Evening star., 1934-12-30

to Bogota, up the Magdalena River.
is made in about four days, and by
airplane in tix hours. From Medel-
lin to Bogota by water takes two
days and two hours by air.
Amusements Varied.
En- route the traveller may stop at
Puerto Berrio and thence 60 by rail
to Medellin, the second city and most
important industrial and coffee center
Of the republic. The city occupies
a most favorable position, lying as it
does in a beautiful valley in the
Cordillera Central of the Andes. The
climate around Medellin is summer
like in its softness, and since the city
is over 5000 feet above sea level, there
is a continuous feeling Of freshness
in the air.
1t abounds in all forms of amuse-
ments familiar to visitors from the
North, such as golf, tennis, swimming
and polo, while for additional pleas
ure there are modern theaters and
numerous other entertainments.
In this section of the country the
tourist can visit some of the beauti-
full coffee plantations and see with
hts own eyes how this staple of Amer
lean life is grown and shipped to
foreign markets.
Returning to Puerto Berrio, the
traveller resumes his pleasant journey
to Bogota, an ancient city, founded
in 1888, located nearly 5000 feet above
the sea level in the cordilleras Of
Northern South America.
Although this Andean city. where
trees are always in bloom, has made
remarkable strides in modernization
and improvement in recent years, it
still retains a wealth of historic
memories Of the days when it was
vice-regal seat in the proud Spanish
colonial empire. Vale de los Al
cazares VALLEY Of the Castles, was
the name given by Spanish Con-
quistador Don Gonzalo Jimenez de
Quesada. Arriving on the vast and
fertile plains, where the capital stands
today at the foot of the peaks of
Monserrate and Guadalupe, he saw
wide fiowery fields of the savanna.
There were several Indian settlements
and good buildings. including palaces
and castles. There he founded the
city.
The houses are low for the most
part, with caves projecting over the
street. One may still see many homes
where iron bars protect the windows
and plants and flowers adorn them,
reminding the visitor of the yet un-
spoiled sections Of Cordoba and Sc
vile. Bogota has a plentiful share
Of imposing buildings Of both the old
and the new age. luxurious hotels,
fine theaters, beautiful parks and ex-
cellent museums.
Beautiful Cataract.
A few miles from Bogota, one may
visit by rail the Falls of Tequendama
in the Bogota River, properly ranked
among the greatest cataracts of the
world; they were regarded with rever-
ence and considered sacred by the
Chibcha Indians, former inhabitants
Of that part Of Colombia. The river,
after having gently and leisurely
traversed the immense savanna bear
ing its name, suddenly bends its course
and enters the mountainous region.
Here it casts off that melancholy
sluggishness, and, with visible quicken
ing, flows down the steep incline,
forming noisy foam-capped waves,
small cataracts and boiling eddies as
it strikes the rocky shores. On reach
ing the brink Of the precipice, it dashes
down the abyss, divided into jets that
look like feathers of varied colors. On
reaching the bottom, at a depth Of
$50 feet. the water changes to foam
and then forms into columns of mist
that rise toward the heavens.
Much interesting territory may be
covered If the tourist leaves Colombia
by the Pacific Coast In his travels
westward from Bogota, he will cross
by automobile the valley of the Cauca
River, considered by many as the
most picturesque region in all the
Americas
One could write pages about the
many other interesting places found
in Colombia Perhaps the tourist
would prefer to be amazed when
he finds them. On returning to his
own country, he can in any case
say: Colombia is indeed a natural
paradise.