Good as gold- that's Bogota's Gold Museum. Located in seedy neighborhood- be vigilant for pickpockets or worse (slashers cut bottom of your carryall and your totables tumble to pavement). Area saturated with shoe shine boys, vendors, photographers. But inside museum- gold artifacts from all regions of Colombia. Some pre-Columbian; recovered from Lake Titicaca. Decorative jewelry- worn, offered to gods, used in barter. Intricate filigree pieces. Ushered into dark room- sudden illumination. 4 lit cases containing 11,000 gold artifacts. So bright- flash not needed for photos (although flash is permitted). Shop sells books, postcards.

Heading north, an hour's drive from Bogota- a scenic trip through upper-class neighborhoods, by greenhouses crammed with roses and carnations for export, farms (thatched roofs on some buildings)- to the Salt Cathedral. Carved inside a mountain and adjacent to a salt mine (still being worked). Took 4 years (1950-54) to build. Entirely underground so dark and damp. Metal reinforces arches. Can accommodate 10,000 people. One dome-shaped room with perfect acoustics. No services held- vibrations would weaken structure.

At the top of one of the surrounding mountains, Monserrate is a catholic sanctuary visited by thousands of people every sunday,most of them asking for a miracle ( some of them get up there on their knees!). Bogota looks beautiful from up there. There is also a nice restaurant called 'San Isidro', good food but a bit expensive.