Svuda podji - travel stories

Norway 2024, part 2 (Oslo)

Verica Ristic — Fri, 15 May 2026 15:27:00 GMT

At the end of the 18th century, over 90% of Norway's population lived in rural areas. Unlike the rest of Europe, Norway did not have villages. Until the 18th century, most peasants rented land from the king or the Church, but this began to change over time. By the 19th century, more and more people were buying their own land. Although these farms were relatively small, there were certainly some peasants who accumulated larger properties. Most peasants lived off farming, but there was also variation, such as combining farming with fishing or forestry.

In line with this, the Norwegian Museum of Cultural History showcases numerous structures that have been relocated from various parts of Norway, clearly illustrating how people once lived in the interior of the country.

The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History, a detail

Given Norway's climate and topographical features, summer pasturing of livestock in the mountains was a regular routine. There were even cases where the same agricultural farms had several summer dairies at different elevations to make the most of seasonal vegetation. The primary livestock consisted of cows and goats, from which milk was regularly collected and processed into butter and cheese.

The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History, a detail

In addition, summer grass was also mown to ensure food for the livestock during the long winters. It was also necessary to provide facilities where the hay could be stored for a sufficient period, until the next season of fresh grass.

The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History, a detail

As I’ve mentioned, not all houses were small, such as one built in the Trøndelag region around 1800.

The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History, a detail

Although the house is older, the interior is furnished to illustrate how it would have looked in the 1960s if a family with children had lived there.

The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History, a detail

While walking through the open-air museum on this beautiful sunny day, I passed by traditional fences. I'm not sure if they are there merely to recreate the appearance of agricultural properties or if they are still used today to prevent wild animals from passing through.

The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History, a detail

Soon, I arrived at a group of houses from the Hardanger region, which served similar functions as other houses on agricultural farms. Some were for people, for living, cooking and laundry; some were for storing products made; some for livestock or hay; and some for tools. Or a combination of these purposes.

The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History, a detail

One detail that caught my attention, which I also noticed later in some other houses, is visible in the next photograph. Note the "wall" on the right-hand side and the semi-enclosed porch. I assume these features were designed to reduce the effect of drifting snow during the long, snowy Norwegian winters and to allow people to enter and exit the houses, as well as pass by them.

The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History, a detail

Eventually, I reached a house from south-western Norway that was built in 1845.

The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History, a detail

As I could notice in the case of some other buildings, this house also had a roof covered with a thin layer of earth and grass. Additionally, this type of house was typically built in coastal areas with less wood available, so stone was used in the construction. The houses also had side extensions (lean-tos) protected by stone, where peat was stored in order to be used as fuel.

The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History, a detail

Here, I also went inside and took a closer look at the interior of the house.

The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History, a detail

As I continued along the wide path, I glanced back once more at this house that I found particularly charming.

The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History, a detail

Soon, I arrived at a large structure from 1838 that used to serve as a complex barn. Such buildings were common on large agricultural farms in the south-western part of the country.

The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History, a detail

The building features two stories in the part where threshing was done, as well as ramps for horse-drawn carts used to bring in the grain. Inside the building, there is also a room for storing grains and a stable for horses.

A similar ramp can be seen on a smaller structure that served both as a granary and a stable for horses, which were considered the most valuable agricultural animals. To the left of this structure is a smaller building with an enclosed area, which was used as a pigsty.

The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History, a detail

The buildings in this open-air museum are organised by the regions from which they originate, while different parts are enclosed by traditional wooden fences.

The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History, a detail

The next region displayed is Hallingdal, located about 150 km northwest of Oslo. The buildings are arranged around a courtyard, vividly illustrating how various structures used for different purposes were built around a shared central space.

The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History, a detail

Here, I climbed the ramp of one building in order to see how the interior was organised and this is clearly visible in the second photograph – from the upper level, you can see a room that extends the full height of the building, where hay was pitched from above.

The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History, a detail

Here, too, you can see grass-covered roofs, while some of the smaller buildings served as goat stables.

The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History, a detail

The next group of buildings is from the Numedal region, located west of Oslo, which is also organised around a central courtyard.

The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History, a detail

In the previous photo, on the left side, you can see a house the ground floor of which was built around 1209 and that served as a large storehouse. In the elevated ground floor (as the house is raised), which is the oldest part of the building, food was stored, while textiles, clothing, and beds were kept on the upper floor. Originally, the first level stood on large stone blocks, but in the 18th century, it was raised onto wooden pillars.

Next to this building is a wooden stable from the second half of the 18th century, used for housing horses, sheep and heifers, with hay stored in the upper floor. This stable has a ramp for hay delivery, while its roof is made of wooden planks, which was common in this region.

Another building within this courtyard features a ramp for hay delivery and a grass-covered roof. This is a stable from the 17th century.

The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History, a detail

A farmhouse from the second half of the 18th century also comes from this region.

The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History, a detail

The house, which looks charming and fairy-tale-like from the outside, has a very simple ground plan and it consists of just two rooms. The entrance is positioned in the middle, but it practically leads directly into the main room, from which you enter a smaller room.

The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History, a detail

Then I moved on to the next group of buildings, which come from the Setesdal region in southern Norway.

The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History, a detail

Here, I first came across a building from the second half of the 17th century that served both as storage and as living quarters in the loft. It is unusual that it has three stories.

The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History, a detail

Next is a house with an open hearth, built around 1700.

The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History, a detail

First, I took note of a type of enclosed porch with minimal openings for light. Then, I peered inside to see what the open hearth looked like.

The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History, a detail

The third house in the sequence, built around 1700, is also a combination of storage space on the ground floor and living quarters on the upper floor. During the summer, both floors were used for sleeping.

The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History, a detail

And finally, the fourth house in this series is a farmhouse from the second half of the 17th century, which also features an enclosed porch. Inside, the rooms are arranged to reflect what they would have looked like at the time of the original construction.

The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History, a detail

Since I wanted to join the guided tour organised by the museum on this day at 1 p.m., I concluded my visit to the open-air museum here. As I walked towards The Square within the museum, I passed by a structure typical of the Sami people whom I talked more about in the previous part of my Norway travelogue.

The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History, a detail

Now I returned to the larger buildings near the museum entrance, where the guided tour was being offered on that day. It was a fortunate coincidence for me and I was glad to take advantage of the opportunity. I arrived just 5 minutes before the tour started.

The Square

The theme of the tour was how the Norwegian aristocracy lived from the 1600s to the 20th century. It was interesting to see some exhibits and learn various details, though my brief conclusion was that this society was quite "politically incorrect," or perhaps it's just a trend now to emphasise certain aspects. For starters, the tour guide mentioned that many Norwegian merchants had profited from the slave trade. She added that this is not often talked about, but it is a "fact that many of them were involved in this kind of trade." She spoke with a tone that seemed uncomfortable on one hand, while on the other hand, it was as if she was following the current trend of openly discussing "past wrongs" to bring historical balance.

In line with this, she constantly emphasised how the aristocracy (which included officers, clergy and wealthy merchants, as there were not many true aristocrats since the king was in Denmark, i.e., Copenhagen, during that period) insisted on being separate from peasants, to be "better" and "more noble" regardless of the financial status of others.

No amount of attempts to "make amends" today can rectify past injustices, though it is certainly better to discuss them than to sweep them under the rug. What is always important is how people behave today, regardless of their status or class. And if someone thinks that there are no "classes" in societies that consider themselves civilised, they are gravely mistaken.

The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History, a detail

One of the more interesting details was the exhibit showing what a "gentleman" had to carry when travelling. There were various small items, but also a couple of pistols, because you never knew when an insult might occur and then, of course, one would need to go out for a duel.

The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History, a detail

On the Bygdøy Peninsula, where I visited the Norwegian Museum of Cultural History, there are several other important museums. Probably the most significant among them is the Viking Ship Museum (Vikingskipshuset), but it was closed for renovation until 2027. However, I didn’t feel too disappointed, as I had visited a similar museum in Denmark (see: https://www.svudapodji.com/en/denmark-1/).

In any case, after the organised tour concluded, I left the Norwegian Museum of Cultural History and waited for a bus in order to return to the city centre. I got off at the National Theatre in Oslo.

Norway 2024, part 1 (Oslo)

Verica Ristic — Fri, 08 May 2026 17:55:00 GMT

For a number of years, I have been thinking about visiting Norway. I must admit that I have one specific trip in mind for this country, but that will still have to wait. For now, I have decided that my first visit to Norway will last a week, with the idea of spending that time exploring the capital city and then various parts of the southern regions of the country. Here is the map showing where I ended up travelling:

To start with, I took a late flight from Belgrade to Oslo and then I arrived at Oslo's Central Station by express train. From there, I walked to the flat where I had rented a room.

Norway is known as one of the most expensive countries in Europe, so I decided to "save" a bit by booking just a room within a flat. However, I must admit that the hosts won me over with the location of their dwelling – just a dozen-minute walk from the city's main train station. On the other hand, both the hosts and the flat were great, so I was more than happy with my choice.

Oslo is considered a very safe city, so there was no reason to worry about walking alone on the streets around midnight. After all, they were mostly empty and although I was eager to get to bed, I stopped at a few spots to photograph Oslo at night. I figured I wouldn’t have another chance to see the city in that light, which turned out to be a completely accurate assumption.

Oslo at night

The next day, after a good night's sleep, I first had a pleasant chat with one of the hosts who was working from home that day. Then I made coffee and went through my morning "rituals" before getting ready and heading out for a walk around Oslo and its surroundings.

I had already made a plan back at home about what I wanted to see and visit during this week, so it was time to get started. To begin with, I familiarised myself with the city. I first returned to the river I had crossed the previous evening and that flows through Oslo. The river is called the Akerselva.

The Akerselva

Here, I also passed through a very modern part of Oslo near the train station.

Oslo, a detail

Although numerous bicycles may be seen in Oslo, the situation isn’t quite like in Denmark and Copenhagen. In addition, the city also has a very well-developed public transportation system.

Oslo, a detail

I wasn’t exactly wandering aimlessly here, as I was actually a woman on a mission with a specific task to complete. As I’ve mentioned before, I really enjoy coming up with a task for myself in a foreign city that isn’t just typical tourist sightseeing. It makes me feel more like I’m a local. That was the case in Oslo as well.

I had a situation similar to the one I had in Bern (see: https://www.svudapodji.com/en/fgs-6/). Several years ago, I had bought some Norwegian kroner in Belgrade, apparently with the idea and hope that I would one day travel to Norway. Time passed, I didn’t travel to Norway, while those banknotes were withdrawn from circulation, so they could no longer be used for payments. The only thing to do now was to exchange them for new banknotes at the central bank of Norway (Norges Bank). So, my task for that morning was first to go to the bank to take care of that and then continue on.

However, my path took me past the cathedral, so I thought it would be better to visit it right away rather than try to fit it into my schedule for the next day. That’s what I did.

Oslo Cathedral

To start with, I approached the church from the "back." Since this part of Oslo has a gentle slope, the church was built on a flattened area, so the back part of the churchyard is one floor higher than the street running alongside it. Between 1841 and 1895, along the streets surrounding the churchyard on three sides, a building with arcades was constructed, as seen in the previous photo. At the back of this building, behind the arcades, there is a staircase leading up to the rear part of the churchyard. This building is called Basarene or Oslo Bazaars.

Basarene in the street behind the Cathedral

Churchyard and the Cathedral

Oslo Cathedral (Domkirken) was built in the second half of the 17th century and was originally dedicated to Our Saviour. It was extensively restored in the 19th century and again in 1950, so little remains of the original structure.

Oslo Cathedral

Oslo Cathedral, a detail

The cathedral is very beautiful and I found its ground plan particularly interesting. Excluding the area beneath the bell tower that you pass through to enter the church, the cathedral has a floor plan in the shape of a Greek cross (equal length of the arms), which is what caught my attention. Typically, the transept is shorter than the nave of the church, but that is not the case here.

Oslo Cathedral, a detail

The ceiling is covered with frescoes that were created between 1936 and 1950.

Oslo Cathedral, a detail

The only elements that have survived from the original edifice are the pulpit and the altar. Both were carved in the 17th century.

Oslo Cathedral, a detail

The organ, located above the entrance to the nave of the church, dates back to the 18th century.

Oslo Cathedral, a detail

I didn’t stay here for long and then continued my walk towards the bank, while also getting to know some basic directions within the city. To start with, in front of the cathedral, there is the main square, known as Stortorvet.

Stortorvet

A little further along, I stopped again to glance back at the cathedral first and also to look down Karl Johans gt., which is a pedestrian street in this area and one of the main commercial streets in the city.

Oslo Cathedral

Karl Johans gt.

The street leading south from the cathedral is lined with beautiful buildings and I also began to notice the many cast sculptures I frequently encountered. In the end, my conclusion was that nowhere else had I seen more sculptures on city streets than in Oslo.

Oslo, a detail

Soon, I arrived at Norges Bank and quickly took care of what I needed to do. With the now usable banknotes, I happily exited onto the street and went to a bus stop, as my next destination was a bit far from the centre and required public transportation. I had already purchased a bus ticket from a store chain that sells them, using a credit card, so I was fully prepared. The bus arrived shortly and I boarded.

This entire time, from the moment I left the flat until I got on the bus, everything seemed to be going smoothly and effortlessly, including my orientation. I wondered if I might have lived here in a past life, making Oslo feel so familiar, or if it was just my travel experience and ability to adapt to new environments. Additionally, I had recently mastered using a geographic map on my phone when I don’t have internet access, while I’ve always been good with maps, so perhaps that was the secret.

Be as it may, I found a nice spot on the bus from where I could watch the parts of the city we were passing through. I was also intrigued when a group of children, apparently from a kindergarten, boarded at one of the stops accompanied with a couple of teachers. Since the seats were already occupied and there didn’t seem to be enough anyway, the teachers told the children to sit on the floor in a section where there was more space. I was surprised but just observed the whole situation. Norway is a very clean country, but the floors of their buses are as dirty as public transportation floors anywhere else. I think it's more about what is considered acceptable in the given society.

Along the way, I took a picture of a marina from the bus, as the sun was shining and I was near the sea. Specifically, Oslo is located at the end of the Oslofjord, which is a deep and narrow bay leading to the Skagerrak strait and further out to the North Sea.

Oslo, a detail

After about a 20-minute ride, I got off at the Bygdøy Peninsula, in front of the Norwegian Museum of Cultural History (Norsk Folkemuseum). The museum is considered one of the best in the city, especially for those interested in this type of exhibits, which I am.

Although there are several indoor sections of the museum where exhibits are displayed, the core of the museum is its "collection" in the open air. This collection consists of buildings, primarily houses and outbuildings from agricultural farms, but also other types of structures – totalling 160 historical buildings on display.

The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History, a detail

First, you arrive at The Square, an area of the museum where visits start. There, I saw that I could tour one of the buildings as part of an organised tour that began at 1 p.m. (the building on the left in the previous photo), which gave me enough time to explore the open-air sections of the museum. However, I first stopped by another city house on The Square, which had a well-designed exhibition detailing the traditional life of the Sámi peoples, also known as Laplanders, who are most numerous in Norway. The Sámi traditionally inhabit the far north of Europe, including parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. (In Sweden and Finland, they live in the province and district of Lapland, hence the alternative name.)

When I say they "traditionally inhabit" the north of Europe, I mean that while they used to live only in traditional areas, it is now believed that there are more Sámi people, for example, in Oslo than in the north of Norway.

The Sámi are not a single nation, not only because they live in different countries, but also because they practice different religions (Protestantism and Orthodoxy) and speak different languages, though all belong to the same language group. Nevertheless, they have significant commonalities and therefore represent an indigenous native community. Regarding their traditional clothing, there are certain differences, but also numerous similarities in patterns and colours.

The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History, a detail

Of course, because of the icy northern climate, the Sámi have developed a way of life closely tied to reindeer. For starters, reindeer fur is exceptionally good at keeping warm, considering that winter temperatures can drop to as low as -50°C.

The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History, a detail

The Sámi managed to live and survive in these conditions not only because they knew how to keep warm, but also because they traded reindeer hides and fur, as well as meat and fish, with people from southern territories or exchanged their goods for flour, sugar, cloth and kitchen utensils.

In addition to reindeer fur, they used all other parts of the animal – meat for food, hides for clothing and footwear, tendons for ropes and thread, and bones and antlers for useful tools and decorative items.

The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History, a detail

Also, the Sámi milked reindeer, as their milk is highly nutritious. They even made cheese, butter and fermented dairy products with herbs, which they then sold. However, this required a lot of work, so over time, this practice was abandoned and trade shifted almost entirely to meat.

Some Sámi people traditionally lived in tents (goahti), which resemble Native American teepees. However, circumstances, especially after World War II, have changed significantly, leading to changes in their lifestyle as well.

The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History, a detail

After finishing the visit to the exhibition on the Sámi people and their traditional way of life, I went outside to explore this somewhat atypical museum. First, I came across some larger houses that seemed a bit more urban. However, one of the most interesting exhibits was a wooden church, as one of my goals for this trip was to visit several such churches.

To start with, I passed by the main house from the Karterud farm dating back to the 18th century. It is said that the first potatoes in Norway were planted on this farm.

Main building from the Karterud farm

Nearby is the Parsonage from Leikanger, built in 1752, which comes with a (French) garden. Traditionally, priests were provided with a house and estate to ensure a regular income. Since the clergy had direct contact with the population, they also passed on to their congregations some European influences, such as gardening, by example.

Parsonage

There is the Christian Meeting House from the latter half of the 19th century nearby as well. It was used not only for gatherings of local residents, but also served as a school and church. However, since 1860, schools in Norway have been required to be housed in separate buildings.

Christian Meeting House

Needless to say, I won’t detail each of the nearly 200 exhibits in the museum, but at the start of my visit, I was particularly interested in certain exhibits. In this part of the museum, what intrigued me the most was a wooden church – the Stave Church from Gol.

Let me explain what this is. It is one of the now rare ancient wooden churches known as Stavkirke or Stavkyrke. These are essentially stave churches (stave being the name for wooden load-bearing columns). These churches were built during the Middle Ages across Northern Europe, with some dating back to around 800 years ago, but they are now mostly found in Norway. This was one of the most important things I wanted to see in this country, so it made sense to start with one that is easily accessible, which is this one at the Norwegian Museum of Cultural History.

The Stave Church from Gol can be seen to the left

The stave church from Gol was built around 1200 and was to be replaced by a new church around 1880. Fortunately, the Society for the Preservation of Norwegian Ancient Monuments purchased the church and donated it to the king, who then funded its relocation to the Bygdøy Peninsula in 1884. Naturally, the church needed to be restored, but the restoration was carried out according to what was presumed to have been its original appearance. Missing parts were modelled after the Borgund Stave Church.

This part of the museum also houses King Oscar II’s Collection. At that time, King Oscar II was both the King of Sweden (1872-1907) and the King of Norway (1872-1905). He took an interest not only in the church, but also financed the relocation of four other structures, as the idea was to demonstrate his genuine interest in Norway. Interestingly, this collection is considered the world’s first open-air museum.

One of these structures is the Summer Cabin from Støylsemne, from the 15th century, which was used in one of the summer mountain pasture farms in southern Norway. Another is the Storehouse from Rolstad, from the 14th century, which was actually used as a sleeping area.

Summer cabin from Støylsemne

Storehouse from Rolstad

But, in my opinion, the most beautiful structures are the Stave Church from Gol and the Storehouse from Berdal.

Stave Church from Gol and Storehouse from Berdal

First, I photographed the Storehouse from Berdal, where the king displayed items from the royal collection.

Storehouse from Berdal

Then, of course, I took some time to walk around the church and also peeped inside.

Stave Church from Gol

As I’ve mentioned earlier, this wooden church was built around 1200 in the town of Gol, which is located about 220 km northwest of Oslo. Approximately 150 years ago, it was relocated to its current location.

Stave Church from Gol

The portal on the west side (the main entrance to the church) is original, while the southern portal (the lateral side of the church) is a replica from 1884.

Stave Church from Gol, south portal

I only peeked into the church. Why? I’m not sure. Perhaps I was so enchanted that I thought I might "dirty" it by entering. It’s also possible that entry wasn’t physically possible and it was only open for viewing from the entrance. Honestly, I don’t remember.

Stave Church from Gol, the interior

It is presumed that during the time when the church was Catholic, it was decorated with images of saints. However, after the Reformation in 1537 and the transition to Protestantism, the details from the Catholic period were gradually removed and replaced. Nonetheless, the paintings preserved in the altar area, created in 1652, have survived. The church had insufficient lighting, so the photograph is blurry, but the figures can still be discerned.

Stave Church from Gol, the interior

Stave Church from Gol

The King Oscar II’s Collection also includes the Farmhouse from Hove, built in 1738, which is seen on the left in the following photograph. It was used for guests, making it larger and more luxurious than the other buildings on the farm.

King Oscar II’s Collection

Now I was ready to continue exploring the other historic buildings from rural Norway that can be seen at the Norwegian Museum of Cultural History.

Colombia 2024, part 15 (Puerto Nariño, Leticia, Bogota)

Verica Ristic — Fri, 01 May 2026 14:54:00 GMT

The rain that had often fallen during the night continued into the morning, causing the planned outing to be cancelled, although I was personally absolutely drained and had no energy for anything. I managed to drag myself to the dining room for breakfast, but all I could do was to drink some tea and eat a little bread, not because I had stomach issues, but simply because I had no appetite whatsoever. Besides that, I frequently had to rush to the toilet and since I was completely exhausted, I spent most of the morning lying in my room.

The return by speedboat to Leticia was scheduled for 3 PM and I packed my things by putting one item at the time into my backpack each time I returned to bed from the frequent trips to the toilet. I simply didn't have the strength to pack everything at once.

Around 2 PM, we set off by boat (Jessica and a young German woman with whom we occasionally spoke within the accommodation were also returning to Leticia at the same time). I asked the young man in charge of transportation to carry my large backpack to the boat and to take it out when we arrived at the Puerto Nariño dock. While waiting for the speedboat, I sat on some steps because I couldn't stand on my feet.

When the speedboat arrived, I asked the crew to let me board first because I wasn't feeling well, so I just showed them which backpack was mine.

All guides and internet sources advise bringing cash to the Amazon area settlements because using cards can be problematic, as can exchanging money or finding ATMs. This turned out to be a lifesaver for me because I had enough cash to pay for all the services of carrying my backpack. It was the same when I arrived in Leticia, where tuk-tuk drivers were waiting and I could just show them my backpack and drag myself to the given tuk-tuk.

Before that, I said goodbye to Jessica and apologised once again for waking her up, thanking her for her help.

Miraculously, during the journey to Leticia, I didn't need to use the toilet at all and I don't know what would have happened if I had needed to. I guess it's all in the mind and I also took a few activated charcoal capsules. At one point, I even managed to take another photo of the Amazon "as a farewell."

The Amazon

I already had a room reservation in Leticia, so after dropping off my things and resting a bit, I went to find something to eat because I realised I needed to eat and it wasn't normal to spend the whole day with just two cups of tea. However, I still wanted to have some soup and luckily there is plenty of that in Colombia. Fortunately, there was a local restaurant just a few dozen metres from the guesthouse where I was staying.

Restaurant in Leticia

In addition to the soup, I also had some bread with cheese and it was tasty, but I only ate a little because I still didn't have much of an appetite.

Dinner in Leticia

I spent the night relatively peacefully (only had to go to the toilet once), so I woke up with hope and climbed to the top of the guesthouse where I had breakfast. It was nice because from the height, I could overlook Leticia that I would later leave by plane for Bogotá.

Breakfast place in Leticia

Leticia from above

My flight to Bogotá was in the morning and I took a taxi to the airport. I had occasional issues with my stomach, but there were enough toilets at the airport, so I didn't encounter any major problems. Before boarding the plane, I even took a photo of myself and concluded that I looked much, much better than I felt. However, I didn't have any issues during the flight either.

Leaving Leticia and returning to Bogotá

Once in Bogotá, I found there were wildfires burning on the surrounding hills at that time, but I settled into a good hotel in a nice part of the city. Since I wasn't sure how my issues would progress, it was important to me that the hotel had its own restaurant and room service.

Wildfires above Bogotá

Hotel room with a view

I booked the hotel for two nights with the intention of resting well there. It was clear to me that I had picked up some kind of bacteria somewhere, which was causing ongoing stomach issues, although not as intense as the first night. As a result, I felt extremely weak and I also had a persistent dry cough that sometimes intensified, further draining me of strength and energy.

So, after settling in, I went straight to the hotel restaurant to have soup again, as it seemed to be the most comforting for me.

Lunch in Bogotá

By the way, when I returned to Belgrade, I tried to make this soup and succeeded, although I had to improvise. I found it very tasty, and here’s the recipe.

Ajiaco soup served in a plate I have made myself

AJIACO SOUP

1 piece of chicken breast
2 l of water
2 fresh ears of corn, cut into 3–4 pieces each
2 white potatoes
2 red potatoes
1 sweet potato or piece of pumpkin (if Andean potatoes are unavailable)
1 large carrot
1 small onion
1 cube of chicken broth
2 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves
1 tablespoon dried oregano leaves
1 tablespoon dried mint leaves
sour cream
capers
salt and pepper to taste

Place the chicken, corn, coarsely chopped onion and carrot, coriander leaves, garlic, salt, and pepper in a large pot. Pour in the water and bring to a boil, then add the chicken broth cube. Let it cook over medium heat for about 35 minutes, until the chicken is tender.

Remove the chicken and separate the meat from the bones and skin, shredding it into pieces. Eventually, only the meat is used in the soup. Add the chopped potatoes, dried oregano and mint to the remaining soup, then continue cooking.

When the potatoes are cooked, return the chicken to the soup. Serve with sour cream and capers.

And as for my time in Bogota, I spent the rest of the day mostly lying down and sleeping, and in the end I felt somewhat stable.

However, the next day I woke up feeling so exhausted that I could barely stand. After much internal debate, I managed to make it down to the hotel breakfast room and ate a little fruit because my body seemed to crave it. I even tried to venture outside the hotel with the intention of going to a nearby convenience store about 50 metres away, but after a few steps, I realised I wasn't sure if I could manage it.

Distressed by my condition, I returned slowly to my room. This was definitely not good and at first I didn't know what to do. Then I remembered I had travel insurance, so I started researching how it actually worked, as I had never needed it before.

This trip to Colombia was quite unusual for me. Apart from experiencing Colombia itself and my interactions with its people, nothing else seemed to go right.

I “bought” the plane ticket in November and ten days before the trip, I found out I didn't actually have it because for some reason the airline hadn't taken the money from my bank (via card). The fact that the airline sent me an email, confirming my reservation and wishing me a pleasant journey meant nothing because I didn't receive the actual electronic ticket. The fact that the bank informed me that the money had been deducted from my account also meant nothing because the funds were held as "reserved" but unusable. So, I had to buy a new ticket (which I even found at a lower price) and file a complaint with the bank to release my funds.

When I finally arrived in Bogotá, my luggage didn't arrive on the same flight and they told me it would arrive the next day. It didn't. It arrived two days later and in the meantime, due to stress and lack of sleep, I caught something like a cold.

Even the small laptop I carry for travel started to malfunction (there were some contact issues), so I avoided using it because I didn't know if it would stop working altogether at some point and I needed it.

I also ordered a guidebook for Colombia online well before the trip. It was supposed to arrive within a maximum of 2 weeks, but it didn't arrive even after four weeks. I wrote to the company and they promptly refunded me. Then the guidebook finally arrived, so I had to return the money, but even that process wasn't smooth and involved a few steps, including a visit to the bank.

Upon arriving in Colombia, the credit card I use during my travels was working, but I wasn't receiving any SMS notifications, which meant I had no insight into my account balance or if someone had potentially stolen my card or data and started spending. It turned out the reason for this was that I didn't have roaming activated. I reported the issue to my mobile operator via email and for nearly two weeks, we exchanged messages. Their (useless) technical support gave me instructions like "turn it off and on again," but nothing worked. By the way, I should mention that when it comes to technical matters I am quite proficient for someone of my generation, although it's not my profession. So, the roaming never started working throughout my stay in Colombia, which was crucial for me to be able to make online purchases (an explanation follows).

For the time being, I wanted to call my insurance company's contact centre, but they only had a landline in Belgrade and my roaming wasn't working. So, I contacted a friend who is savvy with such things and she called them, providing them with my email address. That way, I ended up communicating through email with doctors in Belgrade who work for that insurance company.

I reported to them the type of problem I was having and then they began organising a visit by a doctor. It turned out that there was a possibility for the doctor to come to my hotel room, which was exceptional because I still didn't have the strength to stand, let alone go around Bogotá looking for doctors. I had to wait a bit longer and in the meantime I even felt the need to eat something.

So, I ordered a nice ceviche through room service. It wasn't Peruvian, but it was excellent and I was happy that I even felt like eating something because that is usually a good sign for me.

Ceviche in the hotel room

After several hours, the doctor arrived, examined me and the conclusion was as I had suspected - I had ingested something through water or food that caused the problem. My other health indicators were good and she prescribed what I needed to buy from the pharmacy the next day.

This all happened in the evening and by then I was feeling slightly better than in the morning, but I still went to sleep early. The next morning, I wasn't energetic, but I felt significantly better than the previous day. Enough to slowly make it down to breakfast and later I went to a nearby pharmacy to start taking probiotics and a supplement to restore electrolytes.

As the day progressed, I started feeling better and better. I wasn't back to my usual self yet, but around lunchtime, I took a short walk around the area and then began making plans for the continuation of my journey. I had come to Colombia with the intention of staying for a month, so there were still many places I had planned to visit. Due to the issues with my stomach, I had to change my plans and itinerary, so now I was figuring out how to fly to Medellín the next day, with the idea that I could take things slowly there and give myself time to rest and recover further.

Later in the afternoon, I actually felt well enough to decide to go sightseeing. I wanted to see the last building in Bogotá that remained from the series of works by the renowned Franco-Colombian architect Rogelio Salmona (1927-2007), which is on UNESCO's Tentative List of World Heritage Sites.

This was a straightforward endeavour; I called an Uber and their vehicle picked me up in front of the hotel and took me to the desired location. I walked around for about half an hour and then returned to the hotel the same way. It was necessary for me to test and see how realistically I could move around and I was pleased.

As for the building, it's the Residential buildings El Parque (Residencias El Parque), constructed between 1965 and 1970.

Residential buildings El Parque

By now, I was already quite familiar with the architectural style of Rogelio Salmona, but I was still glad I came here.

Residential buildings El Parque

The buildings are located on the edge of the historical centre of Bogotá and near Monserrate Hill, but right next to them, on the slope, there is also a beautiful park. However, what was particularly interesting to me here was that they were built right next to a bullfighting arena from 1931. Bullfighting was banned in Bogotá for a few years, but it was reinstated in 2017.

Bogotá Bullring

As for the park, it is called Independence Park (Parque de la Independencia) and it is one of the oldest parks in the city and was founded in 1910.

Path leading from the Residential buildings El Parque to the centre of the Independence Park

View from the park towards the Residential buildings El Parque

In the park, there are several monuments and interesting structures. I walked past the monument to Nicolaus Copernicus, while nearby I saw the Kiosk of Light (Quiosco de la Luz) that was built here as an exact replica of the structure erected in Versailles for Marie Antoinette.

Monument to Nicolaus Copernicus

Kiosk of Light

I also walked past the equestrian monument to Simón Bolívar. As far as I understand, this monument was recently moved here from another location.

Equestrian monument to Simon Bolivar

Within this popular park or in its immediate vicinity there are important national cultural institutions such as the National Library (Biblioteca Nacional), the Museum of Modern Art of Bogotá (Museo del Arte Moderno de Bogotá), the District Planetarium (Planetario Distrital) and the National Museum of Colombia (Museo Nacional de Colombia).

None of these interested me at the moment and I wanted to return to the hotel, so I walked a bit further to reach one of the main streets. Along the way, I passed by the bullfighting arena and arrived at the National Museum.

Residential buildings El Parque and the bullring

National Museum of Colombia

I even felt well enough to consider taking a bus back to the hotel. However, I changed my mind and waited for an Uber instead.

Bogotá, a detail

Instead of going to a travel agency the next day to buy a plane ticket to Medellín, I woke up again without any energy at all. I continued to rest that day and in the afternoon, I made a decision – I am returning home, more than two weeks earlier than planned. Here's what I managed to visit in Colombia during this short stay:

Of course, the issue with my roaming not working persisted, which meant I couldn't purchase a ticket online by myself because I needed to receive an SMS with a security code during the transaction, something I couldn't receive. This realisation was horrifying because it can happen to anyone, at any time and anywhere. No amount of "turn it off and on again" advice from the technical support helped. Nowadays, we all rely heavily on our devices and modern technology, and when this works, everything is smooth and easy. But when it doesn't, it becomes a huge problem.

So, the next morning, I coordinated with my nephew Nikola in Belgrade to buy the ticket online for me, while I received it on my email in Bogota. In the afternoon, I was already flying back. By the way, my mobile phone worked perfectly fine and I had roaming both in Panama City and Istanbul, where I had layovers.

A day later, I was back in Belgrade and in my own flat. Despite regretting not exploring Colombia more thoroughly, given the circumstances, I was extremely happy to be home.

Did I regret that I went on this trip, even though everything went awry right from the start? Absolutely not. Not in the least. Colombia is an exceptionally beautiful country and I only saw such a small part of it. Moreover, the experience in the Amazonia, despite the issues I faced there, was so magical that even weeks later, I felt immense excitement as I wrote these stories.

Speaking of the stories, I want to emphasise that I described my problems in detail not in order to discourage others from travelling, but to show that challenges are part of the journey – both those that take us to distant lands and those we encounter in life. It's important to learn how to face problems, learn from the experience and move forward.

And as for Colombia...? Well, I hope it will welcome me with open arms whenever I decide to visit again.

Colombia 2024, part 14 (San Francisco Lake, Lake Tarapoto, Puerto Nariño)

Verica Ristic — Fri, 24 Apr 2026 15:27:00 GMT

It was a perfect day with a terrible ending.

But let me continue with the story about my short stay in the Amazonia. After the excursion to the Peruvian island of Cacao, returning to our accommodation and waiting out a heavy downpour, the weather stabilised. The four of us (Jessica from England, Giacomo, an Italian living in Paris, Felipe, a Colombian living in the Netherlands, and myself) who had quite by chance “got together” here and had bonded rather well in this short period, were able to embark on an afternoon trip to Lake Tarapoto.

The excursion started upstream through a natural 'canal' that leads from the mouth into the Amazon towards the mouth of the smaller Loretoyaco River. Considering how names are given to bodies of water here, this 'canal' could be called a 'lake', but I didn't find any name for it on the maps, so I'm describing it this awkward way.

In any case, somewhere near the mouth of the Loretoyaco River, on the left side, there's a passage to a larger 'side' body of water called Lake San Francisco (Lago San Francisco).

The Amazon basin, a detail

All of this can be seen on the map showing the places I visited during this trip:

To begin with, we saw trees growing in the water, where the most interesting aspect was their trunks: dark-coloured at the bottom and light-coloured at the top. This clearly demonstrates the significant seasonal fluctuations in the water levels of the Amazon River and its tributaries, which I have mentioned earlier. The river level difference averages about 9 meters, while these trees illustrate how high the water can reach.

The Amazon basin, a detail

However, when we entered Lake San Francisco, the young man guiding us on this excursion turned off the engine, and we drifted for a while. The scenery was exceptionally beautiful, while the calm surface turned into a natural mirror, creating marvellous visual displays.

San Francisco Lake

Strictly speaking, Lake San Francisco is not actually a true lake but a large expansion in a watercourse that connects two points along the Amazon. However, the water colour (less muddy), less noticeable water movement and the calm, expansive surface certainly create a feeling of being on a lake rather than a river. I was completely delighted and filled with admiration.

San Francisco Lake

Still, the main reason we stopped and turned off the engine right here, as well as at a few other spots, wasn't necessarily to admire the natural phenomenon, but rather to watch river dolphins. Needless to say, these are wild animals, so visitors must arm themselves with lots and lots of patience and only hope that they just might see them.

On our return from the morning excursion, we had already seen a couple of dolphins in the main flow of the Amazon, but they are evidently found in various places.

These belong to the species known as the Amazon river dolphin (Inia geoffrensis), but due to the skin colour of adult individuals, they are also called pink river dolphins. The colour of these dolphins actually varies – young ones are gray (from dark to light shades as they grow), while adults are pink. Additionally, as our guide told us, young dolphins can and often do leap out of the water, while older ones only occasionally surface in order to breathe.

But filming dolphins for an amateur like me is a very demanding task. I tried my best and even managed to film the back of an adult dolphin and several young ones. I can report that I even saw an adult dolphin whose head and long snout protruded completely out of the water, but by the time I moved the camera, it had already disappeared into the water.

What I managed to edit from my recordings, including occasional parts without dolphins in order to give an idea of the surroundings, can be seen in the following video clip:

In-between those few stops to watch the dolphins, I enjoyed the sights around me intensely and occasionally I captured them on camera.

San Francisco Lake

San Francisco Lake is connected through a longer natural canal to another, slightly larger lake called Tarapoto and now we headed in that direction. The entrance to the canal is somewhat wider, but as we proceeded, it became clear that this was a narrow passage through dense Amazonian rainforest.

Canal between San Francisco and Tarapoto lakes

Here is a video that should illustrate what it all looked like. I was beside myself with happiness coming from the beauty of the landscape and the experience.

Canal between San Francisco and Tarapoto lakes

Great egrets (Ardea alba)

Canal between San Francisco and Tarapoto lakes

At the end of the canal, right at the entrance to the lake, there was a raft and a small house where guards were stationed. Visitors must register and pay a fee there.

While everyone was registering in the visitors' book, I was filming the lake and its surroundings, which were absolutely spectacularly beautiful. First, I started with the canal we arrived through and then I moved on to Lake Tarapoto.

Canal between San Francisco and Tarapoto lakes

Lake Tarapoto

With all this beauty, it was impossible for me to imagine what our guide told us – that September and October are dry months and during that time, Lake Tarapoto completely dries up. For now, I was enjoying what nature so generously offered here.

Lake Tarapoto

And then came the moment when we stopped in the middle of the lake and it was time for swimming. I jumped into the lake and even have a recording, but the young guide was too "creative" and kept changing the position of the mobile phone while recording, so it didn't turn out well. But I have other videos and photos. We were all ecstatic.

Swimming in Lake Tarapoto

When we all returned to the boat (and I struggled to climb aboard, meaning I'll need to work on my arm muscles a bit), we continued sailing around the lake and then we ventured into a shallow area and among the trees.

Lake Tarapoto shallows

One of the frequent associations with the Amazon and its murky waters are piranhas. Let me say right away that the popular culture fuelled by movies bordering on science fiction is providing completely wrong information – it's not really possible for piranhas to bite you to the bone within 10 seconds and for you not be able to react to it. So, we swam in the lake and then waded into the shallow waters of that same lake to fish for piranhas.

The guide gave to us all the most common fishing rods and pieces of fresh chicken meat, and then he explained to us how to put the meat on the hook. The rest was up to us and sheer luck.

As it turned out, I was lucky that day and caught a tiny piranha! As a rule, I am not a person who screams, but on this occasion I screamed with happiness, so in the end I felt the need to apologise to my companions. I don't know why, but I was really excited. Here is a video that brings all of this together:

Of course, I had to take a photo and give a "public statement".

Self-portrait with a caught piranha

And then, as if all this was not enough to make the day perfect, we sailed again on the lake whose surface was even more "polished" creating incredible effects.

Lake Tarapoto

Now we went to another spot on the lake from where we could watch a spectacular sunset.

Sunset seen from Lake Tarapoto

Since the day had already come to its end, we started back the same way – across Lake Tarapoto, then to the canal and eventually on to Lake San Francisco.

Twilight over Lake Tarapoto

Going back along the canal to Lake San Francisco

Here is the experience in the video version:

As we sailed on Lake San Francisco, we were accompanied by a nearly full moon.

Twilight over Lake San Francisco

I looked back trying to absorb even more beauty through the photos I took here.

Twilight over Lake San Francisco

As planned, we returned to the accommodation and we also agreed that all four of us would go for another walk in the rainforest the next morning, but this time on the Colombian side.

Some time later, the dinner started. My soul and thoughts were still filled with elation, but my body began to act strangely. Soon all hell broke loose.

First, I suddenly had the most horrible gas I've ever had in my life. In that state, I went to dinner, but I had no appetite, so I only ate a little, plus I also had to get out of there quickly so as not to disturb others.

Soon I started shaking with fever and I think I had an extremely high temperature; I was shaking all over and so was the bed I was lying on. Feeling very weak, I went to my backpack and pulled out my winter jacket, but also a few other pieces of clothing to keep warm. I took a medicine to reduce the temperature and it worked at some point, but then I started frequent visits to the toilet. My stomach was perfectly fine, but my intestines were not. And in this way I spent that whole agonising night, unable to shake off the anxiety at the thought that I should return to Leticia the following day.

During the night, I heard the rain pouring outside, while another problem began to arise for me. Specifically, I was becoming extremely thirsty and I only had a half-litre bottle of water. In that "hotel" where I was staying, they provided us with an unlimited amount of water from large containers, but you had to go to the dining room and kitchen for it. As luck would have it, when I arrived, I asked the owner what to do if, for instance, I got thirsty in the middle of the night, and he said there was no problem because “there is always someone in the kitchen."

And thus, as exhausted as I was, around midnight I realised I needed more water, so I struggled to get up and first left the house where my room was. Then, I walked across a covered path to the dining room door. It was locked. I started knocking and banging and shouting "Hola! Hola!", but it was quite clear that there was no one there.

Luckily, it wasn't raining at that time, so I carefully walked along a different path, making sure not to slip, to another entrance to the dining room. However, the situation was the same and my knocking on the door and calling out yielded no results. I tried to return to the house where my room was on the closer side, but those doors were also locked, so I had to go around again. Then, I became afraid that I might have inadvertently shut and thus locked the door I had exited from, but it turned out I had left it open, so at least I could return to the house and my room, but I was still terribly thirsty.

Since the situation was more than urgent, I finally decided to wake up Jessica, who was sleeping in the room next to mine. I apologised profusely to her, but she was very understanding. It turned out she actually did have spare water, which we then poured into my bottle, so at least I could survive until the morning without dying of thirst. Of course, throughout the night, in addition to these problems, I also had frequent bouts of dry coughing. In the morning, I woke up feeling completely drained, without an ounce of strength.

Colombia 2024, part 13 (Puerto Nariño + BONUS: San Antonio de Cacao, Peru)

Verica Ristic — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 13:32:00 GMT

In the morning, I woke up relatively early and actually slept quite well, except that I was occasionally woken up by my own cough that just wouldn't go away. I quickly got dressed and went out to the lawn that belonged to the "hotel," which was practically on the banks of the Amazon. There I came across a multitude of different bird species. Some were on the lawn, some in the treetops, some in flocks or pairs, and some alone. Some were smaller, some larger, while I was thrilled!

Southern lapwing (Vanellus chilensis)

Russet-backed oropendola (Psarocolius angustifrons)

Group of smooth-nilled ani (Crotophaga ani)

Smooth-nilled ani (Crotophaga ani)

Chestnut-bellied Seedeater, male (Sporophila castaneiventris)

Chestnut-bellied Seedeater, female to the left and male to the right (Sporophila castaneiventris)

White-eyed parakeet (Psittacara leucophthalmus)

Yellow-headed caracara (Milvago chimachima)

Then I reached the river and there everything seemed calm and peaceful.

The Amazon early in the morning

However, as is often the case, things can be deceiving at first glance. And thus, at some point I noticed a neotropic cormorant (Phalacrocorax brasilianus) that would occasionally disappear beneath the water's surface, indicating it was hunting fish. So, while everything appeared calm on the outside, there was a life-and-death struggle happening in the water. Quite literally.

Neotropic cormorant

After enjoying the peaceful start of the day and photographing the birds, I went for breakfast. There, on a tree near the terrace, I saw another beautiful bird species – the red-capped cardinal (Paroaria gularis).

Red-capped cardinal

After breakfast, I went to get my Wellington boots along with the incredibly nice people I arrived with from Leticia to Puerto Nariño the previous day. It turned out we were staying at the same accommodation and got along well, even wanting to go on the same excursions. There was Jessica from England, Giacomo, an Italian living in Paris, and Felipe, a Colombian living in the Netherlands. They were all considerably younger than me, but I didn't feel the age difference much because we joked around a lot and had pleasant chats.

As for the Wellington boots, they are absolutely essential for walking in the Amazon rainforest. No other footwear would do. This would become evident later in some photos.

So, each of us chose the appropriate size, as local hotels and guesthouses typically rent out Wellington boots since visitors usually don't have them. Although, the previous day, I did see a few people on the same speedboat from Leticia that I took who had brought their own knee-high rubber boots.

As I’ve mentioned earlier, Puerto Nariño is located at the entrance to a tributary of the Amazon that can be seen as an extended mouth of a smaller river, the Loretoyaco. Our accommodation was about 2 km upstream from Puerto Nariño and this stretch of waterway is connected to the Loretoyaco River mouth and a few "lakes" that I visited that afternoon. I'll write more about that later on.

For now, with our boots on, we headed to a small wooden boat that took us for the excursion. First, we headed downstream towards Puerto Nariño and the main flow of the Amazon.

The main flow of the Amazon is to the left and in the middle, where the floating vegetation is, while to on the right-hand side the water is different and this is the branch that leads to the mouth of the Loretoyaco and the “lakes”; the pier in Puerto Nariño is further to the right

I was delighted once again to sail on the Amazon.

Sailing the Amazon

The Amazon

Soon we approached the other, right bank of the Amazon and there was – Peru.

Arriving in Peru

Namely, this morning, we went on an excursion, a walk through the rainforest and a visit to a local settlement, specifically in Peru. Technically speaking, I still didn’t reach "mainland" Peru; instead, we went to an island called Cacao, but... The Amazonia is intertwined with rivers, watercourses and water expanses they call lakes here, so every piece of land can easily be seen as an island. In any case, we visited a village named San Antonia de Cacao.

After disembarking, we met up with a local guide and soon set off on a walk. Initially, we followed a trail through the forest.

Forest trail on the island of Cacao

The guide occasionally stopped to draw our attention to interesting details, such as a termite nest on a tree, which he opened slightly to show us its inhabitants.

Termite nest on a tree

Termites

Very soon, the trail lost its path-look and we found ourselves navigating through relatively dense vegetation that had various forms and shapes.

Walking around the island of Cacao

Here, our guide told us that there was a resident capybara that was quite accustomed to human presence. He even tried calling it, but unfortunately, we didn't manage to see it.

However, soon we arrived at a small pond where an impressive giant waterlily (Victoria amazonica) was growing.

Giant waterlily

This is the second largest species of waterlily in the family Nymphaeaceae. It naturally grows in Guyana and the Amazon Basin. Its enormous leaves can reach up to 3 meters in diameter and are very strong and resilient, capable of floating even under heavy weight. However, it didn't occur to me to test if one of the leaves could support my weight; I simply reached out my hand to gauge the scale, although the leaves here weren't at their maximum diameter.

Giant waterlily

As I've read, the flowers of the giant waterlily are white when they first open and then they turn pink on the second night. Like the leaves, the flowers are also large and can reach a diameter of about 40 cm. During this visit, I didn't see any pink flowers, but the white flowers were truly beautiful.

Giant waterlily

However, here beside the pond, there were other interesting details as well. For instance, there was a twig insect belonging to the order Phasmatodea. The picture is a bit blurry, but the insect is still quite visible.

Twig insect

Next to the pond, we also saw a plant called naranjilla, in Colombia known as "lulo" (Solanum quitoense).

Naranjilla or lulo

When ripe, the fruits of this plant can be eaten directly or used in order to make juices.

Naranjilla or lulo fruits

Still, I found it interesting here to continue capturing images of the leaves of the giant waterlily, as they competed for their spot under the sun.

Giant waterlily

After the short break by the pond, we continued further into the rainforest. It wasn't always easy and I was very glad that I had chosen to wear those Wellington boots. As I’ve mentioned before, the boots are absolutely essential for walking in the Amazonia.

In addition, visitors must prepare for rather uncomfortable conditions – it was hot and the humidity was overwhelming. This is evident from the fact that I was covered in sweat and even my glasses were fogged up.

Casual stroll in Amazonia

In the background of the previous photograph, you can see specimens of a plant from the genus Heliconia, which includes around 200 species, all of which are tropical. Collectively, they are known as heliconias.

But they weren't the only interesting things we saw along the way. There were also tiny mushrooms and some birds.

Snowy white mushrooms in Amazonia

Streaked flycatcher (Myiodynastes maculatus)

In this area, however, perhaps the most interesting were the leafcutter ants from the Atta genus.

Tiny ants and large pieces of leaves

But, they are even more interesting when seen in a video format.

Not far from there, we spotted another termite nest on a tree, while here you could clearly see their tunnels which they build either on the ground or along tree trunks. The tunnels visible in the next photograph lead to their nest.

Termite nest on a tree

Since I'm mentioning trees, here are two interesting species. One is the kapok tree (Ceiba pentandra), also known as the silk-cotton tree. I have mentioned this tree several times in my travelogues because it's always impressive. Among other things, it can grow up to about 73 meters in height, with a trunk diameter reaching up to 3 meters and it also has impressive buttress roots. On this occasion, I took a picture near these buttress roots and these photos give an idea of the size of an average kapok tree.

Striking a pose with a kapok tree

As oppose to the kapok tree, which naturally grows on several continents, here I saw an interesting tree that is endemic to the Amazon rainforest called capirona (Calycophyllum spruceanum).

Capirona trees

It, too, can grow quite tall, up to 30 meters, but one of its main features is its glossy green bark. On the other hand, the tree regularly sheds its bark to rid itself of lichens, fungi and other pests. Typically, once or twice a year, it completely sheds its outer bark layer to reveal new growth underneath. Additionally, the tree grows very quickly and is considered mature enough for harvesting for industrial purposes already when it’s eight years old.

Capirona

Near these trees, we had already left behind the muddy parts and were now moving along a wide trail in search of an important inhabitant of this area.

Trail on the island of Cacao

We were searching for the brown-throated sloth (Bradypus variegatus). Imagining finding them was easier said than done because they are not easy to spot. However, our guide knew where these sloths typically reside, so he took us to 3-4 spots, but initially, it was quite discouraging.

Brown-throated sloth

I managed to capture a photo of one of them where you could see its three toes, or rather three claws, on each foot. This was repeated with another sloth. However, they were unwilling to look at us and mostly showed us their backsides.

Brown-throated sloth

Then the situation improved in my favour a bit, as I even managed to capture one of them eating.

Brown-throated sloth

Eventually, probably thanks to the effort and patience I invested in trying to capture them, I received a reward in the shape of a sloth turning towards me. Moreover, I managed to capture it both with my photo camera and the video camera, with the video version giving me an added bonus.

Brown-throated sloth

In the video, you can hear some saw or whatever, indicating we were near a human settlement. However, we took a slightly roundabout route to get there and along the way we also saw a wooden bridge that we later used to return from the direction of San Antonio.

Near the village of San Antonio on the island of Cacao

San Antonio de Cacao is a small settlement on Cacao Island and the plan was for us to have lunch there. The village is often highlighted as an indigenous community, but it has many modern elements, making it almost irrelevant whether true indigenous people live there or if someone moved there from Lima last year. To visit "true" indigenous communities, one must venture deeper into the rainforest and there are multi-day trekking excursions that facilitate such experiences. Setting aside whether I would want to trek through the mud I saw here, endure the heat and sweat as much as I did, I have no desire to visit these people who live far from "civilization." Without seeing them, I feel deep respect for them and don't consider them an attraction for tourists to visit, as if they were a zoo. Let these people continue to live in peace, in the way they choose, are accustomed to and are comfortable with, without curious visitors.

In any case, San Antonio de Cacao is not the kind of "indigenous community" one might expect in that sense.

San Antonio de Cacao, a detail

In the previous photo, there is a church, while in the case of the photo below, one should note the streetlights.

San Antonio de Cacao, a detail

When we arrived in the centre, I bought a real Peruvian beer there. Though, it was a bit too much for me in the end, at least it was cold.

Peruvian beer in San Antonio de Cacao

Then we were taken to a local restaurant where lunch was planned. First, I walked around the restaurant a bit.

Restaurant in San Antonio de Cacao

Just to mention, here you're required to take off those muddy boots, hence the floor looks so clean, as seen in the previous photograph.

The lunch was a standard tourist fare – soup, tamales and river fish with sides. I didn't capture the river fish, but everything else can be seen in the following pictures.

Lunch in San Antonio de Cacao

Afterwards, we took a short stroll around the village and then began our walk back towards the Amazon shore.

San Antonio de Cacao, a detail

While we were still in the village, I spotted a very interesting resident – the exotic flame-tailed pondhawk (Erythemis peruviana).

Flame-tailed pondhawk

And so we reached the wooden bridge, crossed it and continued along some wider paths towards the boat that awaited us. With a bit of luck, I managed to capture another beautiful bird here, a species I had already seen that morning on the Colombian side. Obviously, these birds are quite abundant along the Amazon.

Bridge near the village of San Antonio de Cacao

Yellow-headed caracara (Milvago chimachima)

Docking station on the island of Cacao, Peru

I was extremely pleased, happy and relaxed. My time in the Amazonia was going very well; I didn't even feel the lingering effects of the cold that had been bothering me and it seemed like I was coughing less. I was still primarily thrilled with the idea of cruising the Amazon.

In a boat on the Amazon

And the mighty Amazon, in its full glory, was on display. The relatively calm waters of this great river now looked like mirrors and the extraordinary impression was not spoiled even when the muddy water of the river was clearly visible.

The Amazon

Here is a video that shows how truly big this river is.

At one point, the young man driving the boat turned off the engine and with a lot of patience, we managed to see river dolphins swimming near us.

Meanwhile, the clouds kept moving, so one part of the shore was bathed in sunlight and we returned to our accommodation in dry weather.

Bank of the Amazon

However, the dry weather didn't last long and soon it started to rain. This raised concerns about our afternoon excursion, but there was nothing we could do about it, so I relaxed and calmly watched and filmed the falling rain.

Rain in the Amazon rainforest

The impression is even stronger when you can see and hear (!) the video footage.

Since I couldn't capture the rain hitting the surface of the river well in the video, here's a photo that shows how hard it was raining.

Rain in the Amazon rainforest

When the rain subsided a bit, someone spotted a very interesting small animal in a tree nearby, eating some fruit. It was challenging to capture it because the animal kept moving, but it stayed in the area long enough for me to take several photos. It was a black-mantled tamarin (Leontocebus nigricollis).

Black-mantled tamarin

Soon, the rain completely stopped and we had enough time to go on our excursion. It was one of the most magical experiences of my life.

Colombia 2024, part 12 (Leticia, Puerto Nariño)

Verica Ristic — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 15:05:00 GMT

After a relatively good night's sleep in Leticia, in the Colombian Amazonia, I woke up slowly because my transport to Puerto Nariño was scheduled for later that morning. I still felt a certain fatigue, possibly due to a cold or a similar illness, but now I was mainly troubled by a dry cough. It would calm down occasionally, but at times it caused significant problems and further exhausted me. However, there wasn't much help available, so after eating a few bananas for breakfast while sitting in the yard outside my room at the guesthouse where I was staying, I went out on the street and took a short walk.

Breakfast in front f the room

I wanted to have coffee, so I chose a local café and billiard club for that. The coffee was excellent.

Coffee place

The previous day, upon returning from Santa Rosa river island in Peru, I stopped by the transportation office and bought a ticket for the boat that goes to Puerto Nariño, so I didn't have to rush this morning, which definitely felt good. However, the transport company insisted on arriving at the dock an hour before departure, so I soon returned to the guesthouse, packed my things and moved to the port and pontoon from which the boat was boarding.

Boarding pontoon for the boat to Puerto Nariño

There are two companies providing transportation between Leticia and Puerto Nariño, both using slightly larger, faster boats for this purpose. Luggage is placed on the roof, while passengers board into the covered area of the boat.

Transportation to Puerto Nariño

The distance between these two places, where Leticia is a city and Puerto Nariño is a village, is about 70 km. With these fast boats, the journey takes around 2 hours, as they make several stops along the shore for some passengers to disembark and others to board.

While I was waiting to depart, I saw a fascinating flock of American black vultures (Coragyps atratus).

While I was still in Belgrade planning my trip through Colombia, including this short stay in the Amazonia and transfer to Puerto Nariño, the mere thought of navigating the Amazon filled me with a surprising amount of joy. This feeling persisted the previous day when I crossed into Peru to eat ceviche and it continued today. The essence is that during these two hours of travel, I spent almost the entire time capturing my surroundings, with my camera, phone and video camera. Of course, not everything will be included in this travel story, but there's a lot of material.

To start with, here's a compilation of videos I captured with my video camera, showing the beginning of the journey, the speed of gliding along the Amazon and what the "docks" where the fast boat stops to allow passengers, both locals and visitors, to embark and disembark can look like. Along the Amazon, there are accommodations in various places, so it's not necessary to stay in Leticia or Puerto Nariño. I assume it's important to specify where you will disembark when purchasing the ticket.

I also made a short video using clips I made with my mobile phone.

As for the photos, well, the Amazon river was the main focus of my attention.

The Amazon

On my photos, the colours are partially different depending on whether I used the camera or the mobile phone, and also because the sky kept changing. At one point, I was particularly amazed by the clouds.

The Amazon

I could also see different types of vegetation. Some were floating on the river, while along the riverbank, various plant habitats were clearly distinguishable.

Flora along the Amazon

At some places, layers of soil could be seen. I'm not sure exactly what this gray field seen in the next photo is, although from a distance it looks like crumbling rock. However, I learned from a friend knowledgeable about these matters and the living world of the Amazon that the rarest thing here is actually – rock.

Flora along the Amazon

At several points along the river, clear signs of human intervention can be seen, such as the banana plantation visible in the photo below.

Flora along the Amazon

But, humans are present here in other ways as well.

Humans and their activities along the Amazon

For instance, whoever passes by here in their boat can also stop at a bar...

Humans and their activities along the Amazon

Or go to a shop and buy petrol, sodas or beer. It is all written visibly for the people to see.

Humans and their activities along the Amazon

These entrepreneurial ventures are usually located near landing sites, which vary in formality. Some of these sites also accommodate the fast boats travelling along the Amazon.

Docking point along the Amazon

At one such landing site, I was delighted to see that a small settlement there is called Macedonia. Since I have a dear friend, Saška, who was born in North Macedonia, I had to take a picture of it and send it to her later.

Macedonia in the middle of Amazonia

But, besides the local population living along the Amazon's shores, visitors from various parts of the world also come here, requiring accommodation. In the next photograph, apart from the buildings along the shore, you can also see the roof of a much larger house towards the upper right. In the following few photographs, you can see more clearly various larger structures that are likely used for tourist purposes.

Details that can be seen along the Amazon

But besides the river, vegetation and traces of human activity, to my immense delight, I managed to spot and even capture a beautiful bird. This was a large-billed tern (Phaetusa simplex).

Large-billed tern

After two hours of travel and my intense enjoyment of the experience, we arrived at Puerto Nariño. Here's a map showing its location:

Puerto Nariño is a small settlement within the municipality of the same name, founded in 1961. It is home to around 6,000 residents, predominantly belonging to indigenous tribes who have traditionally inhabited the area.

Puerto Nariño

Since this is the second largest settlement in the Colombian Amazonia, the pier here is more substantial, with access to land via some sort of bridge. I took advantage of this to capture a beautiful view and also a selfie.

Puerto Nariño

I have arrived in Puerto Nariño

Already while I was standing on the dock, I met three fellow passengers who, like me, were staying at the same "hotel." Since this hotel is located outside Puerto Nariño, the agreement was that they would send a boat to pick us up. The hotel was advertised as having a restaurant where we could eat during the day and the fact that it was located away from the village was not supposed to be a problem. However, the young man who came to pick us up informed us that the restaurant at the hotel was closed. He suggested we eat in the village and recommended a place where we could do so.

So, the four of us – Jessica from England, Giacomo, an Italian living in Paris, Felipe, a Colombian living in the Netherlands, and myself – went for a short walk around Puerto Nariño with the intention of having lunch there.

Puerto Nariño

Besides seeing the covered sports field, I also noticed a market, so I bought some fruit there for later.

Puerto Nariño

Puerto Nariño is interesting as an urban settlement because the use of motor vehicles, including motorcycles, is prohibited there. This is often emphasised, highlighting Puerto Nariño as an ecological community. As far as I understand, the only motorised vehicle that operates here is some kind of tractor used for collecting garbage from bins in front of houses.

While I was on the boat moving relatively fast, I didn't even feel the heat of the tropical sun. Here, however, without the wind in my hair, the heat and high humidity were strongly felt and the proper shade was scarce.

Puerto Nariño

So the four of us soon went to the restaurant that was recommended to us and the food was really good.

Lunch in Puerto Nariño

The agreement was to meet back at the dock in about an hour to transfer to the hotel. I used the waiting time to take more photos of the Amazon and its surroundings.

Sailing along the Amazon

Bathing in the Amazon

Puerto Nariño is located at the entrance to a branch of the Amazon, or it could be seen as the extended mouth of a smaller river, the Loretoyaco, depending on how you look at it.

View from the pier: the main course of the Amazon is to the left, while the branch is to the right

In the meantime, the four of us began to get along really well and chat, so we boarded the boat together and then we also had to take some pictures.

Four people in the boat (but there was no dog)

As it turned out, we were interested in the same things, so the next day we went on two excursions together, which was extremely pleasant and cheerful.

For now, though, we had just transferred to our accommodation.

Accommodation on the bank of the Amazon

After dropping off my things in the room and changing, I went to the pool at the hotel. I'm not particularly fond of pools, but here the idea was more about relaxing a bit, especially since I didn't have any plans for this afternoon anyway.

I had a nice chat with Giacomo (the two of us were certainly the most talkative members of our group) and I also took advantage of the moment when a beautiful and interesting butterfly landed on the path around the pool. It was most likely a specimen of the Diaethria euclides species, certainly belonging to the genus Diaethria. Interestingly, butterflies from this genus are called "88" in Spanish due to the pattern on their wings.

Butterfly from the Diaethria genus

Afterwards, I returned to my room, took a shower and then went for a stroll around the grounds of the guesthouse. I particularly enjoyed walking down to the riverbank.

Property by the Amazon

When I reached the riverbank, extremely dark clouds had gathered in the sky, creating a very dramatic scene. I was absolutely fascinated!

The Amazon and the celestial phenomena

It did not rain where I was standing and about 15 minutes later, the clouds moved away, lost their dark colour and the sun broke through again, creating a beautiful scene once more, just a bit different. By the way, January is one of the rainiest months in the Amazon, so all of this wasn't surprising.

The Amazon and the celestial phenomena

As I’ve said the rain didn't fall where I was standing at that moment, but it did rain elsewhere. That's when a rainbow appeared!

The Amazon and the celestial phenomena

Here, I made a short video clip to give a better sense of the sights and sounds that surrounded me.

All these events in the sky had no impact on some people who likely had to go about their business regardless of the weather conditions.

The Amazon

Then I wandered around the property, taking photos of birds. As the sunset approached and the sky began to create its own drama again, I returned to the riverbank to enjoy the evening calm over the Amazon. I was beside myself with happiness!

The Amazon and the celestial phenomena

As for birds, the Amazonia is known for its vast diversity with around 1300 different species! Of course, this biodiversity extends to other animal and plant species as well. I practically stayed here for just a day and a half, and aside from going on two half-day trips the next day, I didn't move around much. Yet, without much effort, I managed to observe and capture around 15 bird species.

Social flycatcher (Myiozetetes similis)

Black-billed thrush (Turdus ignobilis)

The most impressive ones were probably the yellow-rumped caciques (Cacicus cela).

Yellow-rumped cacique

They had a proper settlement on a large tree and it was such a captivating sight for me that I tried several times to capture them as best as I could. Hence, I ended up with two video clips of the same species, which makes sense. While filming the first one, the wind was blowing and causing the branches to sway, but it didn't disturb these birds from effortlessly flying into their homes. In the second clip, the wind calmed down, resulting in slightly different scenes.

I also noticed another interesting species a bit further away.

Giant cowbird (Molothrus oryzivorus)

After it became dark, I sat by the river for a while longer and later I went to have dinner where I enjoyed another pleasant evening with my fellow travellers. We also finalised our plans for the excursions we would go on the next day. Jessica, however, opted to venture into the jungle again this evening to search for animals, but I was very content with the peaceful end to the day.

After some time, I retreated to my room and went to bed. Later on, it started raining outside. The sound of the rain was lovely and soon I drifted off to sleep.

Colombia 2024, part 11 (Leticia + BONUS: Santa Rosa, Peru)

Verica Ristic — Fri, 03 Apr 2026 16:58:00 GMT

With an area of about 5.5 million square kilometres, the Amazonia or the Amazon rainforest is an enormous region in South America (covering 40% of the continent) that practically encompasses almost the entire Amazon River basin, which is over 7 million square kilometres and is the largest river basin in the world. The territory of this area is divided among 9 countries: Brazil (60%), Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia. Less than 10% of the Amazon forest belongs to Colombia, while the capital of the Amazonas province is Leticia, where I arrived by plane from Bogota in the second half of January 2024.

Here is also the map that shows all the places I visited during this journey.

Leticia was founded in 1867 by a Peruvian captain, but later this area became a subject of dispute between Peru and Colombia, leading to an armed conflict (1932-1933). The dispute was finally resolved in 1934 when Leticia was ceded to Colombia.

Today, this is a peaceful region and Leticia is situated at a tri-border area where the state borders of Colombia, Brazil and Peru meet. Moreover, visitors do not need visas to visit these three places, although it is advisable to carry a passport just in case.

I didn't have time to "hop over" to Brazil, specifically to the town of Tabatinga, which is connected to Leticia by a bridge, allowing access by taxi or tuk-tuk. Instead, I whimsically decided to cross from the left bank of the Amazon (Colombia) to the right bank (Peru) for a couple of hours to have lunch there. Actually, I didn't quite make it to the right bank of the Amazon; I headed towards Santa Rosa Island, which belongs to Peru.

Since no one else was interested in going to Santa Rosa at that time, I was alone in the boat, excluding the boatman, of course. Initially, I sat in the middle of the boat, but later I moved to the bow.

Boat going to Peru

First, we navigated by a branch of the river and then we reached the main course of the Amazon. I was delighted!

The Amazon at Leticia, Colombia; Peru is on the other side

The Amazon downstream from Leticia, Colombia; Brazil is to the left and Peru is to the right

When I arrived on the Peruvian side, there was a pontoon and many boats, so we had to manoeuvre carefully, but soon I managed to disembark successfully.

Arriving at the Amazon island of Santa Rosa in Peru

Here is what it all looked like in a video version:

From there, I could now see the left bank of the Amazon where the border between Colombia and Brazil is located, and there, a serious rainstorm was brewing.

The Amazon during a rainy season

It was dry for now on the Peruvian side, so I walked towards a restaurant known for its ceviche. I really love ceviche and although it can be found in various South American countries, it is officially a traditional Peruvian dish recognised even by the UNESCO. So, since I was already in Peru, eating ceviche was a must. Along the way, I enjoyed taking photos of details from the settlement on Santa Rosa Island. First, there's a slight incline and then it's all flat terrain.

Settlement on the Peruvian island of Santa Rosa, a detail

In the previous picture, they warmly welcome you to the island, but that was not the only sign I saw here. In the next picture, which is blurry but the sign is top-notch, it says: "Discoteque Thousand Loves; Welcome to the island of love Santa Rosa." Hmm.... I wondered if I was missing something here since I was just taking a stroll and having ceviche.

Settlement on the Peruvian island of Santa Rosa, a detail

Here, I also saw numerous American black vultures (Coragyps atratus). One of them was standing near a house where two girls were playing in a hammock.

American black vulture and girls in a hammock

Continuing further through the settlement on Santa Rosa Island, I passed by numerous houses that were closer to the river and built on the gentle slope descending from the island's centre toward the shore.

Settlement on the Peruvian island of Santa Rosa, a detail

I have mentioned earlier that the Amazon experiences significant annual fluctuations in water levels depending on the season, ranging from 4 to as much as 15 metres, averaging around 9 metres. By the way, although it is occasionally mentioned that the Amazon is the longest river in the world when considering its tributaries, that distinction actually belongs to the Nile in Africa, with the Amazon coming second. However, what undeniably makes the Amazon number one in the world is its water discharge. Due to the heavy rainfall in the region, the Amazon consistently delivers vast amounts of water to the Atlantic Ocean. In fact, the Amazon alone accounts for about 20% of the total freshwater discharge into the seas and oceans worldwide.

During the rainy season, when water levels rise and it takes time for such massive volumes to flow to the Atlantic Ocean, the river overflows and floods surrounding areas. This is precisely why houses closer to the river are built on stilts – to withstand these seasonal floods.

Settlement on the Peruvian island of Santa Rosa, a detail

However, through the centre of the settlement on Santa Rosa Island, which is evidently high enough above the flood levels, there is a street lined with houses that have proper ground-level foundations, without stilts.

Settlement on the Peruvian island of Santa Rosa, a detail

Admittedly, when you look at the area beyond the main street towards the river, you can see wooden houses on stilts again. Perhaps this is also conditioned by the financial situation of the owners.

Settlement on the Peruvian island of Santa Rosa, a detail

All in all, I continued along the main street towards the restaurant.

Settlement on the Peruvian island of Santa Rosa, a detail

I noticed that there were quite a few "churches" or at least "houses of God" here. In both Colombia and Peru, the vast majority of the population belongs to Christian churches (87% and approximately 94%, respectively), predominantly the Catholic Church. However, the ones I saw here belong to other denominations.

Settlement on the Peruvian island of Santa Rosa, a detail

At some point I came across a fresh barbecue set up in front of a house. I didn't eat anything there, just took some photos.

Settlement on the Peruvian island of Santa Rosa, a detail

Soon, I arrived at the restaurant and settled down on the spacious terrace.

Restaurant on the Peruvian island of Santa Rosa with good ceviche

When people talk about arriving in Leticia and the surrounding Amazon region, they often mention the high humidity combined with high temperatures. However, this afternoon, rain began to fall and there was also a strong wind. In line with the prevailing climate information, I was wearing only a thin shirt. The wind, combined with the lingering effects of a cold or whatever I had, was really uncomfortable and I regretted not bringing my windbreaker, which I had left in the room. At that point, there was nothing I could do except move to another table, as the wind was blowing rain onto the terrace and I certainly didn't want to get soaked.

I contented myself with watching a whole flock of American black vultures perched on a nearby tree, waiting for the rain to pass.

American black vultures during rain

Meanwhile, I ordered myself a nice Peruvian beer to comfort me.

Cusco is far away, but a beer from Cusco is right there on the table

Here is also a short video that illustrates all of this better, including the rain:

The video recording also shows a parrot perched on the railing near the neighbouring table. In fact, there were two of them belonging to two different species and they would occasionally fly off only to circle around and return. This gave me the opportunity to capture them on camera. In the next photo, on the left is the festive parrot (Amazona festiva), while on the right is the red-bellied macaw (Orthopsittaca manilatus).

Festive parrot and red-bellied macaw

Although they seemed to enjoy each other's company, they would occasionally separate, allowing me to photograph each one individually before they gathered again in the same spot.

Festive parrot

Red-bellied macaw

Red-bellied macaw and festive parrot

In the meantime, my ceviche arrived – a special version that included various sea creatures and wonderful local vegetables. Despite being far from the Pacific, this restaurant is renowned and everyone highly recommends their ceviche. I was confident that all the ingredients were fresh, as traditional ceviche is made with fresh sea fish and seafood. Back in the day and in Belgrade, I once made ceviche with freshwater fish and surprisingly it turned out quite well. Everyone who tried it survived successfully, and it is absolutely essential for the fish to be as fresh and healthy as possible, as ceviche involves no cooking at all. The fish and seafood pieces are "cooked" in fresh lime juice (or lemon juice in my version).

Pacific ceviche in the middle of the Amazon basin

Meanwhile, the weather calmed down, the wind stopped blowing and the rain almost completely subsided. It was a clear sign that the American black vultures needed to dry their feathers a bit.

American black vulture drying its feathers

American black vultures drying their feathers

As for me, I was pleased with the lunch, with a full stomach and balanced body temperature, so I took a leisurely stroll on the terrace, capturing footage of the various bird species abundant in the area.

Yellow-browed sparrow (Ammodramus aurifrons)

Purple gallinule (Porphyrio martinica)

Wattled jacana (Jacana jacana)

Striated heron, juvenile (Butorides striata)

Striated heron, adult (Butorides striata)

Snowy egret (Egretta thula)

Once the rain completely stopped and I had finished eating and paid the bill, I started walking back towards the dock. I chose to walk again and I didn't regret it – I found the sights along the way very interesting.

Settlement on the Peruvian island of Santa Rosa, a detail

I saw and took photos of a couple of birds again. One was a "new" bird species for me, while the other was one I had already seen but found it very interesting now with its feather drying behaviour.

Tropical Kingbird (Tyrannus melancholicus)

American black vulture drying its feathers

Soon, I was back in a boat heading towards Leticia. I was very content with this excursion and extremely happy to navigate along the Amazon – it felt like stepping into a dream of mine.

On a boat to Leticia

The Amazon

Here is also a video that may seem similar, but is still distinct from the previous one.

Towards the end of the video recording, you can see a whole flock of American black vultures gathered near the river. I was completely amazed by how many of these birds there are in this area.

American black vultures

However, when it comes to Leticia, probably no bird species is more impressive in terms of abundance than the canary-winged parakeet (Brotogeris versicolurus). To see them, all you need to do is go to Santander Park (Parque Santander) towards the end of the day. That's where I headed, walking through the town's streets.

Leticia

Namely, at the end of each day, just before sunset (around 5:30 pm), a large number of these canary-winged parakeets gather in the central city park. Upon arriving at the park, I first took a stroll and photographed details related to the park itself, including the bell tower of the main church where visitors often climb to get a bird's-eye view of the park, the parakeets and the sunset.

Santander Park

There are also a couple of small ponds in the park, one of which features impressive water lilies.

Santander Park

Santander Park, a detail

As I was doing all this, I was accompanied by the incredible noise created by the canary-winged parakeets. Here is a video where you can hear all of this:

Since it was the end of the day with less light, while the sky was brighter compared to the tree canopies and the parakeets I could see, the photos didn't turn out quite well. Nevertheless, you can still see what these parakeets look like up-close.

Canary-winged parakeets

Later, I took a stroll around Leticia and then went to have a juice made from a fruit that grows in the Amazon called cupuaçu (Theobroma grandiflorum), known as copoazu in Spanish-speaking regions. The juice was very tasty.

Cupuaçu juice

Afterwards, I took a leisurely walk around Leticia, which is considered a safe place. Later on, I went to bed. The next day, I had plans for another adventure.

Colombia 2024, part 10 (Bogotá, Leticia)

Verica Ristic — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 15:55:00 GMT

Since I knew that I would spend a Sunday in Bogotá, I adjusted my sightseeing plans so that on that particular day I would go to Usaquén, formerly an independent settlement and now a rather large part of the city north of the centre. Namely, this place is famous for its market that takes place in the centre of Usaquén every Sunday.

In the previous sequel, I already wrote about how I got here and now I can only say that the Uber driver took me to Usaquén Park (Parque fundacional de Usaquén).

On the eastern side of this typical square-shaped urban square remaining from the colonial period stands the Church of St. Barbara (Iglesia de Santa Bárbara), dating back to 1665.

Church of St. Barbara

Considering my physical condition and the sensation of a significant lack of energy, while seeing the fence that was placed in the park, which meant I would have to go around to get to the church, I gave up on that idea and simply turned to the other side. There, I could see the Usaquén Town Hall (Alcaldía de Usaquén).

Usaquén Town Hall

I have already mentioned in the previous sequel of my travel story that Usaquén was originally a settlement of the Muisca people. Upon the arrival of the Spaniards, the indigenous people had some degree of semi-autonomy, but this was lost by the end of the 18th century, while Usaquén continued to function as a typical colonial town. This persisted until 1954 when it officially became part of the capital city of Bogotá.

As for the "market," it is continuously and everywhere referred to as a "flea market" (mercado de las pulgas), but it is not a flea market in the true sense of the word. I would rather say that there are artisanal galleries whose artists and craftsmen set up stalls on Sundays to exhibit and sell their goods. There were extraordinarily beautiful things there; the only problem is that I don't like to shop. However, I immensely enjoyed the sights. What was particularly striking were the vivid colours.

Usaquén Flea Market

Usaquén Flea Market, a detail

However, at this market, not only skilfully made art and craft items are sold, but also food, spices, teas and similar goods.

Usaquén Flea Market, a detail

Speaking of food, I got inspired to try their roasted corn, which was sold in several places. It was good to try it, but I was not overly impressed because this was a very tough variety. Although corn (maize) originates from the Americas, over time much tastier and less tough varieties have been developed where I'm from. To eat this one in Usaquén peacefully without worrying it might slip from my hands, I sat comfortably on a bench in the park and, since I have good teeth, I managed to finish it there in the end.

Break for a corn on the cob in the park

Then I continued with a leisurely walk in the opposite direction from the market.

Usaquén

There were plenty of restaurants and cafes here, so at one point, I took a break to have lunch at a restaurant since the corn I had earlier wasn't quite enough. The break was refreshing, while afterwards I walked to a nearby park on a square-shaped plaza, just about 5 minutes away from the bustling market with stalls and visitors. It was a complete change – very peaceful and quiet.

Hacienda Santa Barbara Park (Parque Hacienda Santa Barbara)

However, what left a specific impression on me were the beautiful and harmoniously built private houses I saw around the park and nearby. It seemed like a nice place for a quiet life. On the other hand, it was clear that all these single-story houses had metal grilles on the windows and doors, indicating that security is a significant concern in the area.

Usaquén

Soon I reached one of the main thoroughfares in Usaquén and indeed in all of Bogotá, which is Carrera 7. In a previous sequel, I mentioned the weekly closure of some streets to motor vehicles known as Ciclovía, a tradition that has been ongoing since 1974, marking 50 years! Carrera 7 is precisely the road that connects La Candelaria and Usaquén, allowing cyclists to travel safely on their bikes all the way from downtown Bogotá to here on Sundays.

Ciclovia in Usaquén

By the way, if any visitors are wondering how to ride a bike around Bogotá on Sundays, here's a possible solution. I later captured this scene in downtown Bogotá, while these rental bikes are surely available at many different locations.

Rent-a-bike in Bogotá

Since I’m talking about recreation in Bogotá, as I passed through the city centre, I saw and filmed Recreavia on the plaza within Santander Park. It seems like it doesn't have a tradition as long as 50 years, but every beginning is tough.

But, let me return to my story about Usaquén. So, when I reached the main street, Carrera 7, I practically transitioned from a quiet residential area into a modern area with buildings that I assume are intended for commercial purposes.

Usaquén, a detail

Besides the famous flea market, Usaquén today actually represents a beautiful blend of colonial and modern architecture, making it worth visiting even on days other than Sunday.

However, I was now ready to return to the centre of Bogotá, so I called Uber again. I had to wait a bit, so I captured more interesting scenes along the way. In the next photo, you can see another modern building alongside an old house in a state of decay.

Usaquén, a detail

However, while I was taking these photos, I noticed further down from this decaying house another interesting and significant building: the Usaquén train station. As I was waiting for transportation and didn't have time to go closer and take a better photo of the train station, here's a snapshot nonetheless.

Usaquén, a detail

Besides buses, taxis or bicycles, you can also reach Usaquén by a special train called the "Tourist Train" (Tren Turístico). This option is ideal for train enthusiasts, although it's not very practical. From what I've read, the ride itself is interesting. The tourist train operates on weekends and public holidays, stopping not only at Usaquén but also at Zipaquirá, which I've already written about (https://svudapodji.com/en/colombia-5/).

When my Uber ride arrived, I settled comfortably inside and soon enough I was at Plaza de Bolívar.

Plaza de Bolívar

I noticed that the doors of the cathedral were open, so I realised that I hadn't actually visited it yet. Therefore, I went inside and explored it now.

Cathedral, the interior

The cathedral was erected on the site where the founder of the city, Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada, celebrated the first mass in Bogotá in 1538. Initially, a makeshift chapel was constructed for this purpose, but the construction of a permanent church began in 1553. However, its roof collapsed, so the church was only completed in 1590. This building also faced misfortune, however, as it was practically levelled to the ground in the earthquake of 1785, with only a few minor parts surviving. These surviving parts were incorporated into the new church, construction of which began in 1805, and this is the very building that stands here today.

Cathedral, the interior

Several significant historical figures are buried in the cathedral, including the city's founder, Quesada, whose remains were transferred there in 1938.

Cathedral, the interior

After exploring the interior of the cathedral, I emerged once again onto Plaza de Bolívar, where this Sunday afternoon, there were many people and a few llamas being used for taking pictures with tourists.

Plaza de Bolívar

Plaza de Bolívar, a detail

I didn't have a photo of me with the llama taken, but I continued with a leisurely walk and then went for coffee and cake at a nearby restaurant that has a couple of beautiful inner courtyards.

Bogotá, a detail

Nice coffee and cake break

Since I was feeling better by this point, I thought I might visit another building designed by Rogelio Salmona, which is part of the group of buildings on UNESCO's Tentative List of World Heritage Sites. Having seen three of his buildings already, I had a clear idea of his style, but I was curious if this fourth one followed the same concept.

I consulted my phone again to find out where I could catch a bus that would take me there quickly. I went to the station, but there was actually no station at the designated spot. It made me realise that while you can rely on internet information at times, it can often be unreliable. I considered walking since it wasn't far, but decided against it to avoid further exhaustion. Given my upcoming travels, it was important to stay fit and recover quickly, knowing the building would be there when I returned to Bogotá.

Therefore, I started to slowly make my way back towards the hotel, taking side streets along the way, which often proved very interesting. For instance, I stumbled upon a book vendor who not only sold books from his stall but also had installed speakers and was singing with great passion.

I also occasionally felt the need to capture various details of Bogotá, especially different parts of streets or houses that caught my eye.

Bogotá, a detail

Along the way, I bought another mango peeled and diced, and then I returned to the hotel. It was still daylight, but knowing the sun would soon set, I adhered to my usual practice when travelling through much of Latin America: retiring to my room unusually early.

Furthermore, I needed to organise myself for the continuation of the journey, which was starting the next morning with an early flight to Leticia in the Amazonia.

Since my plan was to stay only four days in the Colombian Amazonia, I opted for a morning flight when purchasing my plane ticket from Bogotá to maximize my time there.

There are no roads leading to the Colombian Amazonia. While it's theoretically possible to reach Leticia, the southernmost and largest city in this region, by land, it would involve traversing through the jungle, navigating rivers and taking a significant amount of time. None of these options suited me, hence the choice of air travel. The distance between Bogotá and Leticia is nearly 1100 km and a large plane requires a full two hours to cover that distance.

Here is a map showing the places I visited during my stay in Colombia, including the location of Leticia.

In addition to the distance between Bogotá and Leticia, the fact that Bogotá is in the mountains and Leticia is in the plains, the altitude difference is also interesting – Bogotá averages around 2650 meters above sea level, while Leticia is only 96 meters above sea level.

I was very excited when I saw the Amazon through the airplane window.

View at the Amazon from the plane

After landing at the airport in Leticia, I collected my luggage, hailed a taxi and soon arrived at the guesthouse I had booked for the day.

Here is a short video that partially illustrates what this part of the city looks like.

Upon arriving at the guesthouse, I used my mobile phone to capture my location and sent it to friends and family, which I found particularly interesting:

Here I am!!!

Despite the change in altitude and increased humidity in Leticia, I didn't feel physically great and my cough persisted. So, upon arriving at the guesthouse, I asked the hostess to boil water for me to make tea that I had bought in Bogotá. It was soothing, but it didn't cure my cough.

On the other hand, psychologically I was very content. After this short break, I decided to take a stroll around the city and also purchase a ticket for a boat ride for the next day.

Leticia

On the way to the river port, I enjoyed interesting sights along the road, while I also reached a green market where I stopped to buy some fruit.

Leticia

Leticia green market

Besides fruits and vegetables, the market also offered bags of charcoal and river fish for sale. After all, Leticia is located on the banks of the Amazon River.

Leticia green market

As for the Amazon, just a few dozen metres from the market there is an arm of the river where the river port is located.

Leticia river port

I noticed there was a larger crowd on one of the rafts serving as a pier, but I was told that tickets needed to be purchased at an office which turned out to be closed at that time. Therefore, I decided to return later and in the meantime, I took some photos of the port and its surroundings.

Leticia river port

As it can be seen, everything here is constructed either to float or is raised on stilts if the structure is more permanent. This is because the water level of the Amazon River varies significantly throughout the year. From what I've read, in some parts, the difference between the highest and lowest annual levels of the Amazon can be as much as 15 metres!!!

I was here in the second half of January, which is already during the rainy season, but the Amazon River level was still far from its highest.

Anyway, I was now ready to have lunch, so I decided it would be best to actually go to Peru for that! So, I headed down to one of the raft docks where I was supposed to take a boat to Santa Rosa de Yavarí Island, located on the right bank of the Amazon River and belonging to Peru.

Waiting for the transportation to Peru

Colombia 2024, part 9 (Bogotá)

Verica Ristic — Fri, 20 Mar 2026 15:24:00 GMT

Although I had hoped that my cold or whatever it was would have subsided overnight, that didn't quite happen. Nevertheless, after waking up slowly and not feeling entirely well, I still set out to walk around La Candelaria with the intention of visiting a few more interesting sites and places. After all, I was leaving Bogotá the next day and though I had planned to return here for a day before heading home, I thought it best to explore everything of interest now. I could always come back to this part of the city casually at the end of my stay in Colombia.

Firstly, I headed towards the Santa Clara Museum (Museo Santa Clara), which is actually located within a former church or, rather, monastery. I had wanted to visit this place on my first day as I wandered these streets, but back then I couldn't reach the museum. The streets between several blocks near the museum were blocked off with metal structures, almost like barricades, and there were several policemen stationed at these locations.

On the first day, that's all I saw, so I didn't attempt to get to the museum. Eventually, at one of these spots, I asked if it was possible to reach the museum and a very kind policeman (although heavily armed and fully equipped) told me I could, but at a checkpoint one block down.

I didn't quite understand all of this at the time, but on this occasion, I approached that checkpoint and asked if I could go to the museum. A young policewoman spoke with someone on a walkie-talkie, then she checked my small backpack and waist bag, and then she allowed me to pass. At the next intersection, I encountered another checkpoint where they checked my waist bag and backpack again, and that's how I finally reached the museum.

The reason for all this is that in this part of Bogotá, there is the residence of the President of Colombia and due to some unrest in the previous weeks (as I understood), as well as constant potential political disturbances so characteristic of Latin America, this part of the city and the facilities within it were heavily guarded during my visit.

Regardless, I made it to the museum and began my tour.

The Santa Clara Museum

The church was erected in the first half of the 17th century and from the outside, it is a very subdued building except for the main entrance, which stands out from the strict facade, although it is also comparatively simple.

However, when a visitor enters through the side entrance into the former church (now a museum where an entrance fee is paid), the situation is quite different – immediately encountering a multitude of picturesque details.

The Santa Clara Museum, a detail

I first went to the front of the nave to get a better view of what everything looked like overall. You actually enter through these blue doors that you can see in the next picture on the left.

The Santa Clara Museum

In the centre of the nave, during my visit, there was also a small hut illustrating a part of the life of the indigenous people who used to inhabit the territory of present-day Colombia. Inside the hut, you could see an artificial fireplace. I'm not sure if this is part of the permanent exhibition today, but it was there when I visited the church-museum.

However, the main attraction of this space comes from the gilded details, intricately decorated vault and numerous paintings.

The Santa Clara Museum, a detail

When I approached the altar, I turned around and captured the interior of the church from that direction, while the impression was equally remarkable.

The Santa Clara Museum, a detail

Next to the pulpit, there are also some doors through which I continued my tour.

The Santa Clara Museum, a detail

Parallel to the western longitudinal wall of the nave, there is a very narrow corridor where it was quite dark.

The Santa Clara Museum, a detail

I walked through that corridor and from there I could see small rooms with openings in the walls, and when I squeezed in there, I could see a chair on the other side. It wasn't until later, when I returned to the church nave, that I realised what was actually happening here. Namely, the church was part of a women's monastery (a convent) and the nuns regularly had to do their confession. From the church, you enter these small rooms where, on the other side, a chair was obviously placed for the priest, while the nuns would approach confession from the direction of that narrow corridor, which was clearly connected to the other parts of the monastery.

The Santa Clara Museum, a detail

It was clear to me that I had only skimmed through the museum superficially, but as I’ve mentioned earlier, I wasn't feeling well and just wanted to see what everything looked like without delving into any details. Despite my physical condition, I had set myself another ambitious plan for the day's activities, so I needed to move on.

Since another church I wanted to see was also within this fenced-off and guarded area with limited access, I thought of heading directly there, but I couldn't. I had to go back to where I came from and go around until I reached yet another checkpoint where I had to show my waist bag and backpack again. I don't mind police officers checking my bag and backpack, but the problem lies in the model of my backpack that has four compartments that all need to be opened and inspected – it's quite a hassle.

In any case, I mentioned to the security here that I was interested in visiting the building of the National General Archive (Archivo General de la Nación) since “the building was designed by the renowned Colombian architect Rogelio Salmona and listed on the Tentative World Heritage List” (my words). I explained all of this to them nicely, but they looked at me blankly, clearly confused by this foreigner talking about things in their country that they didn't even know. They told me I could go to the archive building but not to take any photos because it's within a fenced-off area. By the way, in that area, there are also some ministries, not just the presidential residence.

It was all a bit strange. Online, you can see photos of pedestrians, private cars, taxis, vendors with carts and so on, passing along the street in front of that church. So, it's not like that part is shrouded in secrecy. Since I arrived here on a Sunday, a non-working day, I didn't see anyone around. However, since they told me what I could and couldn't do, and I had no intention of causing any trouble or potentially getting myself into any problems, I behaved very obediently and didn't film anything else except for that church.

It's a very beautiful church from the 17th century, the Church of San Agustín (Iglesia de San Agustin).

Church of San Agustín

Here, too, the interior is richly decorated, though not as ornately as in the Church of Santa Clara. The decorative details begin right from the entrance and continue throughout.

Church of San Agustín, a detail

When I exited the church, I continued towards the nearby archive building. At the end of the street, I saw another checkpoint and it turned out that I could exit the fenced-off area there, which suited me much better than having to go all the way around. On the other hand, I realised I could perfectly well photograph the archive building from the street since only a part of it is within the fenced-off area, while the main access is from a street accessible to everyone.

General Archive of the Nation

All of this was in order for me to see another executed project by the renowned French-Colombian architect Rogelio Salmona (1927-2007), whose seven works (including four in Bogotá) are collectively on the UNESCO's Tentative World Heritage List.

The construction of the General Archive of the Nation lasted from 1988 to 1994 and, from what I've read, considering the period of Colombia's most significant violence, it was crucial for the entire country that the construction of this new building symbolically transforms the place of "memory of the nation" into a "collective meeting place."

Since it was cloudy that day, with occasional light rain, my camera and mobile phone decided to play games, capturing the same building using different shades in their visual expressions – on one, the building appears beige, while on the other, it appears red. Objectively, the colour of the building is something between what is seen in my photos.

General Archive of the Nation

But regardless of the colours, I found it interesting that I could now recognise the architect's "personal expression" – there were bricks, colours, canals in the ground, low steps, window shapes and more.

General Archive of the Nation

In the previous photograph, you can see cyclists riding along the street. On this day, which was a Sunday, I encountered a wonderful tradition in Bogotá. As one taxi driver later told me, for over 30 years, a significant number of streets in Bogotá, not just in the historical centre but also some major roads in other parts of the city, are closed from 7 in the morning until 2 in the afternoon (on Sundays). This closure allows cyclists to enjoy their bicycle ride safely and freely.

Furthermore, I later found out that this tradition is called "Ciclovía" and was introduced as early as in 1974 (which means over 50 years ago!). Today, 127 km of city streets (!) are closed to motor traffic during this period. It's very impressive and highly progressive. So far, I have been able to see cyclists enjoying their ride through the historic centre of Bogotá – La Candelaria.

Sunday bicycle reign in La Candelaria

Be as it may, I then walked to the Botero Museum (Museo Botero). Fernando Botero (1932-2023) is probably the most famous Colombian painter and sculptor. As it turned out, he passed away just four months before my visit, albeit in Monaco.

By coincidence, I had already attended a major exhibition of his works when I visited Scheveningen in the Netherlands several years ago, where a friend of mine lived and worked. On the other hand, I also recognised Botero's famous "chubby figures" from various media.

Regardless, Botero at some point donated a significant but impressive number of his works, as well as pieces by other artists from his private collection of 19th and 20th-century artworks, to the Colombian state (or the people, I'm not sure), thus establishing this museum. From what I’ve read, since Botero was born in Medellín, the residents there were not thrilled that he donated these works to be displayed in Bogotá, but that's how it is.

Although I felt particularly “heavy” during my visit to the museum, I truly enjoyed it.

Botero Museum, the entrance hall

Probably the hallmark of Botero's work is his distinctively and sympathetically plump figures. Most often, these are people, but he explores other themes as well. Botero's artworks are best left to speak for themselves.

Horse

Couple

Monalisa

A family

Dancing couple

Woman with bird

Little woman

Captain

Mother superior

Study

Still life

By the way, the museum is housed in an old and spacious colonial-era house, which typically includes an inner courtyard. Today, these courtyards are often beautifully landscaped and maintained.

Botero Museum, the inner courtyard

When I finished exploring the museum, I stepped out onto the street and soon came across a few more beautiful old houses that La Candelaria is known for.

La Candelaria, a detail

Since my hotel was very close to the Botero Museum, I first returned to my room to rest a bit, drank half a litre of orange juice that I bought along the way and prepared for my next adventure, which was visiting Usaquén. Usaquén is a well-known place, especially on Sundays, and it was indeed Sunday.

Historically, Usaquén was once inhabited by the Muisca tribe, but has now merged entirely with Bogotá (formally in 1954) and is practically one of the districts of this fairly large city (Bogotá has more inhabitants than the entire country of Serbia).

Today, this area is particularly famous for its flea market (Mercado de Las Pulgas), which is organised on Sundays.

I didn't know exactly what to expect, but looked up directions on my phone. Usaquén is about 12 km from La Candelaria and there are various transportation options. Interestingly, the weekly Ciclovía practically means that one of the main city streets leading to Usaquén is closed to motor vehicle traffic, allowing cyclists to safely reach the area. However, I wasn't up for cycling, so I continued on foot.

Needless to say, my plan wasn't to walk there, but I saw on my phone that there was a direct public transport line. Feeling already well versed (or so I thought), I headed to the station shown on my phone. However, it was not nearby...

Anyway, I reached the bus station eventually, only to find out that the next bus was coming in three hours!!! I checked multiple times and got the same answer each time. Later, I realised that the reason for this was the Ciclovía and that the bus route used a street closed to motor vehicles on Sundays. It was clear to me I would have to take a taxi, but with various stories about taxis in Bogotá and concerns about safety, I wasn't keen on experimenting. There was no one on the street whom I could ask for help.

Then I remembered I had the Uber app on my phone. I opened it and saw that everything was working fine. Within five minutes, I was in a taxi heading to Usaquén and it turned out that taxis in Bogotá (at least Uber) are significantly cheaper than in Belgrade. Everything went smoothly, and soon I arrived in Usaquén, ready for a leisurely stroll.

Colombia 2024, part 8 (Bogotá)

Verica Ristic — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 17:03:00 GMT

After finishing with my visit to the Bogotá Botanical Garden (Jardín Botánico de Bogotá), I walked towards the nearby expansive Simón Bolívar Central Park (Parque Central Simón Bolívar). In fact, these are two parts of the same vast green area, from an urban planning perspective, known as the Simón Bolívar Metropolitan Park (Parque Metropolitano Simón Bolívar). Its construction began in 1966, it is located almost in the centre of the city and with an area of over 400 hectares, it is actually one of the largest city parks in the world.

Simón Bolívar Central Park

Within the Central Park, there is also a large lake and in one part, on the lake’s shore, you can see a temple built in 1968 for the purposes of the Eucharistic Congress held in Simon Bolívar Park.

Simón Bolívar Central Park, a detail

In the park, there are plenty of well-maintained paths, places where you can buy food and drinks, and also playgrounds for children.

Simón Bolívar Central Park

Considering its size, there's plenty of space here to enjoy on the beautiful lawns that stretch between the trees. Some visitors probably stay longer in the park; I even saw small tents set up in a few places.

Simón Bolívar Central Park

In addition to the people enjoying themselves here, there are also birds. Granted, I had already seen all of this in the botanical garden, but these birds posed so nicely that I couldn't resist taking photos of them.

Great thrush (Turdus fuscater)

Eared dove (Zenaida auriculata)

However, I came to this part of the metropolitan park only to pass through it because my goal was another section, which is Virgilio Barco Park (Parque Virgilio Barco) with its namesake library. After almost an hour of walking, due to stopping and taking photos, I finally reached that part.

The main reason I wanted to come here is that both the park and the Virgilio Barco Public Library were designed by Rogelio Salmona (1927-2007), a renowned French-Colombian architect. He collaborated with Le Corbusier for several years and received numerous prestigious awards.

Although I occasionally mention architecture and even architects in my travel stories, albeit very rarely since it's actually a passing interest for me, I learned about Rogelio Salmona when I was looking at the UNESCO's World Heritage List. Specifically, Colombia's Tentative World Heritage List includes the architectural legacy of Rogelio Salmona. This incorporates seven buildings, four of which are located in Bogotá. Even before coming here, I gave myself the task of seeing these buildings, which I ultimately managed to accomplish.

The first one I came to was precisely the park with the Virgilio Barco Public Library.

Virgilio Barco Park

I won't provide any comments related to the achievements of this architect; instead, I'll just post photos with basic information about the specific objects depicted in each photo. However, before I start with that or, more precisely, before I went to see the Virgilio Barco Public Library, I had to grab something to eat. I was especially inspired when I stumbled upon a small fair within this park.

Virgilio Barco Park, a detail

There were several stands with different types of food and that is always a challenge for me because I never know what to try first. In the end, I went for some sausages with guacamole. They were excellent!

Lunch in Virgilio Barco Park

In order to eat my lunch, I sat on a bench near the food stall where I bought my meal and from there, I could watch a stage where some sort of concert was taking place.

It is clear to me that I am "out of touch" with the times, so this type of music was quite distant to me. It is very possible that, once again due to my age, I couldn't help but be amazed by what seemed to me an exceptionally vulgar "performance" happening in the middle of the day in a public park. Luckily, I was probably the only one paying "attention" to it. However, I didn't linger there for long either.

I didn't go far – just to another stall. I couldn't miss this; it was craft beer and I must say it was excellent.

Beer in Virgilio Barco Park

After leisurely enjoying the beer while sitting at a table near the stall, I finally went to see the Virgilio Barco Public Library (Biblioteca Virgilio Barco).

Virgilio Barco Public Library

To start with, I walked along a wide path leading to the main entrance of the library. It was evident that Rogelio Salmona alongside concrete also extensively used red brick here, which, as I’ve mentioned earlier, had become very popular in Bogotá over time.

Virgilio Barco Public Library

I wasn't the only foreign visitor who came here and so I saw an Asian girl with a camera entering the library. I have to admit, it wouldn't have occurred to me to do that if I hadn't seen her, but since I did, I decided to go inside as well. I was very pleased with the experience.

Virgilio Barco Public Library

However, I didn't stay there long; in fact, I managed to find the exit on the other side. This made me even more satisfied because it gave me the opportunity to get a good look at other parts and sides of the library.

Virgilio Barco Public Library

After exiting the library, I spent a bit more time capturing some details with my camera and then I continued on through the park in the desired direction.

Virgilio Barco Public Library

While I was taking the previous photo from a gentle slope, I heard some noise and commotion behind me. When I turned around, I saw what was going on. A larger group of guys was playfully re-enacting medieval battles with harmless imitations of weapons. As I positioned myself to capture them better with my video camera, the fighting became less intense, but there were still occasional "attacks" here and there.

But, Virgilio Barco Park is not just a place for intense conflicts. It is also a peaceful place where people engage in significantly calmer activities.

Virgilio Barco Park, a detail

Now I left the park and embarked on a rather tedious walk to my next destination for the day. I could have taken a bus, but I thought it wouldn't be worthwhile. By the time I found a suitable bus line, got to the station and then went where I needed to, it would probably take just as much time and energy.

So I mechanically moved my legs and after a little over half an hour, I arrived at a checkpoint with guard houses. Namely, I wanted to enter the University City of Bogotá (Ciudad Universitaria) since this large area is also on the UNESCO's Tentative World Heritage List.

In the first half of the 20th century, an idea emerged to concentrate all faculties of the National University in one place, as they were scattered throughout the city at the time. Today, this complex, which represents the most important state university in the country, is officially known as the National University of Colombia (Universidad Nacional de Colombia). It was established as a result of an urban, architectural and educational project.

When the construction of the University City began in 1936, Bogotá was a smaller city and the land allocated for the construction was on the western outskirts of the capital. However, the aim of designing the University City in this location was not only to utilise available space on the periphery, as the city was mostly developing along a north-south axis, but also to encourage urban expansion towards the west. Today, this large complex housing the University City is roughly in the middle of Bogotá, a city with a population of 8 million.

By the way, on the western and south-western sides of this vast area, the city also designed the major El Dorado Avenue, which now leads to the El Dorado International Airport where I landed upon arriving in Colombia.

The University City area was designed to be divided into three specialised zones: academic, service and sports areas. Everything is nicely connected by streets and pathways, with the idea of consolidating various faculties in one place. Of course, not all buildings could be constructed at the same time, but the initial structures of simple architecture were painted white, hence the nickname "The White City" (La Ciudad Blanca). A significant number of the buildings have since been declared National Cultural Heritage of Colombia. I also found it interesting to learn, as can be seen on the map, that the core buildings and streets within the University City are shaped like an owl, which is quite charming considering that owls symbolise wisdom.

So, I wanted to see this by simply walking from the northern to the southern entrance of the complex. Of course, this isn't a pedestrian walkway and it's not common for visitors to casually stroll through. When I reached the checkpoint with the guards, I explained what I was interested in. It wasn't just the University City, but also a specific faculty located there that had also been designed by Rogelio Salmona, which I will talk about later. I enthusiastically told them all about it and explained that there are two sites here on the Tentative World Heritage List.

I think they found it all very strange, unusual and certainly interesting that a woman from another continent came all the way to Bogotá to see some buildings. But I was full of stories and enthusiasm, so they took me seriously. They made a couple of calls and asked to see my passport, which I gladly showed them. After their check, they let me in and wished me a pleasant time and walk. I was very happy and content.

First, I passed by the service and auxiliary parts of the complex, as well as the sports fields, and then I entered the area where the concentration of faculties and academic buildings is mainly located.

University City of Bogotá, a detail

There were benches clearly intended for students to spend time outdoors, but it was Saturday afternoon and I hardly saw anyone during my walk, as you can see in these photos.

University City of Bogotá, a detail

One of the more striking buildings I passed by was the Nursing Faculty (Facultad de Enfermería).

University City of Bogotá, a detail

Not far from here, close to the south-western boundary of the University City, there is the Human Sciences Postgraduate Building (Edificio de Posgrados de Ciencias Humanas).

Human Sciences Postgraduate Building

The building was designed by Rogelio Salmona and this is another one of those seven structures jointly listed on the UNESCO's Tentative World Heritage List, with four of them, as I’ve mentioned earlier, being located in Bogotá. This was my second site from this list.

Human Sciences Postgraduate Building

Human Sciences Postgraduate Building, a detail

Human Sciences Postgraduate Building

After circling around the building and taking some photos, I practically finished exploring what interested me here, so I headed towards the southern exit. There was also a guard there and I think he was a bit confused when I explained why I was there on a Saturday afternoon.

This exit leads directly onto El Dorado Avenue, where I saw where to catch the bus back to La Candelaria, as I was already extremely tired. However, to catch the bus, I had to cross the street, which is where the pedestrian bridge comes in handy.

First, I climbed up and from there I took a photo of a very important department within the University City – the department for foreign languages. So, if I had studied in Bogotá instead of Belgrade, this is where I would have attended my lectures.

University City of Bogotá, a detail

This pedestrian bridge is excellent because it offers a fantastic view of El Dorado Avenue, parts of Bogotá and the Eastern Hills.

Bogotá, a detail

I got off the bus at a place where I needed to pass through a flea market to reach the main square in La Candelaria. For a foreign visitor like me, the sights were colourful and vibrant!

Bogotá, a detail

Needless to say, where there are people and shops, there is also food.

Bogotá, a detail

And then I reached Bolivar Square or Plaza de Bolívar.

Bogotá, a detail

Very tired primarily due to a cold that had been bothering me for a few days and also from all the walking, I just wanted to get back to the hotel. I did stop briefly to eat something, but then I could finally retreat to my room. Since my backpack had arrived the previous evening, I could relax and try to get a good night's sleep to recover for the continuation of my journey.

Colombia 2024, part 7 (Bogotá)

Verica Ristic — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 17:04:00 GMT

When I returned to Bogotá from Zipaquirá by intercity coach, specifically to the Portal del Norte station, where the city buses of the TransMilenio system depart, the first thing I needed to do was to buy a ticket for that bus.

I had already mentioned before that this was my first day using public transportation in Bogotá and I wasn't sure how it worked at all. However, when I headed to Portal del Norte in the morning, the guard simply let me pass without a ticket. Now I couldn't count on that anymore, while I wasn't sure what to do because the information on the internet was very impractical.

So, while still on the coach from Zipaquirá, I asked a kind woman for help since it turned out she was also catching a bus within the same system. Long story short, because you can't buy a single ride ticket in Bogotá and I didn't have a plastic transport card, I paid this woman for one ride and she scanned her card for both of us, and that was it. Besides that, I realised this wasn't a good system for me and that I needed to buy that plastic transport card, which I did the following day.

For now, I returned to the city centre located in the area known as Santa Fe, which actually surrounds the oldest part of Bogotá, La Candelaria, where I stayed.

I was tired from walking all day, while dealing with a cold or something similar had already left me feeling exhausted from the start. Additionally, being in a tropical zone, the sun sets relatively early, around 6 pm, and I didn't want to be out on the streets after dark. Because of all this, I decided to go straight to the hotel practically as soon as I got back, stopping only to buy some snacks since I wasn't in the mood, nor hungry enough, for a formal dinner. Though I was inspired enough to pick up a local beer which I later enjoyed in my room. The beer wasn't bad, but its packaging was particularly interesting because of the condor on the can.

Colombian beer

And yet, even the beer couldn't cheer me up.

I worried whether my backpack would arrive and couldn't shake the question from my head: "What if it doesn't arrive?" I imagined that the next day, instead of continuing to explore the capital of Colombia, I would have to wander around Bogotá looking for a new backpack, clothes and various little things I need when travelling. Even in the best of moods, I don't enjoy shopping unless I know exactly what and where I can buy it. The thought of having to do this in a foreign city that was completely new to me, where I didn't know exactly where the stores I might be interested in were located, filled me with great worry and nervousness. Moreover, I NEVER wear new things that I just bought before washing them. This meant I had to find a laundry service in Bogotá that would properly wash my new items and have everything ready almost within a single day. No, no, no... I was neither calm nor happy at all.

When I returned to the hotel that evening, I told the person at the reception desk that I was still expecting my backpack and hoped it would be delivered that night because I was eagerly awaiting it. Understanding my situation, the woman nodded sympathetically and I went to my room to try to relax and rest. After some time passed since the plane landed from New York, I called the airline's office at the Bogotá airport and they confirmed that my backpack had indeed arrived and would be delivered to my hotel around 11 PM. This reassured me somewhat, though I was still very nervous and just wanted to see my backpack in my room.

Time passed slowly and it reached 11 PM, but my backpack had not arrived yet. I continued to wait anxiously, but nothing happened. At 11:30, I finally went down to the reception, but the woman I had seen a few hours earlier was no longer there; instead, there was someone new. I asked her if anyone had delivered a backpack and she casually said yes, then took me to a storage room where my backpack was neatly placed, but nobody at the reception had informed me about it. Oh, how furious I was!

Still, at least my backpack with all my belongings had arrived and after retrieving some necessary items, I tried to go to sleep as soon as possible.

That night, I still didn't sleep well, partly due to the prolonged nervousness, jet lag and the persistent cough.

However, the next day I planned to continue exploring Bogotá, albeit not in the best shape. So, I first found a cart selling freshly squeezed orange juice, thinking I couldn't go wrong with some extra vitamin C. Knowing about the custom of buying freshly squeezed orange juice on the street, I was prepared – I had my own bottle into which the kind vendor poured the juice "to go."

Squeezing orange juice

Liquid vitamin C

Now, the first thing I did was to go and buy a city transport card. Along the way, I filmed parts of the city where again I was to catch a bus from the TransMilenio system and I also took a photo of one such bus.

Bogotá, a detail

Looking at the top of Monserrate [Hill], which was covered in clouds this time, I thought about how lucky I was on the first day when I went there to enjoy the beautiful view of Bogotá.

In the photo above, you can also see the building of the Colombian central bank, Banco de la República (Bank of the Republic), which is the modern building on the left side of the photograph. It is partially visible in the next photo (on the right), where the foreground features the San Francisco Palace (Palacio San Francisco), which houses the mayor of Santa Fe (which could be considered one of the “municipalities” in Bogotá).

Bogotá, a detail

Now I headed towards the Bogotá Botanical Garden (Jardín Botánico de Bogotá). To get there, I first took a TransMilenio bus a few stations north and then walked a bit before boarding a regular bus. Navigating Bogotá's public transportation seemed to be going smoothly for me.

During this walk, as well as the previous day when I travelled towards the Portal del Norte station, I noticed a fairly large number of houses in Bogotá that inevitably gave the impression as if I were in – England!?

Bogotá, a detail

Later, I did some research to see what was going on and whether it was just my imagination.

No, it wasn't my imagination at all – this is a well-known fact. During Colombia's fight for independence from Spain, local revolutionaries were aided by a British Legion and after the establishment of the republic in present-day Colombia, this developed into significant trade with Great Britain. By the way, in their desire to break free from Spanish colonial influence, people in Bogotá eagerly embraced not only British, but also French architectural influences.

Bogotá, a detail

That is how the increased use of red brick facades began, which until then had been used primarily for industrial purposes and supposedly not for residential buildings. Additionally, since Bogotá's weather is often cloudy, cool, rainy and gray, these red bricks brought a certain contrast and attractiveness to the cityscape.

Bogotá, a detail

Thus, at the beginning of the 20th century, a trend emerged to build houses with gardens (in front and behind the property), inspired by British style. In the next photograph, you can see a house built in the Tudor style. Among other details, this can be observed in the decorative laths on the windows, which are crafted in accordance with the Elizabethan style (this is reference to Queen Elizabeth I). This detail goes far beyond my usual interest in architecture seen during travels, but it reflects the fact that long ago, during my studies of the English language and literature in Belgrade, I spent several months in England working as an au pair. Since I earned little with my host family, I found an additional job in telemarketing for windows. It was during this time that I learned the difference between Elizabethan and Georgian-style windows. There you have it.

Bogotá, a detail

In any case, the trend of building houses in Bogotá in British style persisted until the emergence of modern architectural trends in the mid-20th century. Interestingly, the use of red brick facades continued beyond that period and today numerous buildings, including high-rises, are designed with this architectural element. Moreover, as I’ve read, this architectural feature is now used in Colombian cities with warmer climates and warmer colours than Bogotá, and it has spread to some neighbouring countries, too.

As for me, I found a bus stop where I had to wait a bit for the right bus, but eventually everything worked out well and soon I was at the Bogotá Botanical Garden (Jardín Botánico de Bogotá). My plan was simply to stroll around there for a couple of hours.

Bogotá Botanical Garden, a detail

There was an option here to join a tour group formed ad hoc, but I must admit I usually prefer to explore alone because that way I can go where I want and at a pace that suits me. On this occasion, my pace demanded right from the start that I sit somewhere for coffee to wake up a bit more and a café within the garden was perfect for that. While enjoying my coffee and waking up, I spotted and took a photo of a beautiful bird called a rufous-collared sparrow (Zonotrichia capensis).

Rufous-collared sparrow

After finishing my coffee, which was indeed refreshing, I started a leisurely stroll through the botanical garden.

Bogotá Botanical Garden, a detail

Actually, I don't have much to write about here because it was just a stroll and I'm not very knowledgeable about plants. So, I'll just occasionally comment on this visit primarily through photos of certain plants that caught my attention for various reasons, while having a designation exhibited beside them. For instance, the camellia bush (Camellia japonica).

Camellia bush

Camellia flowers

Some parts of the botanical garden are designed to appear more "wild," while others are highly cultivated.

Bogotá Botanical Garden, a detail

The Bogotá Botanical Garden has several distinct sections and one of them is dedicated to medicinal and edible plants, as well as herbs.

Bogotá Botanical Garden, a detail

There was sage, rosemary and thyme, and even wild strawberries, for example. However, I would like to highlight another plant, the lantana (Lantana camara), which was noted here for its use in treating malaria, fever, colds and coughs. What intrigued me was recalling that I had seen this plant in Madagascar as well, where it was said to be used for treating stomach pain (see: https://svudapodji.com/en/madagascar-9/). Clearly, lantana is a universally medicinal plant, regardless of what it treats.

Lantana

Continuing with my stroll, I explored other parts of the botanical garden.

Bogotá Botanical Garden, a detail

At one point, I came across several plants with numerous brightly coloured flowers and it was fascinating to see their coexistence with various insects – because where there are plants, there are bugs. At least that's how it goes in nature.

Bogotá Botanical Garden, a detail

At one point, I approached the large glasshouses that had been built here, passing through vegetable patches along the way.

Bogotá Botanical Garden, a detail

When I reached the entrance to the large greenhouses within the Bogotá Botanical Garden, I noticed a line, so I realised I needed to wait for a group to form on-site.

Bogotá Botanical Garden, a detail

So, at one point, I joined a tour led by a guide. However, I quickly realised that the whole experience was more geared towards children who were there with their parents and that the gardens could actually be explored individually. Therefore, I decided to break away from the group and continued exploring on my own.

Bogotá Botanical Garden, a detail

One of the greenhouses is quite tall, although not tall enough for a tree whose trunk was there to fit in with its canopy. I believe the tree or rather the trunk is there mainly to host other plants.

Bogotá Botanical Garden, a detail

But at one point, I saw a young tree that in nature can grow quite tall. This is the kapok tree (Ceiba pentandra), also known as the silk-cotton tree. I've mentioned it before when writing about my stay in Martinique and also in Zanzibar (see: https://www.svudapodji.com/en/new-york-martinique-11/ and https://www.svudapodji.com/en/zanzibar-4/).

Young kapok tree

The greenhouses within the Bogotá Botanical Garden are organised in such a way that each one showcases different types of habitats.

Bogotá Botanical Garden, a detail

Thus I got to a section dedicated to "Useful plants." Right at the entrance, it was emphasised that there is no plant that isn't useful – whether it serves as food, produces the oxygen we breathe, provides shade, offers intoxicating scents or is used in medicinal treatments, etc. Nevertheless, I found it particularly interesting to capture images of specific plants.

Coca (Erythroxylum coca)

Coffee arabica (Coffea arabica)

Upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum)

A pineapple variety (Ananas nanus)

As for bananas, I didn't delve into the specific species; I simply took photos.

Bananas

I walked some more through the greenhouses and then I went back outside again.

Bogotá Botanical Garden, a detail

Right across from the main entrance to the greenhouses, there is a large rose garden.

Bogotá Botanical Garden, a detail

Continuing my stroll around the botanical garden, I came across a small grove. Perhaps I wouldn't have paid much attention to the trees growing there if I hadn't seen a group of visitors hugging them. Being someone who also enjoys hugging trees, it was a lovely scene for me to witness.

Bogotá Botanical Garden, a detail

As it turned out, these trees belong to the species of pine known to grow in limited areas in a few countries in north-western South America (Retrophyllum rospigliosii). Moreover, as indicated on a plaque displayed here, this species is endangered and at risk of extinction.

Bogotá Botanical Garden, a detail

When those people left, after taking photos of the grove, I felt compelled to hug a beautiful tree myself. With my hands occupied in the embrace, I couldn't take a photo of that moment.

Towards the end of my visit to the Bogotá Botanical Garden, I also came across another small lake that had been constructed here.

Bogotá Botanical Garden, a detail

There, I spotted an interesting bird. As I later found out, it was a juvenile purple gallinule (Porphyrio martinica). A few days later, I would take a photo of an adult bird, which, unlike the young one, exhibits incredible colours.

Purple gallinule

Since I'm mentioning birds, during my walk through the botanical garden, I took photos of a few more species.

Great thrush (Turdus fuscater)

Black flowerpiercer (Diglossa humeralis)

Since the Bogotá Botanical Garden is quite far from the part of the city where I spent most of my time (10-11 km), I probably wouldn't have come here if I hadn't planned to visit a few other interesting places nearby. So, after leaving the botanical garden, I walked out onto the street and headed towards Simon Bolivar Metropolitan Park (Parque Metropolitano Simón Bolívar).

Colombia 2024, part 6 (Zipaquirá)

Verica Ristic — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 05:50:00 GMT

In the previous segment of the travel stories about my stay in Colombia in early 2024, I reached the point where I entered the mine housing the underground Salt Cathedral, for which the town of Zipaquirá, north of Bogotá, is famous. After an initial straight corridor resembling a tunnel that gently slopes downwards, you reach a mostly flat section, the entrance ramp, from where several underground "rooms" branch off to the left and right.

Access hallway of the mine with the Salt Cathedral

Namely, this space, a former mine, is organised not only to include the chambers of the underground church but also features 14 chapels dedicated to the Stations of the Cross – from the moment Jesus was condemned to death to the laying of his body in the tomb. According to tradition, there are 14 of these moments or situations, hence the number of chapels. For example, Jesus meets his holy mother, Jesus is helped by Simon to carry his cross, Jesus consoles the women of Jerusalem, Jesus is crucified, etc.

I don't know if these situations are symbolically depicted in these "chapels," which vary in size from smaller to quite large spaces (some resembling balconies overlooking a vast area where salt was once excavated), but I leisurely visited each one. Here are just a few photographs, not all. As seen in them, all these chapels are illuminated with strong coloured spotlights, while the colours change.

Salt Cathedral, Stations of the Cross, a detail

Since the cathedral itself is located approximately 200 m underground, occasionally from the heights or terraces along the route, one can catch glimpses of other rooms used for the cathedral's operations and for visitors' needs.

Salt Cathedral, a detail

At the end of this entrance ramp, you reach a room where there is a dome. The cathedral, being constructed underground where it wasn't feasible to build a dome above the main nave – an essential architectural symbol of heaven – has a dome placed in one of the access rooms. This dome is 11 m high with a diameter of 8 m. When I arrived in that room, it was quite dark despite the illumination of the dome and I could barely manage to take a somewhat decent photograph.

Salt Cathedral, the dome

Next, I came to the choir, which is located on a balcony directly overlooking the central nave of the cathedral. On the left side of the choir loft railing, there is a sculpture of Archangel Gabriel, who is God's messenger announcing God’s will to mankind, and according to tradition he also foretold the birth of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ.

Salt Cathedral, the choir

As can be seen from the previous photograph and also from the following one, the large cross located in the sanctuary area of the cathedral is also illuminated and these colours also change.

Salt Cathedral, view at the central nave

Next to this central choir and its balcony, there is another similar structure and from that balcony, you can see one of the side naves of the church.

Salt Cathedral, view at the left nave

The visiting route then leads towards the narthex, requiring a descent down a staircase. This part with the stairs is designed almost like a labyrinth: first, a broad staircase descends at an angle and then from the platform reached, one can proceed through staircases between high walls, with several of these "passageways" available.

Salt Cathedral, descending towards the narthex

In the photo above, you can see a sculpture of another angel positioned above that area with the narrow stairs and walls. In this case, it is Archangel Michael holding a scroll that reads, "You are the salt of the earth." Apart from the biblical symbolism these words carry, the setting in a salt mine is highly appropriate.

As for the narthex, first of all it is an architectural term used in Christian churches. Simply put, it is a room, akin to a closed porch, leading into the nave or main body of the church. In the case of the Salt Cathedral, the narthex would be a wide tunnel-like space accessed after descending the stairs I have mentioned earlier.

Salt Cathedral, the narthex

From this tunnel, side passages lead into the naves of the cathedral, while the walls are adorned with paintings of saints, most commonly the Virgin Mary, or with figures placed in niches.

Salt Cathedral, the narthex, a detail

As I later came to understand, one end of this tunnel leads to the commercial area and exit from the cathedral, which is visible in one of the previous photos. At the other end of the tunnel, near the mentioned stairs, there is the Virgin of Guasa Chapel (Capilla Virgen de Guasá).

Salt Cathedral, Virgin of Guasa Chapel

Thanks to the excellent illumination of this space, on one wall I could clearly see the layers of rock salt that was mined here. It is worth noting that salt is actually derived from the mineral halite, which consists of sodium chloride (NaCl) and is commonly referred to as rock salt.

Salt Cathedral, a detail

Now I entered the first nave the visitor encounters, which is the Birth Nave (Nave del Nacimiento), dedicated to the birth of Jesus. It is a vast hall that is 17 m high, 10 m wide and 80 m long. It can accommodate approximately 700 people.

Salt Cathedral, Birth Nave

The two most significant elements of this nave can be seen or at least glimpsed in the previous photograph. One is the Nativity scene (the illuminated area on the left of the picture), which includes sculptures made from sandstone.

Salt Cathedral, Birth Nave, a detail

The other important element is the "waterfall" made of salt at the bottom of the nave, illuminated in blue lights to further symbolise the Jordan River where Jesus was baptised.

Salt Cathedral, Birth Nave, a detail

By the way, it's worth mentioning that the Jordan River is anything but blue in reality. However, here this is all purely symbolic (see: https://www.svudapodji.com/en/jordan-3/ and https://www.svudapodji.com/en/jordan-4/).

From this nave, visitors can transition to the central nave either by returning through the narthex/tunnel or through one of the passages in the walls, as the naves are connected at multiple points by these passages.

So, the central nave is called the Nave of Life (Nave de la Vida). I haven't been able to find specific size details, but it is certainly the largest of the three naves and can accommodate between 800 and 900 people.

Salt Cathedral, the Nave of Life

At the bottom of the nave, specifically within the sanctuary area, there is a 16-metre-high cross made of rock salt. Like the entire space, the cross is continuously illuminated with different colours.

Salt Cathedral, the Nave of Life

Before reaching the pews, on the floor, one can see a relief that pays homage to Michelangelo and his famous work from the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City – the Creation of Adam.

Salt Cathedral, the Nave of Life, a detail

The relief is made from Carrara marble, but with certain differences compared to the painted original. For instance, God's hand is three times larger than Adam's and there are symbols representing the four elements (fire, water, air and earth), among other details.

Salt Cathedral, the Nave of Life, a detail

Now I returned to the entrance to use a video camera in order to capture what it looks like when entering the central nave from the narthex/tunnel.

So, just as I was about to talk about the massive columns visible in the nave, the lights went out, as announced, and a video projection started on the back wall where the cross and altar are located. Here's a shortened clip:

After this, I took a short walk through the central nave, heading towards the sanctuary area.

Salt Cathedral, the Nave of Life, a detail

As for the columns, let me conclude the story I started in the first video clip. So, four massive columns – two in the front (closer to the narthex/tunnel) and two in the back (closer to the altar) – symbolise the four Evangelists. They are carved in situ from the rock that forms the walls between the naves, conveying the idea that the Evangelists have always been here and will remain here. You can see them more clearly in the next photograph I took from the direction of the altar towards the entrance of the nave.

Salt Cathedral, the Nave of Life, a detail

If you look closely at the previous picture, you can spot the sculpture of Archangel Gabriel that I mentioned earlier, located within the choir loft.

Salt Cathedral, the Nave of Life, a detail

The next step in my tour was to visit the third nave, the Resurrection Nave (Nave de la Resurrección), which is 17 m high, 10 m wide and 60 m long.

Salt Cathedral, Resurrection Nave

Here, on the right side, is the sculpture of the Pietà, which traditionally depicts the Virgin Mary cradling the dead Christ removed from the cross. What makes this version of the Pietà in the Salt Cathedral unique is that it includes three figures: Christ in the centre, Mary Magdalene on the left and Joseph of Arimathea on the right. Namely, all four Gospels mention that Joseph of Arimathea took down and buried Jesus' body after his crucifixion. As for the female figures, there are variations among the Gospels, but two also mention Mary Magdalene.

Salt Cathedral, Resurrection Nave, a detail

And this is where I completed the tour of the Salt Cathedral and its three naves, but on the same level and in close proximity, there were still more points of interest. Right after the formal cathedral area begins the purely commercial section.

Salt Cathedral, commercial area, a detail

I must admit that this seemed very vulgar to me. Perhaps I cannot understand the sentiments of believers and their need for shopping, but I do not like this level of commercialisation at all.

And what can be said about the next part that can also be visited for an additional fee: about a hundred metres from the cathedral, the altar, the largest underground cross in the world, paintings and figures of saints and archangels, and the Pietà, there is the Tutankhamon Museum???!!!

Entrance to “The Tutankhamon Museum”

Yet, in the middle of the chaos of commercialism and the entirely nonsensical inclusion of the story of a historically insignificant Egyptian pharaoh, whose only "value" is that his tomb was found untouched and therefore full of gold objects (!!!), I found another (partially) interesting place. It is called the Water Mirror (Espejo de Agua). Here, there is a "pool" in the rock filled with water, illustrating the modern method of salt extraction from mines through dissolution in water and pumping. Since there are no activities in the water itself and no air currents or wind, the water surface is perfectly calm, creating a mirror effect that reflects the wooden platforms on the sides and the stone ceiling.

Salt Cathedral, Water Mirror

I was now ready to leave this former mine and the Salt Cathedral, but I had to wait a bit in line because I returned to the surface by "train" that has a limited number of seats.

Salt Cathedral, transportation up to the surface

Once I emerged onto the surface and into daylight, I realised I felt better than when I arrived here, so I walked down to the centre of Zipaquirá. It turned out to be a good idea because along the way, I could occasionally enjoy a very nice view – especially prominent was the actual cathedral in the town square.

Zipaquirá

Walking leisurely, I went to another important square, which is Independence Square (Plaza de la Independencia).

Plaza de la Independencia

There are several restaurants and cafés there, and I wanted to have lunch somewhere. While I was looking for a place to sit down, I also occasionally took photos when I thought some details were particularly beautiful.

Zipaquirá

In the end, I decided on a restaurant where I ordered dishes that were part of the daily menu - chicken soup and chicken meat with various sides.

Lunch in Zipaquirá

After this break, I headed towards the station where I wanted to catch a coach to Bogotá. Admittedly, I didn't go directly to the station, I wandered around a bit, but it was worth it. Again, from time to time, I came across beautiful and interesting scenes.

Zipaquirá

At one point, I arrived at a part of the city with several pastry shops, but I was actually quite full from lunch, so unfortunately, I didn't order or eat anything there.

Zipaquirá, a detail

By the time I arrived at the coach station, the fatigue started to set in again, but that was resolved once I settled down comfortably. Then I could relax and rest.

Zipaquirá, a detail

Because of the traffic, I arrived at the Portal del Norte station (Portal del Norte) with some delay, but since I wasn't in a rush anywhere, it wasn't a big deal for me. The only thing that mattered to me was to get back during daytime, which I did. However, another small issue came up again – I needed to buy a ticket for the city bus in the TransMilenio system, while I still wasn't sure how to do that.

Colombia 2024, part 5 (Bogotá, Zipaquirá)

Verica Ristic — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 16:40:00 GMT

When I travelled throughout Latin America before, both in the countries north and south of Colombia, I used to regularly take advantage of locally organised tours. I always saw this as a major advantage of these destinations. Often, even before the trip, I could find out from guidebooks what was locally organised and offered. As soon as I arrived in a place, I would visit local agencies and sign up for tours almost immediately upon entering the first agency I found, as prices were usually practically the same. In addition to paying for the tour, you would also give the name of your hotel and then they would pick you up there at the appointed time, as part of a small group of independent travellers who had also signed up for that tour. And it worked perfectly.

I came to Colombia with the idea that I would similarly take locally organised tours from larger cities because it is much easier this way.

However, even before leaving Belgrade, I saw on the internet what was being offered and was surprised by the disproportionately high prices of these tours. I thought maybe it was because reservations were requested online in advance, so I left everything for Bogota itself.

During my first day in the capital city of Colombia, I embarked on a rather ambitious walk through the old part of the city, La Candelaria. Among other things, I intended to find a local tourist agency. The receptionists at my hotel recommended one agency in the heart of the city and, as it turned out, there weren't any others in that part of Bogota. So, during my stroll, I visited that agency with the intention of booking two tours for the coming days.

It turned out that the information I found online was accurate and reflected the prices I encountered locally. When it comes to my travels, I never question local prices, especially when there are two pricing structures (for foreigners and locals), because I believe that ultimately the decision is mine – either I can afford something or I can't, and if I inquire about something, I definitely have the desire for it. In addition, over time, I've become more willing to pay more for services if they will “get the job done” for me.

However, these prices for day trips from Bogota (and, by the way, there was no difference between prices for foreigners and locals) were indeed, in my opinion, far too high. On the other hand, the woman working at the agency also informed me that there were no tours scheduled for the next few days because no one had signed up. That didn't surprise me at all.

All in all, I realised that I would have to organise my own excursions and perhaps adjust my travel plans. Well, when you have to do it, it’s not difficult.

However, after that dry cough that started waking me up just before dawn, I woke up with an apparent sense that I was catching a cold. It was quite clear to me that it was all due to the stresses of the past few days, but knowing this did not help me at all. I always bring my little “pharmacy” with me on trips, but since my backpack hadn't arrived, it also meant that all the medications I had prepared were far away (specifically in New York). I also realised that I would need to visit a local pharmacy soon in order to help my body deal with the issues.

So, for the second day of my stay in Colombia, I decided to go on a trip to the town of Zipaquirá, which is located about 40 km north of Bogotá. Here is a map showing the places I visited during my stay in Colombia.

Although there is a tourist train said to be interesting for the journey from Bogotá to Zipaquirá, it runs quite slowly (3 hours one way), stays too short a time in Zipaquirá to see everything and then takes even longer to return to Bogotá. In other words, this option didn't work for me, at least not practically.

Another way to get to Zipaquirá is by taking an intercity coach from the Portal del Norte station, while to get there, it is best to take a city bus that belongs to the TransMilenio system.

I've mentioned before that Bogotá has around 8 million inhabitants. All these people need to move around the large city and in the absence of rapid transit systems like an underground train system, they've designed a bus system that uses specially designated lanes where other traffic isn't permitted, allowing these buses to move much faster from one end of the city to the other. This system is called TransMilenio and it uses specific bus stops. To enter a station, visitors like me need to have a plastic transport card for the city, which can be topped up as needed.

When I set out from the hotel towards the nearest TransMilenio station in the morning, I wasn't entirely clear on how everything worked. Namely, when I searched online for information, everything was described in too many general details without giving practical and concrete advice. I imagined I could just go to the station and buy a single ride ticket. I was wrong.

Upon arriving at the station, I had to pass through the turnstiles that allow passengers through one by one. I didn't see a ticket counter where I could buy a single ticket, so I asked the security guard how to proceed. He asked me where I was going and when I told him, he showed me that I should jump over the turnstile and just go through. I was momentarily confused, but he was the guard, so I followed his instructions.

Soon, the bus arrived, which turned out to go directly to the Portal del Norte station and I found a free seat for myself. I rode for almost an hour because despite the dedicated lane for these buses, the distance was about 20 km and there were traffic lights at intersections that everyone had to obey, even the "fast" buses.

On a city bus in Bogotá

By the way, I later realised that you can’t buy single tickets for public transportation in Bogotá. You must purchase a plastic card and then add money to it as needed. Every time you enter a TransMilenio bus station, you scan the card and the fare is deducted from its balance. The same system applies when boarding regular buses – you also have to scan the card, but inside the bus.

When I arrived at the Portal del Norte station, I exited the platform and right there were intercity coaches waiting, including one heading to Zipaquirá. I left Bogotá within 5 minutes.

I enjoyed sitting idly on the coach because I wasn't feeling very well, but once I arrived at the coach terminal in Zipaquirá, I had to start walking. The city centre wasn't far from there.

Along the way, I passed by a spot on the sidewalk where a woman was selling freshly fried empanadas and I felt the urge to try one. It was excellent.

Empanada in Zipaquirá

This empanada reminded me of something.

Back in the day, I worked at an organisation where my boss was a Spanish man. Since his wife had her career at a university in Spain, it meant that José Luis spent most of the year alone in Belgrade. For that reason, he brought with him a cookbook with Latin American specialties “for singles,” which I happened to copy on one occasion, even though objectively, José Luis ate “zander with Swiss chard” in at least 90% of cases. How do I know this? Simply put – the woman who maintained and cooked at his flat called every day to ask what he wanted to eat for lunch and the answer was almost always “zander with Swiss chard.” However, after returning from Colombia, I decided that at least I, after a couple of decades, would use that cookbook, so here is a recipe for Colombian empanadas.

EMPANADAS COLOMBIAN STYLE

Pastry:

240 g all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp of salt
1/4 tsp of ground turmeric
115 g cold butter
1/2 tsp of freshly squeezed lemon juice
120 ml water

Mix the dry ingredients together. Then, using your fingers, incorporate the butter that has been diced into small pieces. Once the mixture resembles coarse sand, add the combination of lemon juice and water, and bring everything together into soft dough. Be careful not to over-knead; just combine until it forms cohesive dough.

Place the dough in a bowl, cover it and refrigerate for about half an hour. Then roll out the dough thinly with a rolling pin and cut out circles using a cutter. Place a small amount of filling in the centre of each circle, fold the dough over and press the edges firmly together, sealing them by pressing with a fork.

Filling:

220 g ground pork
1 onion, finely chopped
salt, pepper and cumin (to taste)
2 tbsp of capers
1 hard boiled egg, chopped
110 g cooked red beans

Sauté the onion until translucent, then add the meat and spices, and continue to shallow fry until the pork is cooked. Once cooled, combine this mixture with the remaining ingredients and use it to fill the empanada dough.

Finally, fry them in deep oil. These empanadas can also be baked in the oven. First, brush them with beaten egg, then bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius for about 20 minutes.

Colombian empanadas à la moi

And as for Zipaquirá, although the town itself isn't the main reason visitors come here, I must admit I was delighted when I arrived at one of its two main squares, which is the Main Park or Parque Principal. Actually, some houses near this spacious square or even around it were exceptionally charming.

Zipaquirá, a detail

From the corner where I arrived at the square, I also took a picture of it, but I saved the stroll through it for a little later.

Zipaquirá, Parque Principal

For now, I walked between those two lovely houses towards another spacious square, the Independence Square or Plaza de la Independencia.

Zipaquirá, a detail

Zipaquirá, Independence Square

This second square is slightly different in design compared to the main square, but it's certainly beautiful. I looked around for a place to have coffee and also scoped out where I might have lunch later.

Zipaquirá, Independence Square, a detail

What I also saw here were a couple of American black vultures (Coragyps atratus). It was quite evident that these birds are present in Colombia in significant numbers.

American black vultures

After a pleasant coffee break, I returned to the main square and took a closer look around. Neither the square nor the town of Zipaquirá are known for significant architectural landmarks, but I thoroughly enjoyed walking around the centre. For example, there is a beautiful City Hall building and a church, which is actually the official cathedral (it will soon be clear why I’m emphasising this), constructed over 100 years ago. Unfortunately, the church was closed.

Zipaquirá, Town Hall and a colonial building

Zipaquirá, the Cathedral

There are other beautiful buildings around the square, but since I wasn't feeling quite well, I just took some superficial photos of them and didn't explore further.

Zipaquirá, Parque Principal, a detail

The same applied to the square itself – I just took photos of it with my mobile phone and camera, but I wasn't in the mood for walking around or doing any sightseeing.

Zipaquirá, Parque Principal

I found a pharmacy at the square and bought a general-purpose medication for colds and similar problems. My cough wasn't calming down and I felt quite heavy. The good thing was at least I didn't have a fever.

Now, I was already mentally prepared, if not physically, to go and see the main reason why most visitors come to Zipaquirá. It is a cathedral, but not just any cathedral. It is a cathedral made of salt. Let me explain.

Once upon a time (about 250 million years ago), the terrain that now surrounds Zipaquirá was at the bottom of the sea. When the Andes began to rise, the seabed along with the salty water that formed the newly created lake started to rise, too. Over time, the lake dried up and the salt deposits ascended to over 2700 meters above sea level. A few other examples of such geological events can be seen in my travel stories from Bolivia:
https://www.svudapodji.com/en/santa-cruz-sucre-and-potosi-the-three-tiered-cities-part-2-peru-and-bolivia-summer-2005/ and https://www.svudapodji.com/en/salar-de-uyuni-peru-and-bolivia-summer-of-2005-part-2/.

When the Spanish conquistadors arrived in these lands, the Muisca people were already mining salt extensively near Zipaquirá using open-pit methods on nearby hills. This method continued even after the Spanish settled in the area. It wasn't until the early 19th century that underground mines were developed to extract larger quantities of salt. Over time, these methods evolved and nowadays modern technologies are used for the extraction. Interestingly, approximately half of the salt used in Colombia today still comes from mines in this region.

In 1932, miners on a hill west of downtown Zipaquirá created a small sanctuary where they could pray before starting their work. By 1950, this sanctuary had evolved into a larger church, which was inaugurated in 1954 and operated until 1992. Due to concerns about potential collapse, stemming from ongoing mining activities, it was closed. Immediately, plans began for a new church, which was inaugurated in 1995.

Therefore, this is the only underground cathedral in the world and this is the main reason why a large number of visitors, both foreign and domestic, come to Zipaquirá.

The entrance to the former mine is on that hill above Zipaquirá, but it was clear to me that given my physical condition, I wouldn't be able to climb up to it. So, I intended to take a taxi in order to go quickly up the hill to the entrance and the place where I could buy a ticket. By the way, due to various stories circulating in the wider world about security in Colombia, I asked a kind gentleman if it was safe for me to hail a taxi on the street. He assured me it was safe indeed and even mentioned a reasonable fare. All my interactions with Colombians so far had unequivocally shown them to be extremely polite, kind and helpful people who were eager to assist.

So, I took a taxi, went up the hill and from there, I first took in the surroundings.

Zipaquirá, a detail

Then I waited in line for a bit and bought a ticket. Along with it, I received an audio guide. This suited me much better than going on a tour with a group and a guide, which is actually the common practice when visiting the Salt Cathedral.

Entrance into the former mine with the Salt Cathedral

Namely, you enter the former mine in groups – the staff allow a certain number of visitors at a time, while others have to wait their turn. However, once inside, no one will insist that you walk around as part of that group.

That’s how I entered and then I started using my audio guide.

First, you pass through a long corridor that alternately lights up in different ways, some of which are quite psychedelic. At least that's how it seemed to me.

Access hallway of the mine with the Salt Cathedral

Colombia 2024, part 4 (Bogotá)

Verica Ristic — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 16:59:00 GMT

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.

Cable car system leading to the top of Monserrate

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.

View at Bogotá from the cable car leading to the top of Monserrate

When I finally reached the top, I first climbed to the plateau in front of the church to enjoy the spectacular view of Bogotá.

View at Bogotá from the top of Monserrate

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.

View at Bogotá from the top of Monserrate; Guadalupe is to the left and up

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.

View at Bogotá from the top of Monserrate

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.

American black vulture

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).

Great thrush

Rufous-collared sparrow

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.

All roads lead to Santiago de Compostela

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.

Sanctuary Basilica of the Fallen Lord of Monserrate

Within the altar, you can see a figure of Jesus Christ at the moment when he fell on his way to Golgotha.

Sanctuary Basilica of the Fallen Lord of Monserrate

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.

Part of the upper cable car station, left, and the Sanctuary Basilica of the Fallen Lord of Monserrate, up and right

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.

On the top of Monserrate

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.

On the top of Monserrate: the upper station of the funicular

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.

View from the upper cable car station on Monserrate towards the foot of the hill

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.

Slope of Monserrate with funicular

Cable car and funicular at Monserrate

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.

Background of the lower cable car station at Monserrate

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.

Bogotá, a detail

Along the way, I also noticed other details, like the beautiful, colourful necklaces often laid out on sheets on the sidewalk for sale.

Necklaces made of tiny beads

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.

Bead necklace

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.

Preparations in Bogotá

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.

Cathedral and the Sacristy Chapel

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.

Street 10

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.

Part of San Carlos Palace

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.

Part of San Carlos Palace

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.

Colón Theatre

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.

Bogotá, a detail

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.

The Military Museum in Bogotá

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.

Old mint in Bogotá, with a Cathedral tower a little farther away

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.

Church of Our Lady of Candelaria

Its construction lasted from 1686 to 1703, initially without the two towers that are now part of the church.

Church of Our Lady of Candelaria

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.

Bogotá, a detail

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.

Bogotá, a detail

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.

Bogotá, a detail

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.

Plazoleta del Chorro de Quevado

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).

Bogotá, a detail

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.

Colombia 2024, part 3 (Bogotá)

Verica Ristic — Fri, 06 Feb 2026 15:43:00 GMT

Colombia is a large country. For example, with an area of 1,141,748 square kilometres, it is more than twice the size of Thailand (where I extensively travelled in 2023 for a month) and nearly twice the size of France (which I occasionally visit, but I am far from having “seen it all”).

With this in mind, I initially arrived in Bogotá with the intention of spending nearly a month travelling through some parts of Colombia, as I realised I wouldn’t have enough time to visit everything that interests me in this very beautiful Latin American country.

However, due to the circumstances that I will talk about when the time comes, most of my plans changed completely and I managed to visit only the places I have marked on the map.

Regarding the history, people have left their traces here since around 18,000–8,000 BCE and, over time, indigenous cultures formed, about ten of them, covering territories in the central mountainous region of the country, along the northern coast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west coast along the Pacific.

All of this changed at the beginning of the 16th century when gradual conquest by Spanish conquistadors began from the north and the Caribbean coast. Perhaps the most significant among them was Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada, who in 1536 led an expedition into the interior and named the territories he passed through “New Kingdom of Granada,” later simplified to New Granada. On 6 August, 1538, Quesada also founded the capital of the “new kingdom” and named it Santa Fe. With time, the city eventually became known as Bogotá.

As for the state, at the beginning of the 19th century, struggles for independence from Spain began, though it was not easy or straightforward. However, in 1819, Simón Bolívar declared independence and became the first president of Colombia. The country initially formed was called Gran Colombia, encompassing present-day Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Venezuela, and parts of Peru, Brazil and Guyana. This state dissolved in 1831, while various upheavals continued later. Today, Colombia is a republic with a president, while it officially adopted its current name, the Republic of Colombia, in 1886.

These struggles for independence were practically led by descendants of Spanish settlers who, as needed, intermingled with the local population. What I mean to say is that, apart from perhaps the Spaniards themselves, no one else should ever think there was anything romantic about this conquest and occupation of the territory that now belongs to Colombia. This is evidenced enough by estimates that between 7 and 12 million people inhabited the territory of present-day Colombia before the arrival of the Spaniards. Under Spanish rule, this population dwindled over time to 1.2 million, reaching the lowest point when it dropped to around 800,000 inhabitants. At the beginning of the 19th century, there was a slight increase, but due to the wars for independence, the population again dropped to about 1 million. It wasn’t until around the mid-20th century, after 450 years since the arrival of the new conquerors, that the population exceeded the levels seen at the beginning of the 16th century when the Spaniards first arrived.

Today, Colombia is home to over 52 million people, with over 8 million residing in Bogotá, one of the largest cities in the world.

At the global level, Bogotá ranks high in another aspect: its elevation above sea level. After La Paz in Bolivia (3,640 m), Quito in Ecuador (2,850 m) and Sucre in Bolivia (2,790 m) (La Paz and Sucre share the status of Bolivia’s capital), Bogotá stands at 2,625 m, making it the fourth capital city in the world in terms of altitude.

This altitude may be challenging for some individuals sensitive to lower oxygen levels, but I generally don’t have issues with high altitudes. In fact, on my first day in Bogotá, I set out on a walk with the intention of reaching an even higher altitude.

My goal was to climb Monserrate Hill (!), where there is a church at its summit. The “hill” and the white church on top can be seen in the following photograph.

Bogotá, a detail

To reach the top of Monserrate, visitors typically have the option to walk, which is commonly practiced by worshipers due to the significance of the church. However, visitors like myself, who may not prioritise the spiritual pilgrimage aspect, often use either the cable car or the funicular.

In fact, it is generally not recommended to walk all the way to the summit for safety reasons, as there are reportedly many pickpockets along the path and every foreigner represents an ideal target.

When I mention walking up, I specifically think of the trail that starts from the same point as the cable car and funicular, which is the steepest part of Monserrate. However, even to get there, one needs to walk. There is public transportation available, as well as taxis, but I decided to walk, which took about half an hour from the Gold Museum.

That part of the ascent wasn’t overly steep, although the gradual incline was constant. I must admit it wasn’t easy for me to walk up to the cable car starting point, partly due to objective fatigue from travel and the fact that Bogotá is at a high altitude. Although an average of 2650 m isn’t excessively high and doesn’t typically cause major issues, I know from my mountaineering days that individuals can start experiencing altitude sickness symptoms above 3000 m if they are sensitive. I’m not particularly sensitive, but I did find myself frequently short of breath.

Therefore, I took breaks along the way, while also taking the opportunity to snap some photos.

Bogotá, a detail

In Bogotá, you can see a very large number of graffiti. From what I’ve read, it is even encouraged, but fortunately, most of the graffiti I saw were really beautiful and not just random scribbles.

Bogotá, a detail

Perhaps this is because Colombians love strong and vibrant colours. There is something about the brightness of the tropical sunlight that emphasises bright colours more than in the areas with moderate sunlight. Moreover, even where there are no graffiti, it is clear that local residents favour bright colours.

Bogotá, a detail

Walking towards the cable car station, I could also see some very modern parts of Bogotá and there were plenty of colours there, too.

Bogotá, a detail

Along the way, I also came across the Parish Church of Our Lady of the Waters (Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de las Aguas) and from the square in front of the church, I could still see the summit of Monserrate.

Church of Our Lady of the Waters

The church was built between 1657 and 1694 as a single-nave structure in colonial style, while it was restored in 2003. It was originally part of a convent for women and throughout history has also served as a hospital and orphanage.

I hadn’t planned to visit this church at all, but since I was passing by, I felt a desire to go inside.

Church of Our Lady of the Waters, a detail

As I exited the church, a gentleman sitting outside approached me. This isn’t uncommon in Colombia, as people are extremely friendly and enjoy striking up conversations, a custom I am familiar with as well. Despite such casual encounters seeming superficial, they are pleasant exchanges of human energy where people usually smile, make eye contact and sometimes engage in small talk. This was the case on this occasion as well.

The gentleman asked me where I was from, whether I was Christian and so on, and I answered his questions. He then wished me well on my journey and said “God bless you,” making the sign of the cross over me. I found this gesture exceptionally kind of him. Perhaps he was simply a courteous and positive person, and I also considered that he might have been prompted by seeing me make the sign of the cross before entering and leaving the church, as is customary in my country. The fact that this church is Catholic and not Orthodox is irrelevant to me. Honestly, there are times I may enter and leave a church without making the sign of the cross, but that is very rare. While I’m not deeply religious, I generally respect all places of worship I enter, regardless of their faith.

As I continued climbing towards the cable car station that goes up to the summit of Monserrate, I also reached a park where Simon Bolívar’s estate, Quinta de Bolívar, is located.

In front of Quinta de Bolívar

Although I had been quite active on my first day in Bogotá and Colombia, already visiting various places, I found myself reluctant to explore yet another museum, regardless of its significance and size. However, since I was already here, I thought I might just take some photos from outside the gate.

Quinta de Bolívar

And so, I approached the man who was working as security and asked if I could just peek inside and take a few photos. He said it was no problem, but also mentioned that I could enter and visit the museum. I then explained that I was heading to Monserrate and might consider visiting the museum later. He said that was fine but noted that I would need to buy a ticket if I decided to enter later on. At that moment, the ticket seller was absent, so even if I had planned to visit the museum, I wouldn’t have been able to purchase a ticket.

While I generally think ticket prices in Colombia are reasonable, I found this situation endearing. So, on the spot, I changed my plans and entered the estate where Simon Bolívar once lived.

Quinta de Bolívar

Simón Bolívar (1783-1830) was born in Caracas, Venezuela, and is one of the most significant figures in Latin America, often referred to as the Liberator. Namely, he was a military and political leader during the wars for independence from Spain, primarily in Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia, which was named after him. As I’ve mentioned earlier, Bolívar was the first president of the country known as Greater Colombia in the early 19th century, which preceded modern-day Colombia. Hence, Bolívar's importance here, since he was practically the first president of the country.

As for the Quinta de Bolívar estate, it is a colonial house where the Liberator resided after the war for independence. Today, it houses a museum dedicated to Bolívar's life and that era.

The house itself was built in the late 17th century, but became quite dilapidated over time. However, it was restored specifically for Simón Bolívar, who, whenever he visited Bogotá, stayed here from 1820 to 1830.

After Bolívar had to leave the capital, the house passed to one of his friends, and then its owners and purpose changed over time. In 1919, it was purchased and became a national monument, housing the museum dedicated to Bolívar.

House at the Quinta de Bolívar estate, a detail

Within the estate, which isn’t very large, there are former stables for horses, an auxiliary house, as well as a vegetable garden. Behind the back wall, where there is a gate, you can also access a modern building housing temporary exhibitions of contemporary art. I went there, but wasn't particularly interested in the current contemporary exhibition, so I quickly returned to the traditional part.

Quinta de Bolívar

Within the gardens, practically the park, in front of and to the left of the house (when viewed from the entrance), there is a small plateau with flags of the countries Bolívar is credited with liberating.

Quinta de Bolívar

I took another short walk through those green areas of the estate, paying attention to the details, although I had passed through there when I first entered the property.

Quinta de Bolívar

On the other hand, the exit wasn’t where I entered, but to the right of the house, so I eventually headed in that direction.

Quinta de Bolívar

It was interesting that when I wanted to exit, a young woman working as security guard checked me, specifically inspecting my backpack and waist bag. Since we had already made that contact, I took the opportunity to ask her for advice on how to reach the cable car leading to the top of Monserrate, whether from one side of the estate or the other. With a somewhat fearful expression, she advised me to take the main street (to the left of the estate when facing the entrance, i.e., north), as the other path seemed unsafe.

Indeed, in that area, even along the main street, I noticed quite a presence of heavily armed police. I think this is all connected to the presence of pickpockets (and possibly more aggressive criminals) who target visitors, especially foreign tourists. I must say that at no point did I feel unsafe, but one should always be cautious and mindful of where they are walking.

Overall, I made my way to the nearby main street and eventually reached the cable car, where I encountered quite a crowd. The day was beautiful, so I certainly wasn’t the only one who had the idea to take advantage of the clear weather to enjoy the view from the top of Monserrate.