Exploring Pereira

Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017--Pereira, Colombia

Downtown Pereira is a busy place.  It goes for blocks, and it is crowded with people.  Unfortunately, there isn't much of interest for tourists.  But I managed to see a few highlights:

1.  The Cathedral is especially interesting because the earthquake that destroyed most of Armenia also affected this city.  Here, the cathedral remained standing, but lots of the plaster work cracked and fell.  Underneath, they found the the ceiling was built from thousands of pieces of wood.  They left it exposed, and it is beautiful to see how they pieced the wood together to create the arches and the dome.

2.  Bolivar Plaza is a nice, open square with big trees around the center.  But the most interesting aspect is that the sculpture of Bolivar is different from all others.  Instead of being of classical design with him standing there, it shoes him forging forward on a horse and in the nude.  It was quite controversial when installed, but with every town having a statue of Bolivar, it is nice to see something different.

3.  There are two other pleasant plazas downtown--Lago Uribe Uribe on the west end and Parque la Libertad on the east end. 

This has been the least interesting area of Colombia I have visited.  Only the countryside is nice.  The only reason to come here is if someone wants to stay in a finca--a private home on a coffee plantation--and it is better to have a car if doing that.