The Salt Cathedral!! Today I woke up full of the flu and really just wanting to go back to sleep but my wonderful hosts had organized to take me to a city outside of Bogota and visit the famous Salt Cathedral. Lizeths Mother had prepared a wonderful breakfast for me but I couldn't stomach anything and really just wanted to drink warm tea - I felt bad though so ate some oat porridge and some scrambled eggs. I was able to borrow a jacket and some gloves in order to rug-up in the hope of not making my cold any worse - I have recently given all my warm clothes away as I expected to be heading to warmer temperatures. The drive out to the city of Zigapoyra where the salt Cathedral is located was long and the whole way I felt my fever getting worse. When we arrived it was quite an impressive site and the town had a very country feel to it which reminded me of home a little. There were various tours we could do but we went for the basic one as we didn't have all day to spend here. The price was quiet steep at $14 but by the end of the tour I felt the price was justified and the services and amenities reflected the high price. Unfortunately we lucked out with the tour being in English and unless we wanted to wait another two hours we would have to take tour in Spanish. This didn't bother me as I new I would get the just of it and my hosts would translate the important information. The tour lasted two hours and was very detailed explained how the Sakt mines came about and why they decided to build an Underground cathedral in them. We were 200 meters underground and there were hiant salt crosses, sculptures and representations of every aspect of the bible. It was incredibly impressive all the work that had been put into the chambers and cathedrals and everything was shown with incredible led lighting. The salty air actually helped clear my sinuses and I began to feel better aswell. In the heart of the mine there was an array of shops selling emeralds and other various rocks, jewelry, artworks and other tourist bits and pieces. The last stop was a lighting show and an instructional 3D film about the history of Salt mining in Colombia. As we left the mine there were 100s of more people pouring in and it wasn't hard to see that this is one of Colombias premier tourist attractions. Not something I would usually do but I am very glad I visited. Monica had been telling me about this very delicious treat from the region which basically consisted of two thin wafers stuffed with Arequipe (condensed milk type spread) and so on the way back we stopped and tried and wow oh wow incredible! Not to spoil lunch I had to stop at just one of these tasty treats. The drive back to the city was long but I was certainly feeling better when we got back. We enjoyed a late lunch of roast beef, beans, guocamole and potatoes: another feast fit for a king and I am certain all this good food will have me back to good health quick smart. Everyone then took a nap and so not to be the odd one out I did the same and climbed into bed and did some surfing on the Internet. Later when Lizeth returned we made Arepas with the whole family and chatted about life, travels and our different cultures.

OBSERVATIONS:
- Full of the flu
- Salt Cathedral visit
- Making Arepas with the family