Cajica, Sopo & Parque Jaime Duque

I was very fortunate to be invited by Carmenza (Camilla & Lina’s housekeeper) to visit her family in a small town just 24 km north of Bogota, called Cajica. To get there we took the TransMilenio, Bogota’s bus rapid transport system which is somewhat inadequate for the population here. It is basically 2-4 lanes in the middle of the main highway that serves buses which are either express or stop frequently.

Carmeza and her sister Mary took me to two nearby towns to see some  interesting sites.  One of the most unusual ones was the Jaime Duque Park where at times I had to pinch myself to remind me I was actually in Colombia.  Why? Because of some rather remarkable replicas of man made wonders of the world, built to their original scale.

Jaime Duque Grisales founded the park in 1983. He as a Colombian pilot, who began his career in 1944 with Avianca, after studying in USA. He later became Avianca’s first Colombian chief pilot, replacing German and American predecessors. He clocked over 11 000 flying hours in a time when navigation was still very basic.

Grisales founded the theme park with the aim of providing a place to enrich the education of Colombian youth in world history, geography and natural history. It covers 120 acres and has a zoo (which I avoided), a monorail that circumnavigates the whole park, sculptures of famous Colombians, the destroyer Córdoba that fought in World War II, donated by the Navy, various amusement rides, children’s adventure parks and replicas of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Inside the Taj Mahal are a series of large murals (7 metres high and 165 metres long) depicting the history of Colombia’s battles for independence. The park also has an amazing museum of the history of mankind, explaining evolution with large models.  (This rather surprised me as Colombians are very Catholic.) There is a very long alley of display windows with life size models depicting  mankind in different eras and cultures. (Click bottom right hand corner to view in full screen)

The park also hosts concerts from notable performers. Profits from the park go to various organisations supporting children and the elderly, one of Grisales’ aims.

Here are some photos of Carmenza’s family and our time in Cajica and visiting Sopo.  (Click right hand corner)