This gold jaguar from 350 AD is featured on the souvenir posters from the gold museum.

Typical adornments of the chief interestingly displayed over the shadow of a human form. "When the chief covered himself in gold, he believed this to appropriate the creative powers of the sun, and embodied on earth the powers of his deity from the

A lot of photos from the Gold Museum, I'll admit, but this was a fascinating museum (and this from a "not so much of a museum" person!)

Another amazing aspect of this museum is that it cost less than two bucks to visit!

All the articles were suspended from the back wall with small metal rods, so they all appeared to be floating.

The intricate Muisca Raft, depicting the El Dorado ceremony whereby the chieftain sailed on a raft into the middle of the lake and threw emeralds and gold into the water as offering to the Gods. Believed to be made between 1200 and 1500 AD, found in a ca

The final exhibit is a circular, enclosed room simulating the El Dorado ceremony (for which Bogota's airport is named.) You enter the room behind closed doors in total darkness, to the sound of dripping water.

An El Dorado ceremony is where the main chieftain would make offerings of gold in a lake, so the room lights up with blue lighting to simulate being in the lake with pieces of gold swirling around.

Finally, the center of the circular room lights up, revealing layers of more gold pieces at "the bottom of the lake," including a massive Colombian emerald.

Museums make me hungry. ;-) A common sight on the streets of Colombia is "Broosters."

This little street in the historic center is lined with "Joyerias," or jewelry stores exclusively selling emeralds, for which Colombia is famous.

Another typical street scene in La Candelaria, the historic part of Bogota.