Villa de Leyva: Day 2

Villa de Leyva is such a cute little village. Mildly annoying, was that we arrived for our first full day on a Saturday the same as all the posh Colombian tourists from Bogotá.

Unknowingly, the kite festival was on today because it was Sunday. It was so fun to see the variety of beautiful kites and the mix of people flying them 🪁. They flew kites all day, even into the night when the kites then lit up with pretty colors.

To start our day we had a nice visit at the Casa Museo Antonio Nariño. Neither of us had ever heard of this guy, but he did a lot to champion human rights for Colombians. He was sent to prison on 4 separate occasions, once even for translating human rights for the general population to read. He was also a prisoner of war at one point. He was allowed to convalesc in Villa de Leyva in his final days due to illness where he died a year or so later. My heart broke for the poor man, he lived a hard life trying to help others.

After our museum visit Allan wanted to rent some bikes to get to some of the farther away locations quicker and see more. In theory, great idea. I, however, was so out of shape I couldn't bicycle up the hills very well... will need to do better before Peru!

We compared a couple of shops, but nobody seemed interested in haggling: there was an hourly price, a half-day price and a full-day price.

Our first stop was Pozos Azules. Something was clearly lost in translation during our discussion with the guy at the bike shop. He told us there was a view point where you could see the pools without having to pay. He even showed us a picture of an (alleged) tourist posing on their bike with the beautiful blue pools in the background. Despite cycling up and down the road outside the entrance, we couldn’t find the viewpoint. To be honest, I don’t think it exists, or at least no longer exists.

A short while later, we “accidentally” ended up inside. When I say accidentally, Allan took us far enough away from the official entrance not to be seen, where we manoeuvred our bikes under a broken fence in a neighbouring field then cut back through towards what looked like a path going towards the pools.

The pools were nice and they were very blue, but I think lack of rain had really impacted the size of them. After cycling around for 15 minutes or so, a wee guy came chasing us on a scooter. He told us we needed to get out (I’m not actually sure you’re allowed in with bikes even if you pay). However, we weren’t sure if his hand gestures (rubbing his fingers and thumb and slapping his wrist) meant we needed to pay and get wristbands or whether we’d get arrested and have to pay a bribe!

Anyway, we decided it was best to leave and headed out the same we came in. The hill was ridiculously steep so we pushed the bikes. As I mentioned, I wasn’t fit, while Allan’s bike seemed to have mechanical issues. The wee guy on the scooter directed us up the hill then signalled to head over to the right to pay.

Once we got to the top, I thought we’d head over to the right to pay. However, Allan had other plans. He insisted that we leave the same way we came in then pedal as fast as we could to the next place! I really wasn’t sure about Allan’s plan, but I decided to go with it. With the issues with Allan’s bike and me not pedalling particular fast, we weren’t exactly executing a high-speed getaway! Fortunately, we made it to the next stop without being chased.

Our next stop was the Museo El Fósil, which houses the world’s most complete kronosaurus fossil. It was a pretty impressive fossil. The museum was built around the fossil to keep it as intact and preserved as possible. There were also some smaller fossils in the museum, but the kronosaurus was definitely the main event, and something else for Allan to add to his list!

Across the street is the Centro de Investigaciones Paleontológicas. We had a guided tour in this small museum, which holds tons of fossils of varying sizes. The young tour guide was nervous with her English, but she did great! I think it might have been the first tour she’d ever given in English. We learned loads about the fossils and lives of the different creatures as well as their discovery. The museum seems relatively new and I look forward to seeing if they find anything else.

They had some kronosaurus fossils there as well as diplodocus and many others, but the main event (and another for Allan's list) was the world’s oldest and most complete Tortuga Marina fossil. It was basically a giant turtle. They also had a fossil of a turtle that contained eggs because the mother kept the eggs hidden under her shell.

On our way back to the village we made a couple more stops along a very bumpy road. We missed the closing time for Sol Muisca, so we couldn't go in, but we did see some of the standing stones from outside the fence (the security guard didn't seem to understand Allan trying to bribe her for entry 🙈).

And finally, Casa Terracotta, the world's largest ceramic building. Since it was quite expensive, Allan could get student prices , it was after 17:00 and we wanted to go to mass at 18:00, we agreed that Allan would head in on his own, while I would begin to cycle back.

Allan later shared his pictures and stories from the eccentric guide. It was pretty crazy how the architect built the structure out of clay! Not only was it so big, but was also intricate and thoughtfully laid out. Apparently, the architect and his family had to give up living there because people kept going to have a look at the house and they had no privacy. The story goes that the straw that broke the camel’s back was when the architect was showering and turned round to find two strange male tourists (probably Germans) watching him! Fortunately, he is a successful architect with a nice house in Bogotá and making plenty of money from tourists visiting Casa Terracotta.

While Allan was at the casa, I headed back to town on my own. I manage to get back, pay the bike guy, shower and walk to Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Carmen just in time for mass starting at 18:00. Allan also managed to join for the start of mass, just a little bit on the dirty side.

The church was tall with high ceilings and very simply laid out inside. The mass was in Spanish and they deviated from the normal pattern, so I found it hard to follow.

After the mass, we went to Casa Museo Luiz Alberto Acuña. Inside was a collection of interesting, strange, beautiful artwork influenced by Rembrandt and Picasso. Acuña also made sculptures and painted on walls and textiles; a very versatile artist.

We ended our night with a short visit to Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Rosario, which has stunning stations of the cross and statues in the side chapels.

We went to Donde Osorio for dinner and our first patacone (almost like a plantain pancake with savory toppings like salsa and cheese). That was delicious. I definitely need more of those in my life.

Before we retired for the day, we agreed we’d earned a beer from all the cycling, so we stopped at the local BBC. We had a hoppy one a mandarin IPA for contrast and balance. We also learned what IBU stands for… international bitterness units.

Allan’s deal of the day: 2x patacone combo meals (main courses, plus sides and drinks) at Donde Osorio for 33,000 cop (~£6).

Posada La Rioja
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