Zipaquira - Salt Cathedral

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We have set eyes on church after church in Latin America. At times it seems there is one on every block. Every village, town and city is dominated by churches. Their architecture is unique so each one stands out from the other town buildings. The main plaza always has one if not two churches. Apparently the theory behind this is obedience. During the Spanish conquest, every town was designed around a central plaza. As crown and church drank from the same cup, by placing a church in the place where people congregated (still do today), it was as though a higher authority gazed down over their souls - "They shall behave!".

So after seven months and countless churches, although many were very beautiful, we started to think "Oh no, not another one!". The Salt Cathedral at Zipaquira is quite the exception. Fifty kilometres north of Bogota, it is a monumental building of miner´s art. Dug deep into a mountain, the cathedral is 200 metres underground. The mountain contains deposits of salt and has been mined since God was a gossin!

The miners, being devout Catholics, wanted to show their love for God. But instead of a few decades of the rosary, these men carved a cathedral 75m long and 18m high out of rock, with the capacity of 8,400 people. At times it felt like being down in Fraggle Rock or in the dwarf mines in Lord of the Rings.

Not satisfied with this feat alone, the Colombian miners also dug tunnels in which they sculpted the fourteen stations of the cross. Each station was positioned at ten metre intervals with a simple yet highly symbolic design. The effect was humbling.

Also an amazing fact for me was that this is the second Salt Cathedral the miners of Zipaquira have built. Each cathedral has a life expectancy of about one hundred years. Because of the salt content in the rock, fresh water will eventually dissolve and collapse the structure.

The Salt Cathedral is a very special place on earth - stunning, spiritual and haunting. I was compelled to sit and have a chat with my mind.

From James

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Photos

Looking down into the main chapel
The cross is 15m high.

A little bit of Bogota
The city spreads out much further than our lens could capture.