An underground cathedral as the highlight of the day - On the road with photo enthusiasts - Colombia 2025 - 2
2025-02-12 - An underground cathedral as the highlight of the day
The morning starts with a good breakfast shortly after 6am. Thanks to jet lag, I'm awake at 4 a.m. like most others.
The plan is to take the chartered bus to Bogota [↗] city center at 8am. Later we will head north. The plan is immediately postponed by 30 minutes because the driver, who is coming from Villa de Leyva, is stuck in a traffic jam.
The traffic jam theme continues. It takes us a good hour to reach the city centre - mostly in stop-and-go mode. Two city guides are waiting for us there to show us around Bogota for the next two hours. Let's put it this way, I know why I prefer to explore cities on my own.
1.5 hours later, we reach the Salt Cathedral in Zipaquira [↗]. This was originally not on the agenda. Shortly after Christmas, I asked whether we were really going to drive past it. After all, it's more or less on the way. A few days later, I got the feedback that we would be stopping there 🌝.
The Salt Cathedral is a former mine with places of worship built into the tunnels. Of course, the whole thing is very touristy but offers many nice photo opportunities. For me the highlight of the day.
It's now 4pm and we haven't eaten anything since breakfast. As soon as we sit down in the restaurant, it starts to pour. And yet February is supposed to be the dry season.
At 5pm we finally make our way into the Andes to Villa de Leyva [↗]. We will stay there for 2 nights. The drive takes over 2.5 hours and stretches out enormously. At the beginning, we drive on a highway through an increasingly rural area. Then it starts to rain again and it gets dark.
At some point, we leave the highway and continue on a road that only partially deserves the name. Pothole follows bump follows pothole.
Our hotel in Villa de Leyva is located directly on the large central square, the Plaza Mayor. Only the front side faces the square, while the rooms are at the back and open onto an inner courtyard. So, they shouldn't be too noisy.
I grab something to drink for tomorrow's hikes and finish the day with the usual homework (backing up pictures, charging devices, etc.).
