Villa de Leyva is considered one of the finest colonial villages of Colombia, and was declared a National Monument December 17, 1954 in order to preserve its architecture. I loved this little place! There were no tourists here at all! And we stayed in the cutest little hacienda that is on a hill overlooking the beautiful military barracks, which made it very safe for us to walk around (despite how I feel about the military - yes, they intimidate me here!). Overall, the village just had such a nice feel. It seemed small and tucked-away, but is apparently a pretty popular vacation spot among Colombians. Oh and the food that we ate here....to DIE for! I had the most INCREDIBLE bean soup! WOW! I seriously could retire to Colombia! It is my type of place for sure (despite sticking out like a sore thumb! yes, this is the place where i was "spotted"...cute, old Colombian lady thought I was a movie star! haha).
Scarlett was hilarious...every little shop we walked by on the way to dinner, we just HAD to stop and get traditional foods...by the time we reached dinner, I was already full!
Maracuya en leche....AMAZING! Seriously, the juice down there is incredible (of course cause it's freshly squeezed juice, but then put it in their sweet milk and you have the most amazing dessert!).
The next morning we woke up in our beautiful hacienda. We ate huevos pericos, which are scambled eggs with tomatoes and onions with some tea and hot chocolate, rolls, and freshly squeezed orange juice. We then met up with up with Raul, an older gentleman who retired from his computer technician job to become a tourist/horse guide. We took a horse ride (one that Scott said was "romantic" but i'd beg to differ!) that went first through the cobblestone streets of Villa de Leyva to the Pozos Azules, which are blue pools in the middle of the desert. We went swimming in the cool, bright, blue water. Scott was pretty excited to learn he could still do a back flip into the water. The owner of the pools - who usually charges $2 for the entrance and swimming - after talking to the ladies, decided to let us swim for free. He said that he has never had any problems living there except that he has made enemies of his neighbors because they were jealous of his land and one day fired their guns on his land. He said that he lived alone and was happy to talk to us...I'm not going to lie, I might have had a bit of an old-man crush on him! :)
We then climbed back on our horses to head to the next stop. Let me just give you a little background about our horses and the ride first though. Remember how Scott thought this horse adventure was "romantic"? Well he had a lovely,well-behaved horse! Makes all the difference in the world! Me, on the other hand, did not. When Raul was assigning us horses that morning, he asked who the most experiences rider of all of us was. Scott and Scarlett had never been. I have been riding quite a few times, but that hasn't been since my family had neighbors that had horses (so maybe a good 12+ years ago!). So seeing how I was the most "experienced", I got the black stallion named “God of the Wind.” Oh yes, he was God of the Wind!! A fiesty, jealous thing, that is for sure! Raul told me time and time again that I was very brave and a warrior for daring to jump on that horse (as if I knew any different at the time!). Well, my ride was fun from time to time, but a bit of a challenge with two other horses nearby! The jealousy and feistiness would overcome my dear stallion any time Caramelo, Scarlett’s horse, would try to pass...or even get close! Poor Scarlett got run off the path so many times that afternoon! At one point, as we were riding side-by-side, my horse began to veer into Scarlett's (despite my honest attempt to direct him elsewhere). All the sudden, Scarlett and I were very close to each other and without even thinking, Scarlett pushed me out of frustration! I had to grip hard to stay on my horse and we both busted up laughing! She had realized what she had done as I was yelling back, "Scarlett, pushing me off my horse isn't going to move my horse out of the way!!" It was pretty funny!
Our next stop was El Fossil, a museum built around a huge fossil of a dinosaur. After this, we then hopped back on the horse and went to an ancient indigenous phallic garden and observatory of the stars. The Spanish missionaries called it “Little Hell” because of the enormous sculptures of penises (yes, you heard me correct...large penile structures ALL over the place!). The indigenous thought that when there was no shadow from the sun that the sun had come down to fertilize the ground and it was time to plant.
Our last stop, before heading back was the mud house styled after Gaudi type architecture. The entire house is made from mud and then hardened by liting it on fire...including the beds!
We then went to lunch and had a lovely four-course meal for $3, after which we jumped on our bus and headed to San Gil (saving that for the next post!).
Pozos Azules
I have to say, this photo was one of the most awkward photos ever! I am not sure why, but Raul decided to do a photo shoot before we went swimming, so he told all of us what to do and then would take the picture - this was the outcome. Rather entertaining!
The official name is Parque Arqueológico de Monquirá, but everyone calls it El Infiernito. This Muisca site was an astronomical center—and, according to archaeologists, a bit more. They state the Muisca (1000-1550 A.D.) believed when the sun cast no shadow of observatory’s twin lines of 36 stones each, then it was busy fertilizing the earth. Planting would begin. At this time, too, the women would be fertile, and perform rituals amongst the forest of phallic statues, hugging and caressing them to ensure pregnancy.
Scarlett was hilarious...every little shop we walked by on the way to dinner, we just HAD to stop and get traditional foods...by the time we reached dinner, I was already full!
Maracuya en leche....AMAZING! Seriously, the juice down there is incredible (of course cause it's freshly squeezed juice, but then put it in their sweet milk and you have the most amazing dessert!).
The next morning we woke up in our beautiful hacienda. We ate huevos pericos, which are scambled eggs with tomatoes and onions with some tea and hot chocolate, rolls, and freshly squeezed orange juice. We then met up with up with Raul, an older gentleman who retired from his computer technician job to become a tourist/horse guide. We took a horse ride (one that Scott said was "romantic" but i'd beg to differ!) that went first through the cobblestone streets of Villa de Leyva to the Pozos Azules, which are blue pools in the middle of the desert. We went swimming in the cool, bright, blue water. Scott was pretty excited to learn he could still do a back flip into the water. The owner of the pools - who usually charges $2 for the entrance and swimming - after talking to the ladies, decided to let us swim for free. He said that he has never had any problems living there except that he has made enemies of his neighbors because they were jealous of his land and one day fired their guns on his land. He said that he lived alone and was happy to talk to us...I'm not going to lie, I might have had a bit of an old-man crush on him! :)
We then climbed back on our horses to head to the next stop. Let me just give you a little background about our horses and the ride first though. Remember how Scott thought this horse adventure was "romantic"? Well he had a lovely,well-behaved horse! Makes all the difference in the world! Me, on the other hand, did not. When Raul was assigning us horses that morning, he asked who the most experiences rider of all of us was. Scott and Scarlett had never been. I have been riding quite a few times, but that hasn't been since my family had neighbors that had horses (so maybe a good 12+ years ago!). So seeing how I was the most "experienced", I got the black stallion named “God of the Wind.” Oh yes, he was God of the Wind!! A fiesty, jealous thing, that is for sure! Raul told me time and time again that I was very brave and a warrior for daring to jump on that horse (as if I knew any different at the time!). Well, my ride was fun from time to time, but a bit of a challenge with two other horses nearby! The jealousy and feistiness would overcome my dear stallion any time Caramelo, Scarlett’s horse, would try to pass...or even get close! Poor Scarlett got run off the path so many times that afternoon! At one point, as we were riding side-by-side, my horse began to veer into Scarlett's (despite my honest attempt to direct him elsewhere). All the sudden, Scarlett and I were very close to each other and without even thinking, Scarlett pushed me out of frustration! I had to grip hard to stay on my horse and we both busted up laughing! She had realized what she had done as I was yelling back, "Scarlett, pushing me off my horse isn't going to move my horse out of the way!!" It was pretty funny!
Our next stop was El Fossil, a museum built around a huge fossil of a dinosaur. After this, we then hopped back on the horse and went to an ancient indigenous phallic garden and observatory of the stars. The Spanish missionaries called it “Little Hell” because of the enormous sculptures of penises (yes, you heard me correct...large penile structures ALL over the place!). The indigenous thought that when there was no shadow from the sun that the sun had come down to fertilize the ground and it was time to plant.
Our last stop, before heading back was the mud house styled after Gaudi type architecture. The entire house is made from mud and then hardened by liting it on fire...including the beds!
We then went to lunch and had a lovely four-course meal for $3, after which we jumped on our bus and headed to San Gil (saving that for the next post!).
Pozos Azules
I have to say, this photo was one of the most awkward photos ever! I am not sure why, but Raul decided to do a photo shoot before we went swimming, so he told all of us what to do and then would take the picture - this was the outcome. Rather entertaining!
The official name is Parque Arqueológico de Monquirá, but everyone calls it El Infiernito. This Muisca site was an astronomical center—and, according to archaeologists, a bit more. They state the Muisca (1000-1550 A.D.) believed when the sun cast no shadow of observatory’s twin lines of 36 stones each, then it was busy fertilizing the earth. Planting would begin. At this time, too, the women would be fertile, and perform rituals amongst the forest of phallic statues, hugging and caressing them to ensure pregnancy.
1 comment:
Columbia seems amazing- super jealous of your world travels.
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