Colombia 2024, part 1 (Bogotá)
It may sound strange, even presumptuous, but at one point I felt that I missed Latin America, as well as the Spanish language. Of course, there were many other thoughts related to various circumstances that marked my life during this period, so in autumn 2023, I decided to go to Colombia for about a month early next year.
Initially, I thought about including Panama and Costa Rica as well, but when I took a closer look at the map, I realised that Colombia is a huge country. Quickly, Panama and Costa Rica were ruled out and because of some of my desires and created ideas, I even decided to completely “skip” the otherwise very interesting northern part of Colombia, with the idea that I could easily adjust my plans once I’m there and see how things unfold and how much time I need to visit comfortably and stress-free what I initially wanted.
However, fate had it that most of my plans changed completely and this actually turned out to be the strangest journey of my life. Namely, I had to interrupt it and return home much earlier. Yet, the problems started even before the journey itself.
Namely, I bought the ticket in mid-November, the bank deducted the amount from my account and I received a reservation confirmation from the airline. I was aware that I only received one email, not two, but I thought maybe the rules had changed and that was sufficient. Ten days before the trip, I realised that I actually didn’t have a ticket at all. That the reservation confirmation and the “thank you for choosing us and have a nice trip” were worth absolutely nothing. The money had been set aside (“reserved”) by the bank and it stayed that way while I was making plans.
Faced with the situation that I actually didn’t have a ticket, I thought perhaps it was a sign that I shouldn’t go. But... I believe that when problems arise in our lives, there are two possibilities: either we accept them and continue with the limitations they impose, or these problems are just obstacles, challenges that need to be overcome. Since I am an ordinary person, not clairvoyant and certainly not a god, I cannot clearly interpret the intentions of higher powers, destiny or random circumstances in advance, so I tend to see things through the latter pattern. And I must say, even after all the chaos that ensued later on, not once did I regret embarking on the journey.
So, I bought a new ticket (which was even cheaper than the one I had bought a few months earlier) and set off from Belgrade early one morning. This new ticket involved a layover in the US and they have very unusual rules regarding transit. Unlike most countries that simply allow passengers to transit, the US conducts passport and customs checks. I fully respect each country’s sovereign right to set rules on their territory, but in the case of transit at a major airport, this can mean significant time loss.
I passed through passport control smoothly, but when it came to picking up my luggage for customs control, it turned out my backpack was missing. There was an immediate desk to report issues, but the woman working there assured me that for Bogota, I shouldn’t worry and that my backpack would arrive directly there. However, that wasn’t the case and I had to report the delayed bag at the airport in Bogota. The woman there assured me that my backpack would arrive the next day and that they would deliver it directly to the hotel I had booked.
Since I’m mentioning the airport, I should also note that the international airport in Bogota is appropriately named El Dorado. Now, let me explain this and transition the story into Colombia.
In the 16th century, when the Spaniards began their gradual conquest from the Atlantic coast, they encountered the local population, members of the Muisca tribe, who possessed some golden objects. The greedy conquistadors then speculated that there must be enormous reserves of gold somewhere. Fuelled by the imagination, they envisioned unprecedented quantities of gold, giving rise to the legend of the golden city of El Dorado. Namely, in Spanish, El Dorado means “The Golden (City).”
Although nearly everyone immediately thinks, and often comments, that Colombia is a dangerous country and visitors must be extremely cautious, I felt quite confident about this aspect because I had plenty of experience travelling both south and north of Colombia. I believed that the situation there would follow more or less the same pattern, so I embarked on this journey with a fairly relaxed attitude. Additionally, I speak Spanish quite well, so I utilised this when making reservations to ask hotels if they could arrange airport transportation for me. They assured me that it would be no problem to take a taxi directly from the airport.
So, even before leaving Belgrade, I checked online and saw that the airport indeed offered on-the-spot payment for taxi rides to your desired address. That was exactly what I did and one evening in January 2024, in less than half an hour, I arrived at my hotel in the historic part of Bogota called La Candelaria.
I had my small backpack with me containing my pyjamas, toothbrush, deodorant, etc., because I travel quite a bit and know what I need to carry with me. Once settled in my room, I quickly fell asleep.
Due to the time zone change, I woke up a few times that night and at 3:50 AM, I felt like I had slept quite well. Luckily, I didn’t trust that feeling and went back to sleep. Nevertheless, I did wake up early and had to correspond and check on the status of my luggage, etc.
At some point, I ventured out onto the street and it was still rather early, around 7:30 AM.
This is also a good moment to mention the map showing all the places I managed to visit during this “abbreviated” journey:
As soon as I stepped out onto the streets of La Candelaria, I was immediately delighted by the numerous buildings that, to varying degrees of grandeur or simplicity, featured elements of Spanish colonial architecture, which is characteristic throughout Latin America. I felt like I had returned to a place that felt like home to me.
My main destination was the nearby main square – Plaza de Bolivar. However, I felt hungry when I spotted a beautiful house with a restaurant inside. Despite the early hour, it turned out they served breakfast, so I decided to eat there. The restaurant was playing lovely Latin American music, which added to the experience and left me thoroughly satisfied.
In such a mood, I continued towards the main square, where soon enough I saw the cathedral tower.
However, before reaching the main square, I took a quick peek into the courtyard of a building where there was actually a restaurant. I promised myself that I would stop by there sometime.
I also passed by a very important building located on one of the corners of the main square. Today, it houses the Museum of Independence, while the building is called Casa del Florero (House of the Vase).
The house acquired this picturesque name because on 20 July, 1810, a looked-for vase, which was subsequently broken, led first to a fist-fight and then to the beginning of the uprising against colonial rule and for the independence from Spain. The uprising succeeded and local leaders took control. Since then, 20 July has been celebrated in Colombia as Independence Day. I didn’t visit the museum myself, but from what I’ve read, that famous and significant vase can still be seen there today as one of the exhibits.
Instead, I ended up at Bolivar Square or Plaza de Bolívar.
This is the main square in the old part of Bogota, a spacious square-shaped plaza. Surrounding the square there are several notable and impressive buildings. On the north-eastern side is the Justice Palace (Palacio de Justicia), which houses Colombia’s Supreme Court. The building that stands there today was constructed in 1999, reflecting the tumultuous events that occurred in Colombia during the 20th century.
Namely, the original Justice Palace was built at this location in 1921, but was burned down in 1948 during violent demonstrations. In 1985, it was occupied by members of the urban guerrilla movement M-19, leading to a hostage crisis that formally ended the next day with a significant loss of life, including 11 Supreme Court judges. Following this, a fire engulfed the building for two more days. Hence, the necessity to construct an entirely new building at the site, which was completed in 1999.
On the northwest side of the square stands the Lievano Palace (Palacio Liévano), built in the early 20th century in a Neoclassical/French style. It serves as the city hall of Bogota.
Opposite the Justice Palace, on the southwest side of the square, stands the National Capitol (Capitolio Nacional). It serves as the legislative centre of the country, accommodating both houses of the Congress of Colombia.
In the centre of the square is the monument to Simón Bolívar (1783-1830), the renowned South American revolutionary leader who spearheaded the fight for independence from Spain in Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. Due to his significance in the history of these nations, he is considered a national hero in each of them, including Colombia. Hence, the monument occupies such a prominent place in the square.
As for the National Capitol, its construction began in 1848, but continued until 1926.
As I approached the National Capitol, I finally had a good view of the Cathedral located on the southeast side of the square, thanks to the position of the sun. However, I decided to postpone visiting the cathedral until later.
For now, I headed towards another church located not far from the square. There’s a pedestrian street leading to it today, but you can clearly see that trams used to run there in the past.
Along the way, I continued to enjoy the beautiful houses that caught my eye.
Directly opposite the house seen in the previous photograph is the Church of the Immaculate Conception (Iglesia de la Concepción), built in 1595. I didn’t capture its exterior; the facade is simple and made of stone. However, I did enter inside because the church is renowned for its impressive vault done in the Mudéjar or Moorish style.
Since I entered the church during a service, I quietly slipped into a corner and took a few photos from there. I didn’t want to disturb people who were there for more important reasons.
Just as I was about to leave the church, the music started. I have to admit, as an Orthodox Christian, it felt a bit unusual for me that part of the service included music with a relatively modern melody, although the lyrics were certainly religious in nature.
On the other hand, this shouldn’t surprise or shock. Not even me. One of my favourite Latin American melodies is the Creole Mass, or Misa criolla, especially its part called ‘Gloria.’ This melody, composed in 1964 by the Argentine author Ariel Ramírez, includes ‘folk language,’ that is, Spanish, as well as local rhythms and instruments. There are numerous different performances of this Mass available online, so everyone can choose the one they like the most and there is no need for me to recommend anything specific. Just knowing about it is enough.
Now, I headed to visit another important church, which is actually the Santa Clara Church Museum (Museo Iglesia de Santa Clara), located about 200 metres from the main square. However, it was easier said than done. Several streets, starting from the streets adjacent to the National Capitol, were closed off with high metal fences guarded by the military.
It was clear to me that I couldn’t pass through directly from the square, so I started to go around, hoping to reach the museum from another side. No, that wasn’t possible either, as a larger number of streets in that area were closed off in the same manner.
Indeed, as I later heard, there had been some demonstrations in Bogotá in recent days, so the military pre-emptively fenced off this part of La Candelaria because it houses Casa de Nariño, which means House of Nariño. It was named after a politician and military leader from the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The palace, which is much more than just a house, now serves as the residence of the President of Colombia, who also has offices there. In addition, the entire complex around it includes government buildings, so that area is particularly guarded.
As some of the soldiers told me, they were “guarding the president” in this way. I didn’t follow exactly what was happening in Bogotá in the recent days, but I know that around this time, neighbouring Ecuador experienced major unrest, especially in the capital city of Quito, so these measures might have been preventive. This is the situation in more or less the entire Latin America – there are constant political upheavals and potential unrest.
In any case, while I was unsuccessfully trying to find my way to the Santa Clara Church Museum, I entertained myself by photographing the picturesque houses that abound in La Candelaria.
Since after a few attempts I didn’t manage to reach the museum-church and feeling tired, perhaps from lack of sleep, I decided to head back towards the hotel.
La Candelaria has many interesting places worth visiting, but for now, I just walked towards the cathedral and only took occasional photographs along the way.
As it turned out, it was still early in the morning and the cathedral wasn’t open yet. However, I was able to visit the Sacristy Chapel (Capilla del Sagrario).
This chapel is located on the same side of Plaza de Bolívar as the cathedral and although it is a distinct building, it is considered part of the cathedral complex. The construction of the chapel began in 1660 and was completed in 1700.
In the chapel, you can see paintings by the renowned Colombian Baroque painter Gregorio Vásquez (1638-1711). One of his notable works displayed there is “The Last Supper.”
By the time I had finished with my visit to the chapel, the cathedral was still closed, so I postponed this for later. I returned to the hotel to rest for a while and later I went out again and headed towards the Gold Museum (Museo del Oro).