Unexpected Stops

Awakened to find downtown Bogota pretty empty because it was a holiday and the streets were open to bicyclists. Its a tradition they started called "Ciclovia" that is catching on around the world. We headed out of the city for a town called Zipaquira about an hour outside of Bogota. Zipaquira is famous for the Cathedral of Salt. Its a former salt mine that has become an underground cathedral. It is massive. It has all the stations of the cross carved out of salt and several naves. After a 45 minute walk you find the main cathedral with an amazing floor to ceiling cross. This is Colombia's premier attraction and it didn't disappoint.
Everywhere you look there are armed officers and this has done nothing to ease my colleague Satch's pre-conceived notions and fears that we are really putting ourselves at risk on this trip.
Stopped for lunch at a local restaurant "Funzipa" that is in a cavernous restored stable. All the dishes are "comida tipica" and the potatoes, coated in salt, are boiled in huge circular pans fired by coal ovens.
Next, it was on to Guatavita lagoon in the countryside. It is a sacred place that was discovered by the Chibcha Indians and carries many legends.
On the way home, our van was stopped by policia carreterra--the highway police. Apparently, our driver didn't have the proper documentation for the vehicle.
Both our tourism escort Andrea and our guide Jorge joined our driver Alejandro outside the vehicle to sort things out with two young officers. This suprise twenty minute stop didn't sit well with Satch, who was ready to bolt when the two armed officers pulled out their bandanas and fixed them under their eyes frito bandido style, and headed toward the van where we were sitting. Turns out, things were resolved and they were ready to hop on their motorcycles, but first wanted to shake hands with the two nervous American journalists in the back seat!
We all had a pretty good laugh and headed back to our hotel Tequendama --A Crowne Plaza property, to find extra security because President Uribe was visiting for some reason.

Satch and His New Friend