Colombia 2024, part 4 (Bogotá)
One of the very popular destinations among visitors to Bogotá, both foreign and domestic, as well as local residents, is Monserrate Hill (Cerro de Monserrate), which rises above the central parts of Colombia’s capital.
The term “hill” is quite relative here. The summit of Monserrate stands at 3,170 meters above sea level (information from the upper station of the cable car), but since Bogotá itself averages around 2,650 meters in altitude, Monserrate doesn’t give the impression of being particularly high. One might think of it as just an ordinary hill. Well, it’s not.
Additionally, the slopes of Monserrate are very steep, leading to the construction of both a cable car and a funicular over time.
The funicular was built between 1926 and 1929 when it began to operate. It spans 800 meters in length, with an average slope of as much as 80 degrees and a maximum capacity of 80 people.
As for the cable car, it opened in 1955.
My idea was to use one mode of transportation in one direction and another in the opposite direction, and I even asked if I could do that with the same ticket. They told me I could at the ticket office, but conveniently forgot to mention that the funicular wasn’t actually operating during my visit.
Anyway, to start with, I had to wait in line a long time until I entered one of the cable car cabins as a part of a group formed on the spot. There are two cabins: one goes up while the other comes down. However, I assume it is always crowded and requires patience because each cabin allows a maximum of 40 people per ride.
While waiting for the cabin that would later take me up, I was able to film the slopes of Monserrate and observe the other cabin returning in the meantime.
Of course, when it’s finally your turn to board the cabin, it tends to fill up quickly, so it’s not always possible to get a good spot for taking photos. However, I managed somehow, thanks to the fact that I’m at least a head taller than the average height of Colombian residents.
When I finally reached the top, I first climbed to the plateau in front of the church to enjoy the spectacular view of Bogotá.
In addition to Monserrate, another “hill” rises above Bogotá on the same side – Guadalupe. Its summit is at an even higher altitude, around 3,360 meters above sea level. At the top, you can see a temple with a 15-meter-tall white statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Still, I was captivated by the view of Bogotá, so I even used my camera to search for and find the main square in the old part of the city called La Candelaria – Plaza de Bolivar.
While I was enjoying the view of the big city, I noticed a couple of very interesting residents. They were specimens of the American black vulture (Coragyps atratus) flying above the city, which is home to around 8 million people. It was a completely fascinating sight for me.
Speaking of birds, and those who read my travel writings know that I’m particularly interested in birds, I spotted and photographed specimens of two more species on Monserrate. The first is the great Thrush (Turdus fuscater), while the second, captured a bit later in the treetop, is the rufous-collared Sparrow (Zonotrichia capensis).
While I was still staying on the plateau from where I filmed parts of Bogotá, I noticed another interesting object, which was a sign indicating the direction to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. In 2018, I walked the pilgrimage connected to the Way of St. James, so all these symbols are very familiar and dear to my heart. However, considering the Atlantic Ocean, it is impossible to walk from Colombia to Santiago de Compostela even with the best intentions. Unless one were to walk across the Bering Strait when it completely freezes over, but that would be a whole other story.
In any case, anyone interested in the travelogues about my experience on the Way of St. James can start from the first sequel: https://www.svudapodji.com/en/spain-1/.
And as for Monserrate in Bogotá, I first headed towards the church located at the top. It is the Sanctuary Basilica of the Fallen Lord of Monserrate (Basílica del Señor Caído de Monserrate), consecrated in 1920, and it also serves as a pilgrimage sanctuary. The original church at this site was built in the mid-17th century, but due to the earthquake in 1917, it had to be replaced by this new one.
Within the altar, you can see a figure of Jesus Christ at the moment when he fell on his way to Golgotha.
I didn’t stay in the church for long; instead, I went for a short walk along the top with intention of finding a place to sit and have coffee. I also planned to go to the upper station of the funicular, not knowing at the time that it wasn’t operating, as I intended to descend from Monserrate using it.
At one point, I looked back and saw part of the basilica again, as well as the upper station of the cable car.
There are two restaurants at the top of Monserrate. One was crowded during my visit and, as far as I understood, offered only lunch or food, while the other offered drinks or coffee only as well.
I opted for the latter and that break was quite refreshing for me. The weather was beautiful, but I was still tired from the journey, stress and the lack of sleep. I definitely needed oxygen since I was at an altitude of 3000 meters. In such circumstances, it is good to rest and perhaps have something to refresh oneself.
After that break, I went to the upper station of the funicular and that’s when I found out it wasn’t actually operating.
I had to return to the upper station of the cable car and encountered a large crowd again, which meant I had to wait quite a bit.
Now I deliberately stood on the other side of the cabin in order to look at the slopes of Monserrate and I didn't regret it. This way, I could see the “track” along which quite clearly travels the funicular.
By the way, while I was still waiting to go up to the top of Monserrate, I noticed what seemed like a park behind the lower cable car station. I spotted a couple of hummingbirds there, but by the time I got my camera out and turned it on, they had flown away. From what I’ve read somewhere, Monserrate is one of the places where you can see an incredible variety of birds, which entire Colombia is known for.
Feeling a bit refreshed from the coffee I had on Monserrate, after descending by cable car I continued on foot towards the main square in La Candelaria. Occasionally, I looked back at Monserrate, its summit adorned with the beautiful white church where I had been not long ago.
Along the way, I also noticed other details, like the beautiful, colourful necklaces often laid out on sheets on the sidewalk for sale.
I think the tradition of making and selling these necklaces originates from indigenous people who continue this craft as a continuation of an old tradition. Although they all look very beautiful and are certainly skilfully made, some of them are also produced and sold in shops belonging to more artistically oriented creators.
However, the most popular product, judging by the reactions of my friends and family to whom I sent some photos during my travels, was a local balm for rheumatic pains and bruises made from arnica. I've known for a while that arnica is a well-known homeopathic remedy for trauma, but what made this particular product specific were its additives: coca and marijuana.
Everyone I sent the photo to expressed interest in this product. Of course, I understood it was all in jest, but I did think it would make a fun souvenir from my travels. However, since my journey had just begun and I was planning to travel around Colombia for a month, it didn't make sense to purchase anything yet. Additionally, my backpack hadn't arrived in Bogotá when I did, so I was currently dealing with issues getting my original luggage, making it impractical to buy anything at the moment.
Furthermore, despite the fact that this product was being sold at a stall in a busy street in downtown Bogotá in broad daylight, I wasn't sure if authorities in my own country or the countries I planned to travel through would have any issues with me carrying around twenty boxes labelled "coca and marijuana". Arnica would just be a side note in that scenario.
Anyway, I found myself back at Plaza de Bolivar where the Cathedral and Sacristy Chapel were bathed in strong sunlight.
Since the cathedral was closed again, I walked down a side street (Calle 10 or Street 10) where several interesting buildings are located.
First, I passed by the impressive San Ignacio Church (Iglesia de San Ignacio), which is the largest and most impressive church from the colonial era, founded in 1610. Interestingly, every time I passed by the church, it was closed, and somehow I “managed” not to take a photo of it. I don’t know why.
However, I did take photos of Calle 10 and different other interesting buildings along the street.
One of the historically very interesting buildings is the San Carlos Palace (Palacio de San Carlos) from the late 16th century, which houses the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. However, it's not the ministry that makes this building interesting. Not even its facade, which is mostly quite unremarkable.
What's particularly interesting here is the window visible on the left side of the previous photograph. Through that window, in 1828, Simon Bolivar escaped when a group of people entered the building planning to assassinate him. At that moment, he was in the bathtub, but he had a very clever and resourceful lover, Manuelita Sáenz, who politely greeted and distracted these people while Bolivar jumped out of the tub, then through the window and thus saved himself. There is still a plaque beneath the window commemorating this event in Latin, recounting how the Liberator was saved.
Directly across from the San Carlos Palace is the very beautiful Colón Theatre (Teatro Colón), known as one of the most elegant in Bogotá. Judging by its facade, this certainly makes sense.
This street is very beautiful and designated solely for pedestrians. On a lovely day, like during my visit, I particularly enjoyed the view towards the Eastern Hills, along which central parts of Bogotá stretch following the north-south axis.
In this street, there are also a couple of museums, one of which is the Military Museum housed in a building with a very beautiful facade.
Continuing my leisurely stroll through La Candelaria, I moved on to Calle 11 (Street 11) and passed by another museum located in a former coin mint. Today, it is called the Mint Museum (Museo Casa de Moneda). I have to admit that the history of currency in Colombia, although the museum also showcases art collections, didn't interest me much. Similar to the previous museum, I simply photographed the facade.
Right next to the old mint, there is a large colonial-era mansion that houses the Botero Museum (Museo Botero). I certainly planned to visit this museum because I love Botero’s distinctly plump figures, but I saved it for another day. For now, I just checked the museum's opening hours and continued walking to the nearby corner where the Church of Our Lady of Candelaria (Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria) is located.
Its construction lasted from 1686 to 1703, initially without the two towers that are now part of the church.
Now I headed towards a small square in La Candelaria known as a very popular spot, especially among young people, and it is also considered the “centre of nightlife,” as guidebooks tend to say. Although it was still broad daylight, I was getting increasingly tired due to the lack of sleep, jet lag and the stress caused by my backpack not arriving. Before planning to return to the hotel, I took a wider circle to see this landmark within the old city.
On the other hand, the square itself, Plazoleta del Chorro de Quevedo, is located where once was the centre of a settlement of the Muisca people whom the Spaniards encountered when they began their conquest. Therefore, out of respect for the indigenous people, it is important to visit this square, even though absolutely nothing remains as it once was.
While walking here, I saw another house, similar to which there are many, adorned with a mural. As I’ve mentioned earlier, this is very common in Bogota, and it is nice to see that murals and graffiti are done beautifully, rather than just being random scribbles.
One of the possible routes to Plazoleta del Chorro de Quevedo is to take Carrera 2, a road lined with picturesque old houses. Along the way, I also passed by a completely modern building.
What I want to say is that there is indeed a great diversity of architectural styles in La Candelaria. This particular building is a university and during the few days I spent walking around the capital of Colombia, I got the impression that there are many universities here. I'm not familiar with the exact state of education in Colombia or the costs associated with these institutions, but there certainly seems to be a wide range of options for higher education.
From there, I continued along Carrera 2, which practically led me directly to the square, enjoying the vibrant street and its houses along the way.
At Plazoleta del Chorro de Quevedo, I encountered a crowd. But, besides the many people, there are a couple of interesting sights to see as well.
When the Spaniards arrived, the first church in Bogota was built here and later, in the 19th century, a fountain was also erected. Both structures were demolished at the end of the 19th century. However, in 1969, a replica of the church was constructed, while a new fountain was installed as well.
However, despite this being an interesting and lively place with bars and restaurants nearby, I was exhausted from the reasons mentioned earlier. Therefore, I only briefly took a few photos and a video before heading back to the hotel. I simply needed to rest, preferably in a horizontal position. I didn't even venture further along Carrera 2, known as Callejón del Embudo. It is an extremely picturesque narrow street, almost like an alley. You can easily recognise the beginning of this street: it starts at an arch topped with a sculpture of a juggling unicyclist (on the right side of the upper photograph with the church).
Although I was feeling tired, I still managed to capture a few more interesting houses along the way. The first one in the following picture is even available for rent (in case someone wants to move to Bogota).
So, I arrived at the hotel and rested briefly, but I had to go out again to eat something. I went to a nearby local restaurant and just ordered soup and something simple. It was important for me to eat quickly and return to my room because besides needing rest, I was expecting my backpack to be delivered later in the evening, as promised the previous night at the airport.
I was tracking the arrival time of the flight (the same one I had arrived on from Atlanta the previous night) and I spent some time imagining how they would unload the luggage from the plane and so on. Then I called the airline's airport office. They told me that my backpack hadn't arrived that evening because it went to – New York! What???!!!
I asked the representative of the well-known American airline how it was possible that my backpack went in the opposite direction of where it was supposed to go and she just hung up the phone!!! What???!!!
That was when a new agony began. I tried to contact the airline, then the European airline I flew with between Europe and America, and from whose website I purchased my ticket to Bogotá, but... Nowadays, it's practically impossible. If you really try hard and know English well, you might manage to find a link to some sort of customer service, but there you can only expect to get responses from a “bot” (short for “robot”) or “artificial intelligence.”
To start with, such artificial intelligence isn't intelligent at all; it is programmed to provide only general, predefined answers to a very limited number of questions. If you have a “creative” problem like mine at this moment, you absolutely won't get any meaningful information and there is nothing you can do about it. Moreover, different airlines, even within the same airline alliance, use different terms for some concepts that are important to you but that you can't locate. For example, they were asking me for a number that I was supposed to enter on the website, but that number wasn’t on any of the documents I had received related to my trip (electronic ticket and boarding pass).
I was only able to find the page where I could see that my backpack, instead of coming to Bogota the previous day from Atlanta (Southern USA), was sent to Denver, Colorado (Western USA), and then to New York (Eastern USA), where it missed the connection to Bogota and was now waiting there. Seriously???!!!
Considering all of this (the rude and unprofessional airport staff, absolutely no customer service which I guess ought to have been included in the price of the ticket, and the complete waste of money, resources and time sending my backpack on a "round tour" across the USA), I was no longer sure if I would ever see my backpack again.
All of this was happening at the beginning of a trip that was supposed to last four weeks and I only had a few basic items with me for a day or two, so the very thought of my backpack not arriving and me having to start searching and buying in Bogota what I needed for those four weeks filled me with additional stress and anxiety.
Of course, that night I slept extremely poorly, with little and poor-quality sleep, and towards morning I started to have dry cough. The situation was not promising at all.