I was supposed to meet the local BMW Riders Club for a day ride. I got up ready to ride but the rear tire on the GS was flat again. It seemed that the old puncture that had given me trouble in Nicaragua was leaking air. I decided that I needed to replace the tire with a new tire. Antonio, Jario’s father, volunteered to drive me to the local BMW dealership to purchase a new tire. Before driving all the way across town I called the dealership in advance to make sure that they had a tire in stock. So we drove there and it turned out that once there the dealer did not have the tire that I needed in stock. After that little adventure we headed to other motorcycle shops however, while driving there Antonio spotted a Michelin Tire shop and we stopped. I was convinced that they would not have the motorcycle tire that I need in stock. To my great surprise they did have an Anakee tire in stock. The cost was only $100.00 – cheaper than the dealer would have been. I purchased the new tire and we drove back to the hostel. I inflated old tire on the GS and road off to a nearby gas station to have the new tire mounted. It took the attendant about ten minutes to mount the tire and the cost was a total of .90 cents US.
The tire situation took a half day to correct. I decided to go see some sights before the rain started again. One place I really wanted to see was the Salt Mine Cathedral which was located in the Village of Zipaquira. Zipaquira was located approximately one hour north of Bogota. However, from experience I knew that would really be more like a three hour journey.
Once I was outside of the Bogota City limits it was a pleasure to travel in the countryside. The roads were twisty and the vistas were incredible. The Village of Zipaquira has a beautiful historic plaza. Around the plaza were markets, vendors, and you could see families walking with music playing in the background.
The Salt Mine Cathedral is located on the edge of town. The Cathedral was built within the salt mine itself. As I dissented into the mine I passed the fourteen Stations of the Cross which are carved into the salt walls. The Cathedral is located almost six hundred feet into the mine at the end of one of the shafts.
Salt Cathedral of Zipaquira