5. Salt Cathedral
Day 91
I didn’t sleep too well. I was up at 4 am, a long before my 0500 alarm. I get up and start packing. I want to be riding away @7. I have a lot of practice at packing so it doesn’t take too long. Load up the bike, take few photos with Lucy a Eran, the owners, and I am on my way.
It is a nice fresh morning. Right off the bat I have problem with my GPS. I need to improvise but with combination with Google Maps it is doable. The morning rush hour traffic is as insane as ever. I don’t see any signs of protests but there are few helicopters flying above so clearly something is going on. But I have “only” the traffic to worry about. I need to get through the whole Bogotá. It took 1,5 hrs and 25 km/h average speed. I drove by a police station where they were getting ready for the protests. Hundreds of police in riot gear, buses, paddy wagons, moto cops, the works. I am glad I am out of there.
It was anything but easy to get out of the city of 8M people but I am finally climbing the hills above the city. It is still super busy on the road so I don’t even stop to take pictures. This is where the poor people live. The bike is running like a Swiss watch. Everything is much smoother. It nice to know that the bike is in a good shape.
I get to the top of the hills and leave Bogota behind me. And the pavement as well! The road is BAD. Really bad. Potholes, dirt roads with no warning. But the countryside is gorgeous. I ride by few gated communities with house which wouldn’t be out of place at British Properties in Vancouver (= that’s where RALLY rich people live). Luckily, this stretch of the road is only about 30km. I hit the real road and it is nice and smooth. There are many, and I mean many people on bikes here. Road and MTB. Insane amount. Very little traffic, nice pavement and very fresh day. The temperature was in the single digits today morning. The geography around is not what I expected at all. You might be thinking you are in the middle of Europe. Hills, perfect road, meadows, farms, nice houses. No jungle here, there is a nice forrest of pines and spruce.
I didn’t want to spend time having a breakfast in the morning so I am hungry. I stoped in a small town got myself a coffee and croissants and watched the world go by. The life can be so simple of you don’t have all the “baggage” of civilization. The reason I went through this town is one particular house. The house is built upside down. I mean everything. Even window flower beds are at the top. It was clearly built by an Australian designer who forgot to turn his plans when he arrived in the northern hemisphere. You can go inside where everything is also upside down. Unfortunately, it is too early and they are still closed.
I continue on the beautiful road which turns into a dusty country connector with potholes everywhere. But it doesn’t last long and I am at my hotel before 11 in the morning. But they were! The hotel is right in the middle of the city. I unpack and head out. I am in town Zipaquirá about 100 km north of Bogotá. A very nice town with lots of pedestrian zones and tons of shops. Very western looking. I walk around getting a feel for the city. Taking pictures as I go. I stopped at the camera store to try my luck with a battery for my Nikon. Unfortunately they didn’t have it. But when I showed them my camera they called everybody to come and take a look. They’ve never seen one yet. So we talk camera talk for quite while. We were like little kids with a new toy.
I head out again and this time I am going to the Salt Mine. Not to work but on a tour. The underground mine was converted to a tourist attraction. It is pretty impressive. It is all dramatically lit and has a religious motive. It is called a Salt Cathedral after all. I brought a tripod with me and I am taking tons of pics. You can hide a ship in some of those halls (or whatever you call it) There is an amazing acoustics there so some of those halls are set up for concerts or other performances. Very cool.
Up to the surface again and back to the hotel to drop my gear and head for dinner. I found a nice and quiet restaurant, clearly very upscale for this place. The quiet part didn’t last too long when a football team showed up and the place changed to a rowdy pub. But the food was excellent and it is time to head home. (home = whatever hotel I am staying at that day). Unfortunately, the internet is not working so I can’t make booking for tomorrow. I’ll go blind I can always camp … I’ll write the blog but I’ll send it when online again.
A good day again!