Walking through Candelaria

Plaza Bolivar

What is there to do on a Monday afternoon in Bogotá? Walk. Many, but not all, of the museums are closed, so I headed to Candelaria, the historic core of Bogotá, and walked.

Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de Las Aguas

The first main photo stop walking from the Monserrate funicular station to Candelaria is the bleached-white La Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de Las Aguas. You may note the Monserrate chapel visible on the mountain top to the left of the picture.

Several blocks away is Plaza Bolivar, the center of Colombian government.

Plaza Bolivar is pigeon heaven

This is THE place to be if you want to hold a political protest in Colombia. Alas, it was Monday and, like most of the museums, the political protests were all closed for the day. Perhaps tomorrow, Martes!

Palacio de justicia

On the northeast side of the plaza is the Palacio de justicia. Opposite it, on the southwest side of the plaza, is the Capitolio Nacional, the National Capitol.

Capitolio nacional

The National Capitol is guarded by golden retrievers.

Zoomed in shot of el Capitolio Nacional

And, of course, this being a Catholic country, right there in the main government square is the national cathedral, on the southeast side of the plaza.

Looking across Plaza Bolivar to Catedral Primada de Colombia

La Catedral Primada de Colombia, the Primatial Cathedral of Colombia, is a beautiful historic building that seems to be undergoing repair.

Or maybe the construction plastic is part of the street repair on Carrera 7, leading into Plaza Bolivar.

And speaking of beautiful, historic churches:

Iglesia del Carmen

Iglesia del Carmen, a few blocks away in the heart of Candelaria. It is impossible to get the definitive shot of this church (without a crane) because of the tight city blocks in Candelaria. I wanted to find Iglesia del Carmen this trip because I did not know about it the first time I was in Bogotá. I knew I was heading in the right direction when I saw its distinctive red-and-white stripes peeking above this yellow building

Heading toward Iglesia del Carmen

I walked past this interesting courtyard:

A courtyard somewhere on Calle 10 in Candelaria

Iglesia del Carmen was, of course, cerrado. No abierto until 5:30 p.m. As I do plan on returning to Candelaria Tuesday for a walking tour at 3:00 p.m., perhaps then I shall get into the church.  In the meantime, here are some photos of las puertas that were cerrado:

The three front doors into Iglesia del Carmen

And one last view of the church, from the northwest, facing southeast:

Iglesia del Carmen

Yes, the street of Candelaria are narrow.

The streets of Candelaria

Oh, and look, another church! Iglesia de la Candelaria:

The yellow Iglesia de la Candelaria

At this point, my dogs are tired. The Botero Museum is the one museum that is open. I'm going to cross-reference my blog from my first trip to Bogotá for that, if you are interested:  A Visit to Fat City, the name referencing the fact that Botero painted and sculpted his figures to be very corpulent. Even his Jesus on the cross was a fatty:

Botero's crucifixion drawing