Blogs from Tunja, Colombia, South America

Three hours by bus to the north of Bogotá, I stopped off at the historic city of Tunja. Although recommended by Colombians I had spoken to in the capital, the fact that my Rough Guide doesn’t even give a map of the place indicated that there really wasn’t that much to see. The historic centre was very pleasant, being as it’s one of the oldest cities in the Americas, but this was explored in a few hours. The main square (once again called Plaza Bolivar) is the main focal point, with the cathedral and the Casa del Fundador (the colonial mansion built by the city’s founder) being the main attractions. Besides this, there really wasn’t much to do. I was also able to visit some of the beautiful colonial churches; in one a friendly soldier on ... read more

just adding photos i don´t have much else to add... read more

After Bogotá we headed to Tunja the City of churches. Which we were hoping would be a good place to witness the Easter festivities. Like I have mentioned before Latin America is a very religious place and this was proved in Tunja. On the Easter Friday there were lots of things going on and was difficult to try and be in a number of different places to try and see as much as possible. The streets were lined and packed with people and a procession went throughout the town, which included bands from school children to the military. The bands were split up by various congregations of the many churches all carrying plinths with various effigies of Jesus and Mary. They would all be barefoot and dressed in some amazing robes and a number of different ... read more

Tunja Quem é que nunca quis ir a Tunja? Quem é que nunca se viu desembarcar, no terminal de Tunja e aventurar-se pela capital do Boyacá? Eu, pessoalmente, nunca tinha ouvido falar, mas ficava a caminho de Bogotá e parecia um atractivo porto de abrigo em direcção ao sul. A viagem entre San Gil e Tunja foi, uma vez mais na minha vida, um momento agradável. Lá fora uma paisagem dramática, selva, picos cortados pelas nuvens, a estrada a serpentear a beira de vales, bananeiros, bananas, e as pessoas que apanham as bananas, bicicletas carregadas de bananas, carrinhos de mão escondidos pelas babanas. Tudo é intenso, e amarelo. Nas paragens de 15 minutos que fizemos em pequenas aldeias, barulho, côr, agitação, muito movimento. É díficil descontrair e simplesmente esticar as pernas. Somos constantemente olhados com curiosidade ... read more