JJ's Travelogue

A few weekends ago Maria, Elo and I had a fun adventure. We took a 1940′s-era narrow-gauge coal-fired steam train which now runs only on weekends from Bogotá to Zipaquirá. This is a cute town with an odd attraction – an enormous cathedral 650 feet underground, carved into a salt mine.

The train trip was fantastic. It’s hard to believe that only the force of steam could pull all that weight. Although it only averages 25km/hr, it was about the journey, not the transport. Vendors came down the aisles selling delicious food and drinks, three (!) bands came strolling through the carriages, each one playing a completely different style of traditional music. We usually had right-of-way, which was wonderful – stopping traffic on modern highways with our anachronistic mode of transport. Everywhere we went, heads turned. People stopped and waved, especially in the small towns through the countryside.

After three hours on the train we arrived at the small town of Zipaquirá. A short walk through the plaza and we entered the salt mines. I’m not exactly sure why, but in 1950 the workers decided to carve out a cathedral way down there. Certainly one of the most unusual places in the world to put a cathedral. The original one became unsafe, so in the early 1990′s a new one was dug out, another 60m further underground. It felt pretty wild descending that far beneath the earth. Along the way to the big room you pass by the 14 stations of the cross. Honestly, these looked more like scenes out of a Mel Brooks film, or perhaps Spinal Tap. Too bad I didn’t get any photos of these, you’d see what I mean. But considered as an art installation, it was all nicely done and well lit with hidden LED’s. The actual chapel is quite large and impressive – 250 feet long by 80 feet tall, with a 60-foot tall cross at the back carved into the salt rock.

The walk back to terra firma was through an incredibly long tunnel that used to be used to haul the salt out of the mines. What a crazy job. That fresh air and sunlight sure felt good. After a pleasant lunch we got back on the train for the return journey.

I stuck my head out at one point and narrated a bit into the iPhone. Here is the audio: 
And here is a link to the audio, in case you don’t have QuickTime installed.
I’m going to try recording more of these audio clips in the future. I realized that although photos are great, there is something about hearing the sounds of a place that can really transport you and give a better sense of  “being there”.

Here is a short video of one of the bands on the train.