La Iglesia de Santa Barbara, Santa Fe de Antioquia
Santa Fe de Antioquia is the old Spanish colonial capital of the province of Antioquia (the province where Medellin is the current capital), a title it held for 200 years. It's a lovely colonial town in a hot and humid mountain valley about 2 hours from Medellin, and a favorite weekend visit for Medellin families looking for warm weather and a peaceful family time basking by the many swimming pools at the area resorts.
One of the main attractions is the bridge in the photo above, designed by an engineer who had worked as a laborer on the Brooklyn Bridge. He took his inspiration from the Brooklyn Bridge, using the same system of cables to support the structure. Today, the bridge is an historic landmark in Colombia. It has a main auto track, single lane, of crosswise wooden slats, much like the Royal Gorge bridge in Canon City, Colorado. On either side of the car track are pedestrian walkways which today are missing most of their wooden slats, so no walking on them. But, the government hopes to both restore this 100+ year old bridge and build a new one. The bridge crosses the Cauco River and provides the only means across this river for 50 miles.
Santa Fe de Antioquia is a charming town of whitewashed buildings with tile roofs and several pretty plazas and churches. But, surprisingly, it has virtually no tourist economy. You can see the town in an hour, from one end to the other. After that, there isn't much to do except relax beside the many swimming pools.
Our hotel was on an old plaza with a colonial church, closed until a funeral occupied the building, spilling out into the plaza, and lasting for over 2 hours. Then all the mourners (half the town, I'd guess) followed the casket and the dead person's family down the main street of the town in a large and sad procession, with a band playing in front.
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