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Published: June 22nd 2012
Founded in 1572 and preserved in it entirety, Villa de Leyva was declared a national monument in 1954. Angelica's parents - Alvaro & Gloria - own a little holiday house in the old part of the town which they offered us for a couple of days. Three hours drive from Bogota, we hired a driver - Ricardo - to take us there. The house was a charming little Colombian hacienda and a great place from where to do some exploring of the historic town. The hacienda was in a walled area with a locked door to the street; there were six residences in total, set in a nice garden and with a pet white rabbit hopping around the place.
On the drive to get there, about 12 kms from Tunja, we called in to check out a memorial to Simon Bolivar who, in 1819, liberated Colombia from the Spanish, the country having been in Spanish hands since around 1538. So he was a national hero. Whilst there I climbed up to the memorial, which was atop a hill, while Kev & Ricardo stayed down at the bottom watching a military band and some sort of changing of the guard. We
also stopped at Tunja a short while later to check out the town square or 'Plaza Mayor' before tackling the road through the mountains. The last part of the journey to Villa de Leyva was along a very windy road.
Nestled in a valley surrounded by mountains, Villa de Leyva is 2144 metres above sea. level; not quite as high as Bogota at over 2600 metres. At various parts along the road, all the way from Bogota to Villa de Leyva soldiers were standing guard. And once we'd arrived at our destination there were police stationed throughout the town.
The downside of such a quant colonial town was that the road was the original one; that is boulders set in the dirt; very uncomfortable to walk on! But we managed; gives you some understanding of just what our forebears had to put up with! Villa de Leyva has numerous restaurants, cafes, pubs and craft shops. Plus museums - one we visited was the Antonio Narino Museum; he was celebrated for his promotion of human rights in Colombia and as a compatriot of Simon Boliver. All this we learnt from the only English speaking guide at the museum who
confessed he was very nervous speaking to us in English; he needn't have worried, he has excellent language skills. As with everywhere else the museum had its share of extremely young policemen keeping watch, no females amongst them.
On our last night there we ate with a fellow tourist from Denmark we'd met the day before. Angelica had recommended a couple of restaurants to try but unfortunately both were closed, nevertheless with lots of eateries to choose from finding an alternative was not hard. Had we had more time in Villa de Leyva it would have been nice to explore more of the surrounding countryside where, we were told, many people from all over the world retire to. A three hour drive back to Bogota, a couple of hours at Alvaro & Gloria's penthouse then it was off to a crowded and chaotic Bogota domestic airport for the 90 minute flight to Santa Marta.
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Charlotte
non-member comment
Villa de Leyva
Thank you Michelle for the up-date of your travels. Villa de Leyva looks lovely a little like the farm of Hacienda Riquelme.