Magic Moment #4
It seemed as if JetBlue Airways had a contest for their employees (crewmembers) every week, and I entered most of them. The prize was usually two tickets with confirmed reservations on any JetBlue route. Bear in mind that the tickets weren’t totally free because it usually cost about $100 per ticket for airport fees, on any overseas flight. I won a movie trivia contest that motivated me to visit Columbia.
The strange thing is that when I mentioned to various people that because JetBlue had just announced a new flight route from Orlando to Bogota, I intended to use my free ticket to go there for a visit. Most people advised against it. The one exception to this was a pilot instructor who had married a Columbian girl. He encouraged me to go.
I visited Columbia with a Spanish speaking friend and it was a marvelous experience. I researched the trip carefully and we took all the proper precautions. On the advice of another friend, we booked a suite at the Hilton Embassy Suites, centrally located in Bogota. The suite was half price because of my airline discount and I’m glad that we didn’t pay full price, because the suite wasn’t that great. Coincidently the first officer on our flight between Orlando and Bogota was the same pilot instructor who encouraged me to go, and he made the trip special. He welcomed us on board over the speaker system and told the cabin crew to take good care of us. It was nice to feel special.
The airport at Bogota can only be described as a nightmare. You need a lot of patience for standing in long lines. I was glad that my friend understood all the instructions that were being shouted at us, and knew which long line to stand in. When we finally located our suitcases, I could see that my lock had been broken and I assumed that the suitcase had been searched, but nothing was missing. To my dismay I was singled out to be questioned and to have my suitcase X-rayed but since I don’t speak Spanish and the questioner didn’t speak English, I was waived through. It’s safe to say that I stood out like a sore thumb because of my Nordic look and my leopard skin suitcase.
We took a taxi to the hotel and were glad that we had taken some advice off the internet to keep a roll of dollar bills in our pocket. There were a lot of people with their hand out for a tip.
For a Hilton, the room was adequate but it had seen better days. Fortunately the beds and bathroom were clean. Other than that the hotel was good, it was really good. Breakfast was included in the price of the suite and the breakfast was excellent. There was an array of food to suit anyone’s taste and eggs to order were always available (give a tip). They had a large selection of freshly squeezed fruit juices and I used to mix fresh guanabana juice together with fresh blackberry juice every morning. It was delicious. The breakfast was so satisfying that most days we didn’t need to buy lunch.
We usually returned to the hotel around 5pm for happy hour which was also included in the price of the room. They served hot hors d’oeuvres at the bar and unlimited free alcohol from 5pm until 7pm. Every evening we met up with a friendly group of business men for two hours of talk and camaraderie. The hotel food was so good that sometimes we ate dinner there, especially if we were tired out from a long day of sightseeing. But across the road there was a very fine restaurant where we could spend the evening in comfort while the resident pianist played soft music.
With the help of the hotel staff, we hired bilingual, private guides because they were inexpensive and it’s the easiest way to get around. Our first guide spoke excellent English and gave us a good historic tour on our way to the Salt Cathedral of Zipaquira http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_Cathedral_of_Zipaquir%C3%A1, a journey of two hours. The Cathedral is a Roman Catholic Church built in an underground salt mine, inside a mountain. Bogota is about 8612 ft. (2625 m) above sea level and we could feel our lungs heaving a little as we climbed up to the entrance of the salt mine, but it was worth the effort. Fortunately we were there on a week day when there are few visitors, the salt mine was relatively empty and we loved it. The Cathedral is magnificent and it is amazing what the salt miners created. We spent about three hours in there and it was like magic. I could have stayed there the whole day. Visitors are very welcome in Columbia and I found the people to be quite gracious (except at the airport). A visit to the Cathedral is a must for anyone no matter what religion a person practices.
We stopped for coffee and Yucca bread at the little café inside the salt mine and I was served the most delicious cup of Columbian coffee that I had ever tasted. In there, I think the air, the salt, and the sulfur fumes clear the lungs and whet the appetite. I felt healthy, my eyes were clear and I had energy. Before returning to Bogota we visited the small town of Zipaquira http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zipaquir%C3%A1 and it was a place that I’d like to return to. Zipaquira is quaint, interesting, full of indigenous people and a place waiting to be explored.
motorable road”, in Columbia of all places.
The following day we visited the Gold museum http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_Museum,_Bogota. This is a three story museum filled with Inca gold. Again, it was magnificent and I could have stayed there longer. It’s worth my while to mention that in Columbia, seniors are given free admittance to any government owned museums, art galleries etc. and there’s also a special line (queue) for seniors at the airport. The senior line is a lot shorter than the other lines. I went to buy a ticket for the museum and an old lady who was standing behind me shook her finger and indicated that I should not pay. That was nice of her. The Inca (pre-Hispanic) gold is interesting and worth a visit. The museum is ultra modern, the facilities are extra clean and it was one place where the toiler paper was free. Other places required a coin in a slot if toilet paper was needed.
I don't think photo-taking is allowed inside the gold museum but we weren't stopped from doing it.
The gold museum was followed by a visit to the Botero Museum of Art. Botero is a famous Columbian artist who is himself considered to be one of Columbian treasures. He donated about 200 million dollars worth of his paintings for the museum. The entrance is free for all and it was an interesting show of art. He’s famous for representative art and he paints fat people and fat characters. There are other fine collections for viewing, as well as an adjoining coin museum.
The next incredible moment occurred on a visit to Monserrate http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monserrate, a mountain that dominates the city of Bogota. Monserrate is 10341ft (3152 m) above sea level, therefore by necessity we rode up the mountain on a rather rickety looking funicular. Again, it was worth the ride because the view from the top was magnificent. It washed over me all of a sudden that I was standing in the Andes Mountains, and the clouds were right in front of my nose. We climbed up a bit higher on foot to where a church had been built. It was peaceful, picturesque and we were there at the right time. There was not a single tourist in the place and we were able to stroll around and take in the magnificence of the place.
On the way back we visited Bolivar square http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bol%C3%ADvar_Square. There is a lot of history connected to Bolivar Square, located in the heart of Bogota historical district. We were there at the same time the President of Columbia was visiting, and the square was lined with rifle carrying military soldiers.
“Don’t worry,” the guide told us. “Their rifles are only loaded with rubber bullets.”
True or not, it was a scary sight and we were surrounded on all sides by fierce looking soldiers.
On impulse we decided to visit a beauty parlor located near our hotel. Any kind of service is relatively inexpensive in Columbia and the hotel receptionist even walked with us to the place. I believe that the Columbian people want to keep their visitors safe and after the beauty parlor visit we walked around the city for a while, ate Red Snapper in a city restaurant and felt perfectly at ease.
I’ve never had anyone work on my hands and feet that well. The manicurist/pedicurist was an expert. She spent a lot of time perfecting my nails, giving a foot massage, a leg massage and then she brewed a special kind of herb tea for us to drink. The tea was so delicious that my friend asked for the recipe but to no avail. It was a secret recipe that they referred to as Mano tea with a blackberry juice base.
We visited a few other places and enjoyed Columbia very much but were rather dismayed to find out (thanks to the hotel personnel) that we needed to allow three hours minimum in order to catch our flight home. They weren’t wrong. We rose at 4 am, rode to the airport in a taxi and knew what to expect. We stood in long lines again. We stood in a long line in order to get a ticket to stand in another long line. It was mass confusion and the airport was choked with soldiers carrying rifles again. All passengers leaving Columbia are searched and my friend was searched twice. The food in the airport was bad but the duty free shopping was incredible inviting. There were a lot of fabulous shops in that airport once you got through to the departure area. Shopping in Columbia was expensive therefore I didn’t buy much but I would love to return one day with more money. The leather goods are very fine quality.
There’s an irony here. The one place that so many people advised me not to visit is one of the places that I’d love to return to.
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