Yesterday we took a little trip to see the sights around Bogota. We were originally going to take a trip up to Monserrate, which has a stunning overlook of Bogota, but because the weather wasn't cooperating, we decided to head to the Salt Cathedral (Catedral de Sal) instead. The drive from Bogota to Zipaquira took a little under an hour and was extremely scenic with beautiful houses littered across the mountainside. Not a bad place to live if you ask me.
Once we got to the Salt Cathedral, it was a little shocking to discover that it literally was a Salt Cathedral. There is a very large active salt mine in Zipaquira and part of it has been converted into a Cathedral carved entirely out of the salt. Everything from the church kneelers to the baptismal font is carved out of salt. Since it's in a mine, everything is on a pretty large scale (the cross at the front of the church was ~100ft tall). The half mile walk through the mine tunnels to get to the actual Cathedral had the Stations of the Cross along the way. Every hundred feet or so, there would be a stopping point with a large salt cross and a place to pray. It was fairly difficult to take pictures within the mine, but I hope the pictures we took capture even a piece of what it was like.
It was also impressive to see that this place is not just a tourist attraction and that there is weekly service in the church as well. Luckily, The townspeople get to use a side entrance so they don't have to walk a mile to church every week! It was quite a humbling experience to think of the art and engineering that created this place and how it all started because the salt mine workers wanted a chapel to pray for protection.
"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men."
- Matthew 5:13
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