Blogs from Villa de Leyva, Colombia, South America - page 2

Villa de Leyva, bless this little mountain town. What should typically take only four hours from the big city took me 6 unfortunately, due to road works however the Colombian buses are extremely comfortable so it wasn't all that bad, that and the fact that I am used to 20 hour stints on buses nowadays so 6 hours is nothing!! Back to the cute little town; I wish I could have stayed in for longer. Villa de Leyva is considered one of the finest colonial villages of Colombia and was declared a National Monument many hundreds of years ago to preserve its architecture and it has certainly done this. Gorgeous architecture adorns every street, cobblestone streets stretch on forever throughout this beautiful tourist attraction. Not the easiest for walking on but it definitely adds to the ... read more

Hallo zusammen Nach Bogota bin ich nach Villa de Leyva gegangen. Villa de Leyva ist eine kleine Kolonialstadt auf 2140m. Wirklich noch herzig, inmitten von Bergen. Alles ist schoen gruen, man kann ausreiten, trekken, zu den Wasserfaellen gehen..... einfach ein Ort zum entspannen oder ein bischen Sport machen. Dort habe ich einen 1 Tagestrek gemacht zum Santuario de Iguaque, zum geheimen See (the secret lake:-). Der Trek war zwar anstrengend, da der Weg recht schwierig war. Wir liefen auf Steinen und in Matsch. Es war recht rutschig, ebenfalls war das letzte Stueck recht steil, man musste fast klettern! Doch die Landschaft ist wirklich schoen und wenn der Nebel nicht gewesen waere, dann haetten wir eine super Sicht gehabt! Oben auf 3600m war es recht kuel und windig, zum Glueck hat der Wind den Nebel fuer kurze ... read more

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Hi all I had to look back to see what it was that I last wrote about - and it was only Saturday that I wrote it! Guess that the laid back VdL vibe is working its magic on me. Saturday night was the main night of the astronomy thing in the main town square here. The place was packed. I tried to get some photos, but I hadn't bought my tripod out and everything looked a little shaky! There was a point where there were hundreds of people in the square, each with a telescope of some description. And then they turned off the lights on the square and there was this huge collective "wowww" resounding around the plaza. Having stuffed myself for lunch, I wasn't really up for dinner, so I went to a ... read more

So a crazy dash in airplanes, taxis, buses, and what not across the country in just one day. Running early from Manizles, to Bogota, all the way north to the infamous colonial town of Villa de Leyva. I arrived just after dark around 7pm. Villa de Leyva was certainly the picture of romance, and since I was all alone, it made me feel very lonely- something I had not felt in a while. I walked the streets entering all the posadas trying to encounter something I could afford. Everything was terribly expensive, but I had no doubts and all the confidence in my Colombia. Sure enough I encountered a cheap empty, cute hostel around a pleasant corner. The young owners, Alex and Liliana were incredibly warm and hospitable. I dropped my stuff and marched off ... read more