Guatavita Lake, the salt cathedral and Villa De Leyva

I was picked up by my driver in Bogota and we drove out to Guatavita lake, a completely circular lake that is the source of the El Dorado legends, with multiple attempts (mostly unsuccessful) to drain the lake to recover the riches that supposedly lie at its bottom. The place was nice and quite interesting but I was out to find out if it was worth taking in - or instead choosing Zipaquiera. Zipaquiera is the home of the salt cathedral. Whatever thoughts I had of what a salt cathedral would be were quickly dispelled in the haunting cathedral, an enormous structure and very impressive. There are 14 stations of the cross en route, and the cathedral itself is made up of all sorts of surreal interconnecting chambers. After the main tour we did a miners tour, and saw how the miners worked, and it provided a very interesting look into the life of a salt miner. From Zipaquira we drove on and got in to Villa De Leyva after dark.

The following morning I got up early and wandered around the beautiful colonial village of Villa De Leyva. The town is so striking that the whole town was declared a heritage site as early as 1953. I checked out a couple of museums, being especially impressed with the Acuna museum, a museum showcasing the Colomian artist who spent his latter years in Villa De Leya. In the afternoon I walked out to El Fossil, a remarkably well preserved 120 million year old fossil of a Kronasauraus. It looks like an enormous crocodile, measuring 7m without the tail which didn't survive. And apparently this one was just a baby! After another excellent dinner it was time for bed.

Back to Bogota for one more night, and then time to head back to the cold of the UK! Couldn't last forever! But as I vowed last time I left Colombia, I will be back!

- David