After the excitement of the past few days we decided to take it easy this morning. At lunchtime we wandered over to a nearby house that was formerly the home of Rafael Wenceslao Núñez Moledo, President of Colombia in the late 19th Century, and author of the Colombian national anthem.

The house is now a museum devoted to Núñez.

A fair number of the signs include an English translation, which for once seems to have been proofread by a native English speaker. If you want to learn all about 19th century Colombian politics, this is the place. I found it most interesting to see how the upper classes dealt with the hot and humid Colombian climate before the days of air conditioning.

Verandas, and louvered shutters for every door and window. The octagonal structure on the left is the indoor/outdoor dining room.

By selectively opening the shutters you could get maximum ventilation while blocking the strong afternoon winds if necessary. I pity the poor cook working downstairs in the kitchen, though. I’m pretty sure she would want to serve nothing but ensalada and ceviche.

There was a woodpecker in the drawing room.

I tried to tell him, “Señor Carpintero, that is not any wood you are about to hammer, that is an important historical edifice,” but he did not listen. Woodpeckers care not for 19th century Colombian politics.

We returned to the city walls to visit a row of tourist shops but Paula declared it was too hot to buy things. Even the roaming water sellers seemed lethargic and only one or two people tried to sell me a new hat. So, back to the pool, and dinner out at a Colombian/Lebanese fusion restaurant. Yum.

Chocolate Lava Cake is part of every cuisine.