initially, the matador attempts to learn the mannerisms of the bull, then the bull is injured, and eventually the matador kills the bull. Each fight takes about 30 minutes.

When I first bought a ticket to the bullfight and got to the event, I was really excited about the cool cultural experience that I can’t have in the US. Once the “fight” began, it suddenly occurred to me what I signed up for.

Interestingly, public opinion on bullfights is somewhat mixed. Bullfighting has been banned in several Latin American countries: Uruguay, Argentina, and Cuba. It has also been banned in several parts of Spain: the Canary Islands and Catalonia. There is talk of a ban by the European Union and in the upcoming year there will be a vote in Ecuador to potentially ban bullfighting.

In Bogota, the ring sells out every week. But, each week there is also a protest across the street and groups organizing hoping to put it on the ballot in Colombia.

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The Streets of Colombia

My Colombian journey started in the capital city of Bogota (with its 8 million residents!). It’s certainly not a small town. . .

At the heart of Bogota is the Candelaria neighborhood. Congress and the Colombian Supreme Court are both located there and this neighborhood is full of buildings built by the Spaniards when they ruled the area. The old buildings, churches, and narrow cobblestone streets are charming and a glimpse into what many of the streets of South America must have looked like a couple of hundred years ago.

The city is perfect for people watching. . .I particularly enjoyed watching the cellphone minute vendors! It seems that many people in Bogota don’t have a cell phone. Instead, on nearly every block on major streets you’ll find someone standing with a sign advertising the price of minutes. They usually have 4-5 phones chained (literally) to their bodies. People will walk up, pay the equivalent of $.10/minute, and have a phone conversation while chained to the vendor. Sometimes, they’re standing there with 5 people attached on various cell phones. It’s a great business idea and seems to have really taken off in Colombia. Personally, I just enjoy watching people and pondering having a private conversation while attached to someone else. Fascinating!

While wandering the streets one Sunday afternoon, I met my favorite residents of Bogota!

It's not common (for me) to see a gang of guinea pigs wandering down the street. But these cuties were special. . .they're athletes. I’ve never seen guinea pig races, let alone bet on one before! But I stayed for 3 or 4 races putting my money down on the bowl I thought those little guys would pick. And I managed to be wrong every time! Fortunately, I only lost about $2 for nearly an hour of entertainment! Better than Vegas!

These cuties weren’t the only random animals I found in the streets! While wandering innocently along, I encountered a small horse. He was just standing alone with a sombrero on his back begging for someone to hop on. After staring for a bit, wondering why he was all alone, I couldn’t resist. Besides, after my Argentinean gaucho experience, I was a pro, right?  So, I hopped on and went for a quick ride!!

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