I am a museum person. When I heard about the Bogota Gold Museum my ears perked immediately.
I know some of you are surprised that a person of my tattooed, awesome, party-going, rock n’ roll luke-warm tepid lifestyle likes to spend hours of their Sunday afternoons in educational institutions.
But I do.
Somehow I had been skeptical of the gold museum. There are plenty of them throughout South America and I was just kind of meh about the whole ordeal. After being told twice about the amazingness of it, we thought we would give it a chance.
WOW. Is all I could say. They really didn’t skimp out on anything and put their gold output on 11. You even have to walk into a vault at one point to see some of the more valuable pieces.
The one aspect I found more fascinating than anything was the concept of body modification in pre-Colombian cultures in Latin America (I told you I was a dork – I’m even thinking of going back and doing a documentary thesis on the whole ordeal).
I remember the shock and dismay of Shaun’s mom when she realized that no, those weren’t mirrors in my ears, those were massive holes (and I’m missing them now due to the fact they popped out when I was snorkeling in Akumal, Mexico).
I had a shit eating grin on my face knowing that no, I wasn’t a freak, my ancestors (yay being Mexican!) had been doing this for thousands of years. Actually, me stretching my ears makes me more normal in the grand scheme of things if you think about it.
And like a girl at Tiffany’s I sat there staring at a few pairs of earrings green with envy.
And now for some random things and other.. stuff.
I loved the Gold Museum! I walked through with such lust for everything in there haha.
I have never seen so much gold in my life! And that’s so cool that they had gold ear expanders back then.
@Andi: I know! Everything was so beautiful!
@Audrey: Just being there is unbelievable with how much they keep on hand. Millions and millions of dollars worth of gold are just sitting there.
These photos are beautiful! And I wish I could be all “grown-up” like you–seriously, unless it’s a photography exhibit or something quite quirky, I just can’t get jazzed by museums, and I wish with all my heart that I could.
See, this is one I missed…
Pretty!!!
Are they missing two of their ear expanders now? 🙂
Oh man we are the opposite, I didn’t like the Gold museum, in fact the only one I liked in Bogota was the Botero.
@C&C: Thanks! The gold kinda makes itself beautiful all on it’s own. 😛 I don’t blame you for not liking museums. If I wasn’t a history nerd, I can imagine it being boring as all hell.
@Federico: Damn shame!
@D: Isn’t it? I want a pair of everything.
@Sabastian: Maybe…
@Ayngelina: We went to go and see the Botero museum but it happened to be closed the day we tried to get in. 🙁 (Which led us to the gold museum)
Love it that you’re a museum person. I am too, kinda – but in short bursts – I like having an agenda, especially for big ones.I’d much rather spend an hour in one room at some place like the Louvre than try to see everything. Small museums are such a mixed bag and unless it’s on a topic I’m interested in, or comes highly recommended, I usually skip. Sounds like you hit on a good one with this one!
@Margo: I think it would take me days to get through the Lourve – especially because I like to sit on some of the paintings and think. Me and my friend almost got shut into a Renaissance Masters exhibit in Houston for taking too long.
I have to admit I hated the gold museum in Bogota. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that it was filled with people who were looking for something to do to get out of the rain.
@Stephanie: Yeah, I think that would have ruined it for me too. We were following some people who were so excited they were taking pictures of themselves in front of some of the displays. 😀
I was a tad skeptical wondering how good could it be… but it was really well done, and truly a must visit in downtown Bogota. Thanks for the memories.
stay adventurous, Craig