By Debi Lander
mail@floridanewsline.com
Just a few years ago, people resisted travel in Colombia. The high crime rate and drug cartels scared them off. But the Colombian government has diligently worked to overcome this situation, and Americans are now choosing leisure trips to the South American country.
I flew to Bogota, the capital city, to attend a convention. While indoors at meetings much of the time, I still got out to visit three city highlights. And they are worth seeing.
I started the day at the extraordinary Museum of Gold, home to 34,000 gold pieces formerly used in the indigenous peoples’ daily life or sacred rituals. The priceless but small Muisca Raft, sometimes called the Raft of El Dorado, sat alone in a glass cabinet. El Dorado was a golden city many explorers sought but never found. Scholars estimate the raft and figures were created between 1295 and 1410.
The golden piece tells the story of a chief and an initiation ceremony. When the old tribal leader passes away, a relative is chosen to become the new chief. He is shut in a cave, then covered with a mixture of golden powder. Under the cloak of darkness, his attendants row the raft to the lake’s center. When the sun rises, the chief stands, shimmering and glowing like a golden god. He then casts large amounts of gold, and some say emeralds, into the lake as religious offerings. He also throws himself into the water and returns to the edge for a party in his honor.
The Muisca Raft has become a national emblem for Colombia. The piece has never left the Gold Museum in Bogota since its arrival in 1969.
Following my tour, I walked a few blocks to the cobblestoned central plaza La Candelaria, where government buildings and a cathedral dominate. I found the basilica’s interior, begun in 1686, rather plain as I was expecting much gold.
Just up the block sits another must-see site: the Botero Museum. Fernando Botero, a Colombian figurative artist and sculptor, was a name I didn’t know. After my visit, I will easily recognize his work. He paints plump or large-sized versions of his subjects. During the pandemic, I noticed a Mona Lisa painting on social media and thought it was a joke. She looked like a comic version who over-ate during the lockdown. But I was wrong; she’s a Botero.
The artist is adamant that he does not “paint fat people,” as many critics have suggested. Instead, he sees what he paints as volume, once describing his work as exploring the “sensuality of form.” He feels the magnitude of his characters increase their impact.
This free museum maintains an excellent collection of Botero paintings and works from other famous artists like Chagall, Dalí, Miró, Picasso, Monet, and Matisse. Best to see it with a guide to appreciate and interpret the art.
Lastly, I rode a funicular up to the sanctuary of Monserrate. The refuge, resting at 10,400 feet, is visible from almost anywhere in the city. Many religious devotees walk up a steep, nearly two-mile path to this traditional sacred pilgrimage site and Stations of the Cross. The shrine of Our Lady of Monserrate, begun in 1620, houses the Fallen Lord of Monserrate, an effigy of Christ that performs miracles according to the faithful. The Lady Chapel contains a copy of the Black Madonna, the original remains in the sanctuary at Monserrat, Spain.
While at the sky-high altitude, enjoy dining at one of two restaurants or a café overlooking the immense city that has a population of more than 10 million. The staggering view alone makes the trip worth the effort. Bogota was beguiling.
Visit www.bylandersea.com to read more of local travel writer Debi Lander’s stories and travel tips.
Photo courtesy Debi Lander
View of Bogota from Monserrate.
