Category Archives: Colombia

Bogotá: Museo de Botero

Colombia, Travel, ,

Feb 8 – Today is a good day to check out more museums.

The military museum was free, so in we went. There was no English signage, so I can’t tell you any history, but there were lots of cannons and guns. Here are some interesting pix.

Death masks of some bad hombres
The plane seat once used by Pope John Paul II !

There were a group of art museums in one complex, and we wandered back and forth, so I didn’t capture names. Here are some of the most striking images:

Then it was time for the best museum of all – Museo Botero! Fernando Botero is considered the most iconic Colombian artist – his paintings and sculptures are prized around the world. I remember seeing one of his huge sculptures in Oviedo, Spain.

His works are distinctive – he sees figures with “volume” (do not say ‘fat’), and although his subjects never smile, we couldn’t help but grin as we walked from room to room.

Mona Lisa
Adam and Eve
Still life with violin
Jesus and Mary
Girl eating ice cream
Massacre on the Best corner
The Guerrillas
The Beach
Mother Superior
A Family
Even the bananas are a bit corpulent!

Art overload, I know, but what a fantastic day!

Bogotá: Plaza de Bolivar

Colombia, Travel, , , ,

Feb 7 – Jim found a tiny grocery right outside our modern apartment, so he cooked us eggs, toast and wonderful Colombian coffee for breakfast. The tap water is drinkable here, but the taps and the shower only ran cold. I was resigning myself to boiling a pot of water for washing dishes, when I found the water heater that had to be manually turned on. Success – clean dishes and hot showers in our future!

We walked to the historical center of the city, Plaza de Bolivar. Simon Bolivar is revered here for liberating Colombia (originally called New Granada) from the Spanish empire around 1820.

Tourists just love pigeons!
Just a happy guy

The plaza was full of little shops selling trinkets, produce, and good things to eat.

Can you name these fruits?
Jim couldn’t resist a warm empanada

One of the must-see places in Bogotá is the Museo del Oro (Gold Museum). Lots of gold inside.

Golden masks
The chieftain covered himself in gold to acquire the power of the Sun
We recently saw a very similar serpent in Belgium!
I always like the faces on the little carvings

Back to the plaza for lunch and a virtual shopping tour.

For our mask collection
Interesting hats
So many choices!
Every plaza should have a llama…
…or two!

Our day wouldn’t be complete without a church, so here is Iglesia de la Nuestra Señora de Candelaria.

A golden altar
One of the frescoes on the ceiling
Our Lady

Jim found a well stocked supermercado on the way home, so we will enjoy homemade chicken and rice soup for supper, with fresh tropical fruit for dessert. A lovely day.

Colombia

Colombia, Travel,

February 6, 2024 – It’s been an unusually cold winter in Virginia, so it feels like a good time to escape to someplace warm. How does Colombia sound?

Ever since watching Encanto with the grands (at least a dozen times), Colombia has been on our list of places to visit. We plan to stay in Bogotá up in the mountains, Cartagena on the Caribbean, and Santa Marta, further north. Here’s a map:

Bogotá is a 4.5 hour flight south from Atlanta, still in the eastern time zone, so no jet lag – yay! The city is 8600 feet above sea level, so we may need a day to acclimate to the thinner atmosphere. The weather this week is ideal, high about 70 every day.

One US dollar is worth approximately 4000 Colombian pesos (fluctuates daily), so conversion should be fun. The official Colombian dance is cumbia, which I do in Zumba, so I will fit right in!

Our plane landed at about 7:30pm, and we used an airport ATM to get money for a taxi to our apartment. We were advised to only use a metered yellow taxi at the airport, although there were plenty of drivers at the exit wanting to take us for a ride. Luckily, our taxi driver knew right where our apartment was, as Google was off by about half a mile.

Although we did nothing but sit in airport seats and plane seats all day, we were exhausted and went right to bed. Tomorrow we will explore!