We started our drive back to Medellin on March 19, but we did a few more stops along the way. We visited Popayán, the white city, Buga and then a short stop in Manizales.
On our drive to Popayan we passed the Purace alpine tundra, a very important ecosystem due to its natural water sources. On this drive we were looking for the Purace Volcano, unfortunately it was very cloudy and we could not see it.
We spent the night in Popayan where we walk around town. The town is getting a fresh coat of paint, this is a very important place for Easter, as hundreds of Colombian come to Popayan during these Catholic holidays.
On our way to Manizales we stopped in Buga, this place is another important pilgrimage site in the country. People make it to “El Señor de los Milagros” to pray for their personal or family needs.
In Manizales we visited the cathedral and had a very interesting tour that took us to the roof top. The church really know how to exploit tourism and after many people illegally climbed to the roof top they decided to build a proper staircase to take people on a unique tour. The latest addition to such experience is the glass floor that was installed just a month ago where we stood just on top of the altar. The cathedral is a unique worship place in the country, and it has some very unique features:
- It has a coffee shop inside the church on one of the terraces
- It has a rooftop staircase
- It is the highest cathedral in Colombia with 106 meters high
- It has a satellite dish
- It has a glass floor where people can see the service from above
Nice to see so many colonial buildings being well preserved.
Yes, Popayán is very well preserved as it is UNESCO World Heritage so they have to keep it up otherwise the city looses it status and lots of tourists will stop coming, you know how it is with UNESCO sites.
The pilgrimage for Easter is apparently crazy, we have never been but the whole city is fully booked with people from all over the country.