The second walking tour I took was called “Bogotá Religious Tour” which lasted four hours (!) and the only two people on the tour were Alejandro, the guide, and me! It was because of the availability of this tour that made me want to come here to Bogotá.

After the graffiti tour in La Candelaria, I went back to my hotel via taxi, and surprisingly the trip back only cost 20,000 Colombian pesos = $5.10 including tip, even though it was the same distance, and we traveled through the same hills!

The Bogotá Religious Tour started off with seeing the exterior of the Sanctuario Nuestra Señora de Carmen, known as the Candy Cane Church because of the distinctive stripes resembling a candy cane. As you can see by the blue skies, it was a gorgeous day in Bogotá and a perfect day for a walking tour. The high temperature was 69° F, and there was a cool breeze throughout the day.

The church was closed, so I wasn’t able to see the interior, but I did find this photo on the internet.

We next walked to the Bogotá Cathedral, whose official name is La Catedral Basílica Metropolitana y Primada de la Inmaculada Concepción y San Pedro de Bogotá. The interior is luxurious and it’s where I saw my first pipe organ in Colombia. The 125-year-old organ recently underwent a restoration in which you can read all about it here. The restoration took three years and cost $2.5 billion pesos (US $833,000). I previously found a photo of the organist at the console:

Another church we visited was the Iglesia de la Orden Tercera, where I only took a photo of the exterior since photography inside was prohibited.

I did find a photo of the ceiling on the internet:

The Iglesia de la Vera Cruz was right next door where there was no prohibition against photography. I found another pipe organ here! And an absolutely spectacular ceiling as you will see below.

Our next church was the Iglesia Nuestra Señora de las Nieves, another church with a striped exterior.

We visited a number of other churches, but for some strange reason, they were closed today. Alejandro said that normally the churches were open every day, so we couldn’t figure out why today they weren’t. Our last major stop was at the Museo Iglesia de Santa Clara, formerly a monastery which has now been turned into a museum. This visit was well worth it, and included a spooky corridor where the nuns went to personal confession. The music that they were playing added to the eeriness of the place. Notice also a really weird apron with children’s heads on it!

Look how many steps I got in today!

True confessions, I was pretty pooped today at the end of the day, especially in Bogota’s high altitude: 8,612 feet above sea level, way higher than that of Denver, the Mile High City. Tomorrow I have an 8-hour walking tour!