The Emerald Museum

I missed out on the gold museum, struck down by some serious laziness. A will to take Bogota at my own pace and to have a bit of an un-compromised wander around and take it in for myself. You can miss a lot when you are walking around with mates and talking, it's good to take off those blinkers sometimes. It was probably a foolish decision since it has one of the largest and most extraordinary collection of Pre-Colombian gold in the World - definitely a foolish decision. I did make it to the emerald museum which although short and sweet, rocked my world. As a child I collected gemstones and had various books about minerals and mining, none of which I really read at the grand age of six. The emerald museum rekindled this childhood passion. Maybe I can re-work it and become a jewellery designer...

There were just a few rooms, reconstructed mines and a quick talk through the mining process. Emeralds in Colombia are mined out of really hard rock which is one of the reasons why they are so expensive. The stones grow veil-like through this hard rock with pyrite. Green and gold a quite brilliant combination. Some of the stones and jewels on display in this little museum were quite incredible. Maybe I should get back into collecting? I wonder how much money is required for a big rock of Emerald? A lot.

In confusingly entwined centre of Bogota near Candelaria and not too far from the Emerald and Gold museums there are a fair few jeweller's shops and shops for jewellers. I wanted to hit on a real arts and crafts hippy haven but never quite found it, even though there were some cool shops and bars in Candelaria. I know that Bogota has a hell of a lot more to offer, it's a shame I can't just move there to get a real sense of what it's like. ONe day, one day....