Villa de Leyva - Typical Colombian Town

After the beauty of Barichara, I decided to change my plans a bit and instead of rushing through Bogota, Salento and Medellin, I decided to do a bit of a longer stop in Villa de Leyva, which is a beautiful colonial town in central Colombia.

I also felt a bit tired and exhausted, so a few more days to recharge a little seem like the right thing to do. And this is what l did the first few days. Relaxing by the pool, strolling through town, catching up on some Spanish and not doing a whole lot.

What Villa de Leyva is known for is its huge square (Plaza Principal), which in fact is the biggest in all of Colombia. Given its location in the hills, it's a perfect place for kiting and in the evening the best thing to do is just sit on the square and watch local families flying their kites in the sky.

But, after a few days, I craved some action. Thus, I booked an ATV Tour - something I have never really driven in my life. While it was just on a dedicated dirt track, it was lots of fun and something I will definitely do again soon.

I also opted for a little day tour to Ráquira, which is, hands down, the most colourful town I have seen in my entire life. Almost every building in this small town is painted in various colours or with various motives. It also helps that it is Colombia's pottery capital. I strolled through the town a little bit in awe of how colourful it is.

That evening, back in Villa de Leyva, I passed by a bar that had chess boards available. So I sat down with the owner and played a game, before his more experienced friend took over. Unplanned experiences like this, i.e. drinking beer while playing chess with locals outside is exactly what makes travelling so fascinating, Plus, it is a perfect 'free' Spanish class, too.

On my last day, I opted for a short hike up to a viewpoint to check out the town from above. It was a rather steep hike, but I had two dogs with me as companions, which made it less strenuous. Up on top, I did a little photo session and just simply spent some time up there to soak up the great views.

With that, my time in Villa de Leyva came to an end. Taking it slow here allowed me to take a breath. Even after my time here, I stil felt a bit exhausted. I wasn't sure if it was from travelling or something else, but something in me wasn't quite satisfied.

So off I went to my next destination, Medellin, which has its own kind of craziness.Read more