Bird view of Bogota
Travelers flying to Colombia most likely have to make a stop in Bogota. The capital city acts as connection point between many directions. That being said, 1-2 days layover/pit-stop can be enough time to explore local history and culture. In this post I am offering readers a guide on visiting La Candelaria, the historic neighborhood located in downtown. So I am on the mission to capture “must see places” in city center. 7 minutes reading this article will distract you from daily routine and give a ‘freshmen orientation’ of Santa Fe de Bogota.
El Dorado legend
The legend of El Dorado is the place to start our “investigation”. Starting from 16th century among Europeans conquistadors, navigators, and explorers emerged a legend of gold riches hidden somewhere in the northern part of South America (present day Colombia). This was based on Spanish expedition encounters of local tribes that extensively used gold in their ceremonies. The indigenous communities treated gold as a decoration, symbol of power. The Europeans had thirst for gold, because to them it represented power, influence (we haven’t really changed for the past 500 years, have we?). Several expeditions discovered a tribe that had a tradition of throwing golden items into lake Guatavita in order to please their god. This encounter and subsequent findings of hundreds artifacts in the lake solidified the belief in a legend.
Since the creation of the El Dorado legend, multiple expeditions have gone to the region and many more haven’t returned. If interested, here is short article from National Geographic on this account. Contemporary travelers can relate to this myth by visiting the Museum of Gold. I really liked the Museo del Oro (in Spanish), it is the perfect way to be introduced to the country’s history. The exhibitions are interactive (with a small theater room, enclosed room with presentation of a ceremony, and hundreds of gold figurines), the plaques have descriptions in English, and audio guide is available as well. A tip for travelers – on Sundays all museums in the city are free.
Art Museum MAMU
My next stop was Museo Botero, MAMU (art museum), and Museo Casa de Moneda. All three located withing the same venue. Here, traveler can spend either half a day or couple of hours, depending on the preferences. It was interesting to see the art works of the famous (or “the most Colombian of Colombian artists” as he refers to himself) painter from Colombia – Fernando Botero. He is known for the figurative style of paintings and sculptures. In the museum is displayed his personal collection, that includes works of Chagall, Picasso, and Paul Gauguin. The MAMU hosts permanent collections of Latin American artists and Coin museum. The latter has extensive collections of artifacts, from minting for the Crown of Spain in 17th century till recent banknote’s printing. Overall, these venues appeared informative, entertaining, and popular among tourists as well as locals. My personal opinion is that a busy traveler might skip this attraction without losing much of cultural information.
El Centro
Another authentic experience can be a casual stroll in El Centro, which is entertaining in itself. Street performers, vendors, art and snack sellers complete the picture of the bustling Latin American city. Although something very different, something I haven’t seen in other places, caught my eyes in Plazoleta del Chorro de Quevedo. This plaza is known for bohemian type of crowd and performance gatherings (oddly dressed people, live music and… storytellers). Yes, modern days ‘live fiction’ that unfolds people’s stories. An audience sitting on rows of stairs is listening to anecdotes, or rather acted stories. Anyone can chime in and add/tell a story, which makes every narrative exclusive. The diversity of spectators is noticeable: kids and elders, couples and singles, tourists and locals, everyone heeds to the spectacle. If interested, here is extensive article that illustrates this phenomenon in details.
Bogota has plenty of other activities to do, for example, a tourist can visit the Botanical Garden, in this article I covered only 2 museums that to my opinion is “must see” while visiting La Candelaria. I hope readers learned something new and can incorporate it into their future travels.