Holiday in Colombia (3): Zipaquira
August 29th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
Tuesday was a light day in terms of tourist sights since essentially we were travelling from the town of Villa de Leyva (which we left at 9 am) south to the capital city of Bogotá (which we reached at 5.15 pm). We broke the journey three times: a comfort break where we had breakfast on Sunday, a salt mine just outside the town of Zipaquira, and lunch in Zipaquira itself.
The Zipaquira Salt Mine has been open since 1816 but, between 1992-1995, some $16M was spent to create a special tourist attraction. The Catholic miners have always had places of worship in the mine, but now there are modern versions of the 14 stations of the cross plus a so-called cathedral which is 25 metres high and can accommodate a staggering 8,400 people.
The tunnel of salt mines is located 200 metres inside a mountain and visitors like us descend through a series of passage ways to a depth of 38 metres. We spent over an hour in this strange and moving subterranean world.
Only once before have I seen anything like this when I visited a salt mine just outside Krakow in Poland. Here too Catholic miners have created a complex of chapels and a huge church. The Colombian version though was created by professionals and coloured lights, ecclesiastical music, and an elaborate gift shop make it a more commercial proposition.
Bogotá is a sprawling and cosmopolitan metropolis with over 8 million inhabitants located an an altitude of 8,630 feet (2,630 metres) so the climate is cool. Our accommodation here is very different from that in Villa de Leyva. Atton Bogotá 93 is a large modern hotel of 139 rooms with all the facilities one would expect but none of the charm of the previous mansion.
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Holiday in Colombia (2): Villa de Leyva
August 28th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
After a difficult night’s sleep because of jet-lag, today was spent around and in the town of Villa de Leyva, with a morning trip west to two interesting locations outside town and an afternoon walking tour of the town itself. The valley in which all these places are located is some 7,000 feet (2,144 metres), but altitude has not proved to a problem and the surrounding hills make for a wonderfully picturesque setting.
The first morning visit was to the Convento del Santo Ecce Homo which was founded by Dominican friars in 1620. It is no longer a religious institution, but instead a state-owned establishment hosting conferences and other events.
When we arrived, we found that there was a film crew there shooting a documentary about Simon Bolivar, the liberator of Colombia from the Spanish, and we were offered five minutes to look around. This was clearly unacceptable and in fact we managed a good hour in this magnificent location. The experience of the pretty courtyard, surrounded on four sides by cloisters, was enhanced by the presence of characters in colonial costumes acting as extras in the production of the film, while the chapel has a resplendent golden altarpiece with a small image of Ecce Homo.
The second visit of the morning was to the Museo El Fosil – the first time that I have been to a location devoted entirely to fossils. This small museum contains – in the exact location in which it was found in 1977 – the world’s most complete fossil of a kronosaurus which was a large, marine reptile that lived locally – when the valley was ocean – some 80 million years ago.
We returned to town where we were given a few hours to have lunch and a rest. Then our guide Almando took us on a walking tour of the centre of the beautifully preserved town of Villa de Leyva which was founded in 1572 by order of the first president of the New Kingdom of Granada Andres Diaz Venero de Leyva. This is a town of cobbled streets and whitewashed houses with attractive doors, windows and balconies. The main square – the largest in Colombia – is surrounded by colonial buildings, including the main church Nuestra Señora del Rosario which was built between 1608-1665.
As we have been wandering around, Silvia and I have been getting to know our travelling companions. All of them are incredibly well-travelled and one (a single woman) has visited an amazing 160 countries.
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Anti-corruption referendum in Colombia
August 27th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
This is major year for voting in the South American state of Colombia. In March, there were elections to the Congress (both House of Representatives and Senate) and in May and June there was voting in the two stages of the presidential election.
Now today – coincidentally the day I arrived in Colombia for a holiday in the country – there is a referendum to vote on seven specific measures to tackle the rampant corruption in the nation.
You can learn more about the referendum here.
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Holiday in Colombia (1): arrival
August 26th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
My latest overseas visit is with my sister Silvia on a tour of Colombia organised by the company Cox & Kings. In my 70 years, it is the 73rd country that I have visited – the 13th in Latin America.
Now, if you travel outside your own continent, there are bound to be challenges, starting with travelling time and time difference. So, for this holiday, the Avianca flight from London to Bogotá was 10 hours and the time difference between Britain and Colombia at this time of year is 6 hours, so we landed at 3 am local time, feeling somewhat less than fresh as a daisy.
On this trip, another major initial complication is altitude: Bogotá is 8,660 feet (2,640 metres) above sea level or, as one local advertisement put it, nearer the stars. So we had to move slowly and carefully and the weather was cool and misty.
At the airport, we met our first guide Armando and the remainder of our group of 12 (nine women and three men) and climbed into a coach. We set off north-west in dark and drizzle. At 6.30 am, we stopped somewhere between nowhere and anywhere for a light breakfast of something called arepa which is made of ground maize dough and is the Colombian version of tortillas.
Just up the road from this establishment, we made our first tourist stop at a location which was the scene of a decisive turning point in Colombia’s struggle for independence. The battle of Boyacá bridge took place on 7 August 1819 and we viewed a monument commemorating the battle and a museum with a 360 degree floor-to-ceiling mural of the war of independence.
Next stop was Tunja which is the capital of the province of Boyacá. The town is known for its colonial architecture and we visited two splendid 16th century gems – the Museo Casa del Fundador and the Museo Juan de Vargas – as well as the cathedral (which was hosting Sunday mass), the church of Santo Domingo (which is an example of creole baroque style) and the main square (which was undergoing reconstruction).
We then descended down winding roads to our first hotel: La Posada de San Antonio in the town of Villa de Leyva. The charming hotel was created from three adjoining 19th century mansions and has cobbled, plant-filled inner courtyards, while the little town was founded in 1572 and declared a national monument in 1954.
We reached the hotel shortly after 1 pm, some 10 hours after our aircraft had landed. What to do first? Unpack, wash, change, sleep? No, a refreshing lunch in a delightful place off the main square, the largest in Colombia.
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An account of my recent visit to Cyprus – before a new trip to Colombia …
August 24th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
This year, my foreign travel seems to be to countries with names all beginning with C: China fourth time), the Czech Republic (28th time), Cyprus (first time), and now Colombia (another first time).
As I’m about to set off to South America for my latest overseas trip, you might like to check out the account of my earlier visit to Cyprus.
Although I did daily blog postings on NightHawk at the time, you may prefer to read this newly-collated narrative.
If this whets your appetite for more travel accounts, you’ll find many reports of my foreign sojourns here.
It’s a big world and I want to see as much as possible of it …
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What happened to change the whole world in 535 AD?
August 22nd, 2018 by Roger Darlington
The extreme weather events of 535–536 were the most severe and protracted short-term episodes of cooling in the Northern Hemisphere in the last 2000 years. The event is thought to have been caused by an extensive atmospheric dust veil, possibly resulting from a large volcanic eruption in the tropics, or debris from space impacting the Earth. Its effects were widespread, causing unseasonal weather, crop failures and famines worldwide.
In this year of troubled weather, I thought you might like a reminder that there have been worse times in human history. At least today, we know why the weather is going crazy and what to do about it – if only we have the political will.
You can learn more about the weather events of 535-536 here.
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Remembering the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia
August 21st, 2018 by Roger Darlington
In the Czech Republic and Slovakia today, there is massive media coverage of the Warsaw Pact invasion of the then Czechoslovakia – at the time, being liberalised by Alexander Dubcek – on the night of 20/21 August 1968.
I remember the event very well. I was 20 at the time and becoming very interested in politics and current affairs. In Britain, it was a quiet news period and the invasion was covered extensively.
I have just given a short interview to Czech Radio about my recollections of the invasion. I was asked why there is so little coverage today in the British media (there is something in the “Guardian” and a bit on the BBC website).
I suggested that the British see the Czech Republic and Slovakia today as essentially democratic and members of both the EU and NATO, so that communist days in those countries no longer resonate. And, of course, we are currently obsessed with Brexit. But, for many Czechs and Slovaks, they remember the invasion with great sorrow and still harbour fears of Russian influence.
Also I think all of us need to appreciate that the struggle for democracy is never done, it is never over. It continues today – in the case of Central & Europe especially in countries such as Poland and Hungary, but also in the case of Western Europe and the United States with the growth of populist parties and movements.
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What do you know about the Dead Sea Scrolls?
August 20th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
I recently watched an interesting television documentary about the Dead Sea Scrolls and I realised how little I knew about them: how they were found, how many there are, what they say, why they are important, whether more are to be found …
You can check out 6 things you may not know about the Scrolls here.
Or you can check out 25 fascinating facts about the Scrolls here.
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A review of a travel guide to Colombia
August 19th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
As I explained in an earlier posting, I’m about to have a holiday in Colombia. Therefore I’ve just read a travel guide titled “Culture Smart! Colombia” by Kate Cathey (2011).
This book proved to be a short but comprehensive guide to the country’s history, politics, economy, customs and traditions. However, the book was published before a landmark peace deal between the government and the main guerilla movement FARC which has reduced the violence and encouraged tourism.
Since Colombia obtained independence from Spain in 1810, this South American nation – which is now a country of approximately 45 million – has had a violent history: no less than eight civil wars in the 19th century, 20 years of bloodshed called “La Violencia” from 1948 onwards, and an undeclared civil war known locally as the armed conflict” which culminated in a peace settlement in 2016. But only once has there been a military coup – in 1953-57 when General Rojas put an end to “La Violencia.
Meanwhile the country has been blighted by the violence and extortion of the huge illegal drug trade (90% of the of the cocaine that crosses into the USA is processed in Colombia).
Although Colombia is a multi-ethnic country, political and economic power has always been held by the European minority and politics has been expressed through two major establishment movements called Liberals and Conservatives and influential families known as “power dynasties”. Income and wealth are spread very unevenly with the country exhibiting some of the worst poverty in the world and class hierarchies and racial inequaity so ingrained that “they are seen as the normal order of things” .
So, why go there?
Cathey – who lives in Bogotá – writes that “This is a magical country, full of spectacular landscapes, exotic wildlife and rare ecosystems, succulent tropical fruits, salsa and cumbia music, and kind, fun-loving people”. The guerilla war is largely over, drug violence is localised, while economic development is transforming cities like Medellin and there are wonderful colonial gems like Cartagena.
Cathey explains that “Colombians say their country is a first-, second-, and third-world country all at the same time” and that “Collectively, Colombians are going through a period of self-discovery”.
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A review of the new movie “The Equalizer 2”
August 18th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
In his long and distinguished career of almost 50 films, 63 year old Denzel Washington has never made a sequel – until now. Like Liam Neeson with “Taken”, he has found a money-spinning action role in later life and he’s going to run with it.
Between the two “Equalizer” movies, Washington has turned director in “Fences” in which he was also the star, but retired CIA agent Robert McCall is a much more laconic character who speaks more through fists, guns, knives, and his old espionage skills.
In this sequel, we have the same director (Antoine Fuqua) and the same writer (Richard Wenk) but, starting with a pre-title sequence on a train to Istanbul, the action comes earlier than in the first film and then satisfyingly often.
This time, McCall is a cab driver in Boston who is pulled back into his old life when a former colleague meets a gruesome end in Brussels. As he performs the role of avenging angel, he manages to touch the lives of smaller folk in various acts of kindness. There’s nothing new here, but it’s a stylish work that entertains sufficiently that a third outing is assured.
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