Day 4- Villa de Leyva (12/7/25)

 

This is a place of great historical significance for Colombians. Once a military stronghold for the conquistadors, following the liberation from the Spanish, it became a centre for the New Granada; now known as Colombia. The town has several small parks that bear statues of some of the liberatadors. The main plaza is apparently the largest in South America, although Plaza Bolivar in Bogota seemed bigger. Maybe it’s a bit of a bragging rights thing they’ve got going?

My day began with what was described as an American breakfast. Eggs, 2 small croissants, fruit juice and coffee. I was asked how I like my eggs, by the young woman cooking the food in a tiny kitchen. She speaks no English, so I had to draw on my recent knowledge from my holiday in Fuerteventura, where I had noticed that scrambled eggs is called Huevos revuelto. So that is how I had them.

The coffee here is divine. It is strong but smooth. I had seen some travel vloggers on YouTube complaining about the coffee. But they are mostly Americans, so what do they know about anything? Side note- I have watched countless hours of videos of people travelling across Colombia. It is easy to think that these people are experts due to their confidence in telling you what is good and what is bad. However, I am a great believer in just going and finding out for yourself.

After breakfast, I went for a walk around the grounds of the hostel. They have set this place up beautifully. There is a small track behind the dining area that goes out into the woods. There is a small stream over which you walk across a crude wooden bridge. Beyond this there is a small area where you can sit and just enjoy the surroundings. This I did for about 20 minutes. It was so peaceful and calm; it was the most relaxed that I have felt for a very long time.
Behind this area is another small path up to a natural pool. The girl in reception had told me about this and had said that this is a bio pool (not sure what that meant at the time) but I subsequently found out that it is just made from the water that runs down from the mountains behind us. She said that it is cold, but very good for you. The water did not look that clear to me so I think that I will give it a miss.

I walked down into the town, which is about 1.2 kilometres downhill. There are dogs everywhere here. They are all clearly well looked after and belong to someone. They are also very friendly. Whilst I was eating breakfast, one of the had come in to be petted.

Walking along the road, people that I passed were greeting me. Even an old man on a moped.
There is a military building at the bottom of the road. Walking past the gate, a female soldier carrying a machine gun said cheerfully “buenos dias!”. I am not sure how you react to someone being pleasant whist holding a gun. It seemed like a weird paradox to me.

Entering the town, the roads became cobbled and somewhat difficult to walk on. Particularly when you are busy looking around. The town is a national monument. As such, all buildings (even new ones) must maintain the colonial style: terracotta roof tiles; wooden balconies, and whitewashed walls. It makes you feel like you have stepped back in time.

In the main square, there was a lot of activity. There is a festival for Santa Antonia, for whom the church, that dominates the northern end of the plaza, is dedicated.
They were setting up some fairground rides and numerous stalls. I shall return this evening to find out what is going on.

I headed up to the market square where the weekly market was well underway. Stalls were piled high with fruit and vegetables. Some stalls were cooking and selling a variety of different meats and sausages. In the middle of all this was a stall that a large canopy and had some plastic seats around it. In the middle, a woman and a young boy were selling cold beers. Men and women were sitting around on the seats drinking bottles of beer. This was at 10am!
Having walked up the hill to the market, with the sun now getting hotter, I felt duty bound to have a beer. So, with a cold bottle of Poker beer, I sat down and enjoyed the atmosphere, all for 56p.

I bought 2 peaches and 2 mangos and went back into the main part of the town. By now, the streets were getting busy, and more shops had opened. This is a popular tourist destination for both Colombians and foreigners alike. It has a range of restaurants, cafes and bars.
I was getting hot again, so I sat in a park and ate a peach whilst taking in the quiet, away from the busy streets. I’d had enough for the morning so I headed back up the hill to the Hostel, back to my sanctuary.

I got talking to a young couple in the Hostel. I recognised the English accent from a long way off. They are seasoned travellers but have only been in Colombia for a week. And they are from Bristol. It’s funny how you can travel 5000 miles and still meet people from your own part of the world.

I went back into the town this evening. There were people everywhere, the fiesta was in full swing. Many people were sitting on the steps of the church talking and drinking. There was music coming from every direction. Some people were dancing, some singing but everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.

The streets look very pretty all lit up at night. It really is a beautiful town.

Prior to going into town, I decided to change my plans a little. Instead of going to Tunja and then to Bogota to get my flight to Pereira, I am going straight to Bogota from Villa de Leyva. This means an extra night in this lovely hostel. The reason for the change was that the stress of getting to Bogotá from Tunja was getting to me. It seemed that the buses on Monday would make it a very close call to get to my flight. It also occurred to me that going to Tunja would be a bit of a waste as I would be spending so little time there. I am just waiting for the Redbus booking site to confirm my ticket.

It feels like it’s been another long day, even though I haven’t done very much. I shall sleep well tonight. Before turning in for the night, I sat outside and watched the fireflies hovering around in the garden. They always put a smile on my face.