Lake Guatavita and the Salt Cathedral

Said to be a fantastic trip, we booked the tour to Zipaquira, the Guatavita Lagoon, and finally, a walk down into the Salt Cathedral.  Please forgive me; I repeat, please forgive me but the visit to the Catedral reminded me of the Dana Carvey routine about taking his18-year old son to Rome in  “Some Words For You Millennials” on YouTube.  In the words of his son, this trip was “a bunch of f’ing bs.”

The ride was beautiful as we rode through farmland, fields of cabbage, onions, greenhouses of tomatoes and raspberries, and dairy farms and horse ranches.  Some of the green valleys and slopes dotted with tall green trees and brown farmhouses reminded us of Tuscany.  Isn’t it amazing how many places in the world resemble other places in the world on completely different continents?  Could this be a message from God saying we are not as different as we might think???

Our first stop, the town of Guatavita, was totally asleep when we arrived.  The plaza was filled with vehicles and star trailers – a movie was being filmed nearby.

The next destination was Guatavita Lagoon, where it is believed the Legend of El Dorado originated.  As one version of the legend says, Zipa, the mythical king of the Muisca people in this area “was believed to plaster his naked body with gold dust during festivals, then plunge into Lake Guatavita to wash off the dust after the ceremonies; his subjects threw jewels and golden objects into the lake.”  People called this ruler El Dorado or the golden one.  Another version of the legend says the indigenous people who lived here before the Spaniards arrived, made sacrifices of gold to the mountain lake to ensure fertility and well-being. They believed the gold came from the land in the rivers, therefore to honor the gods, (sun, fire, land, and water) it must be returned to the land as a sacrifice.  This was done in elaborate tribal ceremonies in the mountain lake.  Later, of course, the Spaniards heard stories of gold at the bottom of the lake and planned ways to find it.  They tried to lower the water level.  Others even dug a trench, now called the Gap, to try to drain the lake to make access to the gold easier.  Explorers and adventurers from several countries tried to find the sacrificed gold.  They even managed to drain the lake and dry it, but no gold sacrifices were found in the mud.  A great deal of raw gold however was absconded by the Spanish and others from rivers, streams, and mines in Colombia and other parts of South America.  A lot too was merely stolen from the indigenous people.  The country retained enormous amounts of ancient gold artifacts, however, found in archeological digs.

The hike to Lake Guatavita, once we got to begin, was spectacular and we were happy to be there.  Prior we had to stop every few minutes to hear a 15-minute lecture in Spanish from the guide.  Other guests laughed and oohed and awed at the guide’s stories; we just stood there with vacant faces.  We were lucky though.  We met Gabriella a young music teacher from Seattle.  Her family is originally from Columbia – she translated the 15-minute guide talks into a quick one or two sentences for us so we could get the jest of what was being said.

The hike to the lake is easy but uphill.  At the top, the view of the small circular lake surrounded by a fringe of trees made the climb and the lectures worth it.  The Gap was easy to identify and our imaginations ran wild with visions of gold buried deep in the lake’s floor.

Next, our van crossed the savannah to the Catedral de Sal, which is known as the first wonder of Colombia.  Are they serious!? Oh yeah! Okay, we had never been in a salt mine before.  It was exciting to see and taste, but this place, a noted tourist attraction, took great liberty in making it a religious wonder capturing the important events of Jesus’ life.  We did not buy it.  Thus Dana Carvey’s story.  It’s a lighted broad tunnel with multi-left and right caverns going 500 feet below ground with images of the Cross, a “narthex,”  “chapels,” and stretched interpretations to glorify the settings.  They say 3000 people come here each week to receive mass in its chapels.  My red flags went up – I saw pure commercialism.   I must admit though, I couldn’t help myself, I bought a tiny cross made of salt to take home. 

If you come to Colombia, these are places to see, perhaps even better seeing it on your own.  It will be rewarding.  The scenery is spectacular, the lake is a mythical and historical wonder and the salt mine is incredible.  But the enhancements to the mine to make it a place of religious importance did not make sense to me. If you can get over that, the salt mine is a fantastic experience.