Sunday & Monday: Taking advantage of the long weekend, we traveled for an overnight stay in one of Colombia’s most famous pueblos.
Villa de Leyva is one of Brian’s favorite towns in Colombia. The town is one of the oldest in Colombia and a step back in time to the Spanish colonial period. Known for its white-washed walled buildings and portons, Villa de Levya has changed very little since Spain ruled the countryside nearly 200 years ago.
Another benefit of Villa de Leyva is it is located only three hours from Bogota. The route takes you through Tunja in Boyacá and past El Puente de Boyacá, the site of one of Simon Bolivar’s most significant military victories en route to overthrow the Spaniards in Bogota.
Claudia’s uncle Alberto offered to take us on the overnight trip. We piled into his car around mid-morning Sunday. While Tio Alberto and Bisabuelo had basically a backpack for the overnight trip, we had a suitcase, pack & play, baby bag, camera, tripod, etc.
“All of this is for just one night,” I said. We’re getting used to being parents, a responsibility that requires we pack for an army even though it is really just for one child.
Puente de Boyacá translates to Bridge of Boyacá. There is a small white-washed bridge that crosses a small creek. Four soldiers dressed in period military uniforms stood guard on both sides of the bridge. A small crowd of people were touring the historic site.
The sky was overcast and within a few minutes of being there it began to rain. The good thing was the rain scattered the people, who were searching for cover. This allowed for me to snap a few quick photos without so many people in the photo.
Afterward, we hopped back into the car and continued our trip. In Tunja, a city nearly 500 years old, we stopped for lunch. Daniel did great during the car ride and even took a nap every now and then.
Once we arrived in Villa de Leyva, we checked into our hotel and quickly unpacked our bags so we could go to the town’s main plaza. Several guests were cyclists. There was a small bike race around the city that day. Cycling is a very popular hobby for many Colombians.
We walked around the main plaza of Villa de Leyva, which was full of tourists from Colombia and other countries. People were drinking and eating and after the sun set they were listening to storytellers weave fables on the cobblestone in front of the church steps.
We woke up around 8:30 a.m. Daniel woke up during the night a couple of times. He was completely disoriented, but I’m sure the fact there was no electricity and the room was pitch black; only my iphone broke the darkness.
We had a healthy breakfast and headed toward Raquira (pronounced Rack-e-da), a small town about an hour from Villa de Leyva and famous for manufacturing thousands of handcrafts sold throughout the country.
Where Villa de Leyva is white-washed walls and portons, Raquira is an explosion of colors. Buildings are painted bright reds, greens, pinks and blues. One building is even painted red, blue and yellow, the three colors of the Colombian flag. The main road that enters the city is bordered on both sides by locally-owned shops until the road arrives at the city’s main square and plaza.
The road is a swarm of activity. Shop owners stand at their doorways calling out to passersby, “Bienvenidos. Siguen.”
Claudia and I disappeared into many of the stores while Tio Alberto and Bisabuelo watched after Daniel. We believed it would be expensive to take Daniel into stores filled with fragile art crafts.
When buying in Raquira, never pay asking price. Claudia is an expert, as some may already know, at negotiation. She can hammer those poor people into giving her things for free. You almost feel bad for the vendors!
The stores were packed with hundreds of Portons (they are miniature replicas of the famous balconies from Villa de Leyva and often have flowers, machetes, dogs or cats, etc. Also, we have several in our kitchen if you’ve been to our house before), hand-made wrist bands, ceramics, t-shirts, typical Colombian hats, toys, hammocks, and a variety of sizes of chivas (brightly colored vehicles typical of Colombia)
We racked up in Raquira! We purchased a lot of things for friends, family and us. But despite the great deals, after three hours we were beginning to get a little hungry. We hadn’t even reached the town plaza because we were doing so much shopping.
After lunch we headed toward Chiquinquira to see one of the most famous churches in the country. Pope John Paul and Simon Bolivar, the liberator of Colombia and four other countries from Spain, have each paid visits to the Basilica for the Virgin of Chiquinquira.
The Basilica is located in front of a large plaza that features a statue and is a hub of the city’s activity. Inside a mass was in progress. Several locals were seated respectfully as the priest spoke. His voice echoed in the cavernous space.
Local and Catholic lore know the Basilica as being the source of numerous miracles, which was one of the reasons driving Pope John Paul’s visit, explained Claudia.
“The church is similar to those we saw while in Italy and Spain,” Claudia said. It was her first time to visit also.
The sun was setting behind one of the large, white-washed buildings in front of the Basilica which meant we needed to get back on the road. We were still a couple of hours from Bogota.
Road trips are great, but in Colombia you can’t take them for granted for numerous reasons. One of the main reasons is people drive crazy in this country. It’s common place for cars, buses and commercial 18-wheelers to pass on blind curves or pass multiple vehicles at a time. Each time they do so, they risk head-on-collisions, their lives and those of the people around them.
So we took advantage of the little daylight left of the day and headed home. About thirty miles from Bogota, Tio Alberto’s clutch gave out and he wasn’t able to go from second to third gear. We were in traffic with other people returning to Bogota from their weekend trips.
We stopped a few times and debated about being able to continue. We decided to keep the car in second gear and drive the last 20 miles as slow as necessary despite the blaring horns from frustrated drivers behind us. Fortunately, the remainder of the drive was on two lane roads and cars and trucks could pass us easily.
Once home, we unpacked and had dinner. Daniel, who had slept the entire way home from Chiquinquira, ate a quick dinner and went to bed. His parents were worn out too, but not sure if he would wake up during the night since he had slept so much already.
Only time would tell.
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