Villa De Leyva

Our bus ride took us through the industrial town of Tunja, where we caught a tiny van at the bus station for the half hour trip to the small colonial village of Villa De Leyva. It was such a relief after the chaos of Bogotá to step into the perfectly preserved cobblestone streets lined with white stucco buildings that were all hundreds of years old. The need to constantly watch our backs and keep a hand on our wallets quickly evaporated as we walked through the town to the main plaza, one of the most beautiful in Colombia. In the nighttime air with yellow lights illuminating all of the buildings, it felt like we had descended back in time.

The center square features an amazing cathedral and a cool fountain in the middle. It is expansive. All of the streets and the plaza in Villa De Leyva are built from big, uneven round stones, so driving in town is a real headache, with a maximum speed of around 7MPH. This is a benefit though, because there are so few cars in the streets, further adding to the vibe of genuine antiquity.

After exploring for a bit and then getting puzzled by the ATM (the only one in town), we got a cab ride to our hostel, Colombian Highlands, which was on a tiny dirt road up the hill a bit from town. Surrounded by small farms with roosters, pigs, cows, and the ever present homeless dogs, the hostel suited us perfectly - a little oasis of Andean paradise, isolated and quiet. The rooms were beautiful and only $10 per night per person for a private room with a bathroom. In the outdoor kitchen attached to the patio with hammocks and tables, we made some spaghetti which we had bought while we were town. It was the second worst spaghetti I've ever eaten. The sauce tasted more like BBQ sauce than marinara, and the pasta was so starchy it was basically mush. But we were pretty hungry so we ate it anyway.

We spent the rest of our time in Villa De Leyva making friends with the other people staying there, wandering the streets of the town day and night, and exploring the hills around our hostel.

A few favorite moments

- One night we hiked with flashlights up the dirt road by our hostel, which eventually turned into a small trail. We followed it up for a bit and came to an awesome waterfall, which was a bit hard to see in the dark, but impressive nonetheless. Then we sat on the rocks and watched a magical show of lightning and fireflies. It reminded me of the night scene in the Nottingham forest from the Disney cartoon "Robin Hood"

- We took an afternoon hike up the hill behind our hostel, following a trail that went through a plethora of different terrain - rock and gravel hills, pine forests, thick brush, and highland grasses. The trail was interlaced by a stream that was carved into the rocks walls along the way, forming what looked like natural waterslides. A fork took us over to an incredible waterfall, and then the main trail went up to the top of the mountain, where we could see amazing views of the town below. We returned just as the sun was setting. It was perfect.

- Another hike went up a trail out of town and into the hills where there is a really cool statue of Jesus looking over the city. The views were incredible there as well. I had read on the internet that there was a small box hidden in the rocks behind the statue. It is full of messages from others who have found it, and if you can find it you can add your own. We looked for around 15 minutes, overturning all the rocks we could manage, but to no avail. Maybe next time, hehe.

- We went out with a group of people from the hostel to hang out in town one night, which was a lot of fun. Most young locals were just hanging out in the plaza, so we joined them, and had some fun conversations with the ones that spoke English. Colombians are such nice people.

- A few days before we left, we made friends with a brother and sister from Argentina, Manuel and Cecilia. They are super nice and fun. We decided to travel together with them to San Gil, and a few other towns. So far they are the best South American friends we've made while traveling here. It definitely makes it easier traveling with Spanish speakers too.

View Photos From Villa De Leyva