Bogotá day 4 to Villa de Leyva day 1

We arrived early back to Bogotá from San Jose del Guaviare (which was especially surprising as we got the bus an hour after we originally planned). Hostel R10 was great. We were able to head back there and get showered and plan how to spend our last day-ish in Bogota. Allan said this is how good hostels are: letting you use facilities long after you’ve check-out.

We booked on to the Beyond Colombia walking tour, to see any last bits of the area we were staying and learn anything more about Bogotá. Our tour guide was very nice and we learned a little bit more about the political history between Simón Bolívar and his friend and fellow commander, Santander.

We also got to hear more about Colombia's emerald trade. We went to a small plaza and there were some old men with a variety of emeralds in their pockets! Some had jewelry, but majority just had small diamonds in handkerchiefs for people to buy. It was so strange!

We also got to try chicha on the tour, which is an indigenous recipe using fermented maize and fruits. The smell wasn't great (like rotting fruit and beer), but it tasted great! We had to leave the tour early to get some food before our bus.

Origen Bistro for lunch was very tasty. It was maybe a bit more pricey than we'd spent in food previously (and definitely outside our budget), but after two night buses, it was a nice treat. My chicken with cheese and plum was delicious and came with a lovely fresh salad. Allan’s burger was pretty big too! We had to rush away from lunch to catch our bus. Due to it being Saturday, the traffic in Bogota was horrendous! We were definitely stressing, AGAIN, for the bus to Villa de Leyva. By the skin of our teeth, we made it again though!

The journey to Villa de Leyva was pretty and we arrived in the evening. Our hostel was a short walk from the bus stop through the plaza. We dumped our stuff in the hostel, and headed out for some food. The little taquenos place nearby was cheap and the ladies were lovely. It was like taquitos, but with croissant dough!

We had a walk through the plaza before bed. It was jumping! There was music being played from some little stores blasting out into the square where people were sitting on the steps drinking and being merry. It was nice to see such a community feel to a public space and nobody acting like hooligans! Tomorrow we explore this quaint colonial village.

Allan’s deal of the day: 28,000 cop (~£5) for a 20-odd tequenos at Oh! Tequenos.

Hostal R10 (Bogotá)
9/10
Facilities: 😀
Comfort: 😀
Location: 😀
Cleanliness: 😀
Value for money: 😀
Staff: 😀

Summary: Our first hostel in South America: R10 set a high standard

Good: Our first hostel in South America. In summary: what a good hostel should be like. First, we never felt unsafe. Staff were great. They allowed us to store luggage (in a room behind/near reception) for free while we went on an overnight trip to San Jose del Guaviare. There’s also a bathroom near reception, which staff allowed us to use for free after said trip - the shower was a luxury after back-to-back night buses with a day of hiking in between! Private room with bathroom was comfortable with plenty of space for us to rearrange our bags for the above trip. Great location in La Candelaria. I’d recommend the wee arepa guy on the corner outside the hostel - probably the best taste v. value street food I had in Colombia (and I eat a lot of street food). Decent breakfast: coffee, fruit juice, bowl of fruit, eggs and bread. An added bonus was no fees for card payments (we had hostels attempting to charge up to 10% fees for card payments in other parts of Colombia).

Bad: N/a

Posada La Rioja (Villa de Leyva)
7/10
Facilities: 🙂
Comfort: 🙂
Location: 😀
Cleanliness: 😀
Value for money: 😀
Staff: 🙂

Summary: Great location, good value but lack of transparency over cat (I’m allergic), hot water (had to request it) and card fees (5%)

Good: Great location, a couple of blocks north-west of the main plaza. I’d recommend OH! Tequeños and Donde Osorio for tasty, good value food between the hostel and the plaza. Breakfast was decent.

Bad: Cat. I’m allergic to cats and didn’t see any mention of it in the property description or photos. Hot water. We had to request hot water each time we wanted to shower. I appreciate there are water issues in South America, but the first time I was told it might be a problem with in the street when it appeared that a switch only needed to be flicked on. This was supported by hot water being available shortly after requesting it the next day, i.e., at the flick of a switch. Had the property mentioned we’d need to request hot water when we wanted to shower, and the water would be hot shortly after being switched on, I’d have no issue. It’s a small family-run hostel. However, it’s the lack of transparency that’s led me to including this as a negative. 5% card fee. 5% is an excessive card fee given by the actual fees for credit card payments are no more than 3% in Colombia (we weren’t charged a fee at our hostel in Bogotá).Read more