In August, my main squeeze, Zach, visited Colombia. As with my friend Veronica when she came to visit, I wanted Zach to see a Colombia outside of Bogotá too, so I checked my beloved Lonely Planet guide book and decided we should venture to Villa de Leyva and Iza.
Villa de Leyva is a small town about three hours away from Bogotá. We took a bus from Terminal Norte to Tunja, then another bus from Tunja to Villa de Leyva. Of course, I brought cheese croissants and bananas for the journey. I think the total price for the busses was 29.000 COP per person (22.000 to Tunja and 7.000 to Villa de Leyva). Like I said before, I don’t know if there’s any regularity with the bus system in Colombia- you simply ask the employees what bus to get on and they point you to it. It works out just fine.
I booked Zach and myself a room at Hostel Renacer, a beautiful place surrounded by gorgeous views, dogs, and baby chickens. If you want to stay near the main part of the city, though, I’d skip this hostel. It was about a 10 - 15 minute walk to the square each day, something we didn’t mind doing (legs of steel), but I could see it getting tedious.
We spent two days in Villa de Leyva walking the streets, checking out a museum or two, drinking beer on the main square, and watching the kite flyers. The city holds a kite-flying festival every year, where locals and tourists gather to either view or participate in flying competitions. Villa de Leyva has the biggest plaza in all of Colombia, so it is perfect for the spectacle. There are events for both adults and children, and the festival lasts throughout a three day-weekend. Last year, the mayor’s office estimated that 50,000 people traveled to attend the festival. I can’t imagine so many people being in such a little town.
Zach and I were visiting the weekend prior to the festival. This was ideal for us because we’re not the biggest fans of crowds, but we were still able to watch the locals prepare for the event. While walking through the streets of Villa de Leyva, we felt like we had traveled back in time. The colonial style architecture and cobblestone streets were perfectly preserved. It also helped when we accidentally walked in on a movie set that was based in colonial times. Everyone was wearing the old, colonial attire and I wondered what year it was. The cobblestone streets were cute and charming, but surprisingly difficult to walk on. Both Zach and I tripped numerous times. Whenever I saw a local child running on them with ease, I felt like applauding. So impressive.
One of my favorite memories of Villa de Leyva was when Zach and I were making our way back to our hostel for the night. We passed through the square and noticed the church was holding Mass. We aren’t religious people, but we decided to pop in for a couple of minutes. We sat at the back of this massive church, pews and pews away from the rest of the attendees and watched for about 30 seconds. We then became bored. 30 seconds- I know, not much stamina there. Right before we were about to get up, a black and white dog walked right up to us from out of nowhere, to which we happily started petting. It felt so bizarre. You hear people talk about “signs” and finding the meaning in things, and that random doggo seemed like it would hold some sort of significance. I’m not sure what it was, though, I’m just happy it happened.
Villa de Leyva was slightly more touristy for my taste, but is still worth the visit. There are hikes, museums, wineries, and a whole lot of history to experience in this town. Here are some words that come to mind when I think of Villa de Leyva: kites, cobblestone, beer, stars, brisk, dogs, poodle watching, translating, chicks, eggs, juice, coffee, quaint, hammock, colonial, church, music, chocolate, walking, morning, peace.
Next, we proceeded to Iza. I was especially excited for this city. My guide book described it as less touristy and famous for merengón— meringue with local fruits and flavors. I was bursting with excitement to get there. I don’t really understand why I’m so against tourists when I, myself, am a tourist, but it’s definitely a thing.
From Villa de Leyva, we took a bus back to Tunja, another from Tunja to Sogamoso, and then a taxi from Sogamoso to Iza. There are busses that go from Sogamoso to Iza, but they were not at the station when we arrived. The trip cost about 19.000 COP each: Tunja to Sogamoso was about 9.000 COP each and the taxi was 20.000 COP. The whole journey took around 3 hours.
We stayed in a rustic hostel called La Posada del Virrey. There were odd portraits on the walls and antique decorations filled the hallways. It was weird and I loved it. We dropped our things off and went for a walk.
Iza is one of those towns that feels out of this world. There are people using horse and carriages, though cars were also prominent. They have an intercom that reaches the entire town when Mass is in session. To be honest, it sounded like a horror movie and freaked Zach out, but in a good way. We walked through a park where a white dog we called Giorgio / Mantequilla (“mantequilla” is my favorite word in Spanish. It means “butter”) started following us. This dog walked with us during our time in Iza and sometimes his friends joined too. At one point we had four dogs walking with us. It felt like we were a part of a true wolf pack. Amazing.
That first walk we took was probably my favorite. We saw views that made me want to cry because they were so beautiful. Baby lambs that came out of their enclosed area to say hello, and we made our way to the top of a cemetery for a morbid yet absolutely beautiful view of the town.
There aren’t too many activities in Iza, so we spent most of our time walking. This isn’t a bad thing- we love to walk. Around dinner time, we found a restaurant that made us a vegetarian meal. That’s another wonderful thing about traveling to the small towns of Colombia- if you tell the restaurant employees that you are a vegetarian, they accommodate the menu for you. In Villa de Leyva they even made some mushrooms just for Zach and I. They were delicious. In this restaurant, we ran into a Dutch couple that was also staying in our hostel in Villa de Leyva the day before. How wild? I think the four of us were the only tourists in Iza that night.
After dinner, Zach and I bought some merengón and called it a night. That merengón lived up to the hype. It was sosososo delicious and I’m tempted to go back to Iza just to eat it again- and to see Giorgio / Mantequilla of course.
One day we left our hostel to find Giorgio / Mantequilla waiting for us.
The next day we had plans to go to Lago Tota, the biggest lake in Colombia. We asked around and found the road the bus takes to the lake. I’ve mentioned in a previous blog that there are bus stops in these towns, but they don’t really matter. This was the case for us getting to Lago Tota. We walked along this loooong road for about ten minutes until the bus arrived. At one point, I used my broken Spanish to ask an older farmer if we were on the right street, in which he responded in a dialect that I, in no way shape or form, could understand. I just said, “Gracias,” and went back to where Zach was walking. The old man kept talking, though, and was still going at it when we got on the bus. Bless his heart.
The bus ride to Lago Tota (the bus will take you to Playa Blanca), was as gorgeous as the rest of them. I honestly feel guilty for falling asleep sometimes on these trips because I miss some of the scenery. When we arrived at the lake, the weather was rainy and cold— hardly beach weather. We made our way down to Playa Blanca, looked at the endless lake for a few moments, and decided to warm up with some lunch.
I messed up on this journey. Zach and I had brought enough money with us for the trip, but I wrongfully paid for our hostel in Villa de Leyva with cash, when I should have used my credit card. As a result, we didn’t have too much money left and after lunch I kept thinking of the cost to get home over and over again and if we had enough for it. I even went through all the pockets in my luggage and clothes to see if there was change in them. I was scrambling and nervous. Luckily, Zach is a chill bean and didn’t seem worried at all. This helped.
The thing is, if I could pay for the bus back to Bogotá with my credit card, all would be well. If I couldn’t, things would be very, very tight. Too tight. We’d be about 4.000 COP short of the total price. Luckily, I was able to use my credit card to buy the tickets and, therefore, could breathe again. I don’t think I had been that nervous in a long time. I had to tell the bus driver from Playa Blanca back to Sogamoso that I couldn’t give him all the money in case we needed it for the ticket to Bogotá. I’m grateful that he was understanding. I was even thinking of ways for us to make the extra 4.000 COP in the bus station— the best option was to sing and have people put money in a hat or something. We’re all lucky it didn’t come to this.
On the bus back to Bogotá, I reflected on the past four days. How lucky Zach and I were to see different parts of this beautiful country. How lucky I was to spend it with someone I care so much about. Trips like these always makes me wonder: How did I get here? I’m still not sure.
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