Bogota
Bogota turned out to be one of our favorite cities in South America. The city is modern, clean, safe, and filled with green spaces and artistic flourishes. We were here for only two nights and wished we had more time to wander about as well as visit some of the city’s nearby sights.
Plaza Bolivar – facing a statue of the namesake liberator and the National Capital in the background
The plaza is defined by the Capitol, the City Mayor’s office, the Palace of Justice, and the National Cathedral
Every Sunday, the city closes 120km of streets for biking; 30% of the population participates in the Ciclovia
Of course, the Ciclovia creates some new business opportunities
And the nation’s capitol would be incomplete without its own Botero collection
Botero’s take on a Renaissance classic
A highlight for any Bogota visitor is the Gold Museum with an unmatched collection of Pre-Hispanic gold from a number of Colombian cultures. The museum, expanded and renovated in 2008, is laid out in a very natural flow and reveals how differently the native cultures enjoyed the precious metal. For the invading Spanish, gold was wealth; for the indigenous peoples, gold was a channel for religion. Nothing more starkly illustrates the difference than the offering boat ritual where a shaman would load a boat full with gold objects before dumping the payload into the middle of the lake, never to be seen again.
Museo del Oro entrance
The first gallery reveals how gold works are crafted
The next gallery reveals gold use in different cultures; we like to call this the “Aaron Rodgers” outfit
A gallery full of religious gold objects
A special room displays the museum’s most prized “Muisca Raft”
The Muisca Raft is a delicate & exquisite portrait of gold in ritual
The offering room uses multi-media to simulate the lake ceremony
