Living La Vida Loca

Timing is everything – especially when it comes to international travel.  It turned out that Ruthie and Simon were going to attend a wedding of a Miami couple in Bogota not long after our trip to Maine and our stop in Philadelphia for participation in a conference.  Luck would have it that we’d had a lovely woman (an American retired from the foreign service) and some of her family members stay at our home last year – and the woman happened to be from a village outside of Bogota (Villa de Leyva).  Enter Home Exchange!  This may be a bit hard to follow, but Andrew and I figured that if we could go to Colombia around the same time Ruthie would be there….and stay at the home of the woman who lived outside Bogota, we could coordinate some travel together.  We did it!  Ruthie and Simon, along with many friends of theirs from Miami, spent a weekend partying in Bogota, then Ruthie and her dear buddy, Alex, joined us in Villa De Leyva.  Simon had to get back to his medical school studies but we hope to catch up with him in December.

Bogota is a huge metropolitan city with the absolute worst traffic we have ever seen.  Yes, worse than LA…yes, worse than New York…yes, worse than London.  I cannot speak to Mexico City (which I hear is pretty terrible in this regard), but Bogota has simply outgrown its transportation infrastructure to the extent that there is gridlock constantly getting through the city, rapid transit doesn’t exist, drivers are about as aggressive as I have ever seen (maybe Guadalajara comes close), and anything but the main highways are laced with potholes, dirt roads, and speed bumps you can’t see coming.  This is absolutely the only thing I can negatively comment on about Bogota as it is really the only thing Andrew and I experienced.  Ruthie and friends had an amazing time at the wedding, found the people, the food, and the night life terrific – so perhaps it is unfair for me to cast aspersions on the city.  As I travel more and more, I realize that I enjoy less crowded cities and villages to the huge metropolitan centers – no matter what continent they are on.  So take my assessment with a grain of salt.  Passing through Bogota it was apparent that as with those in many developing countries, big cities bring into sharp contrast the “haves and have nots”.  There are many very modern buildings and newer neighborhoods of condos, fresh retail centers, and clean industry, juxtaposed with favelas (basically slums) that climb up many of the outlying hillsides and lots of unkempt areas in between.  However, Bogota is set into a large valley and the panorama of verdant green rolling hills and some very breathtaking mountains is pretty spectacular to fly in and out of. 

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While we flew into Bogota from San Diego, our first destination was really Villa de Leyva, about a 2 -4 hour drive from the city depending on the time of day you try to make the drive.  We arrived in the evening, picked up by a sweet (now new friend) Dutch transplant named August.  He lives in Villa de Leyva, not far from our host, and they are good friends. August was a true lifesaver and delight to be around through our entire stay, with many stories of his travels to share, and availability to get us around and show us sites we might not have easily gotten to left to our own devices.  The drive to the village that night did take nearly four hours with a stop for groceries…and the ride back to the airport at the end of our trip was a bit shorter but chock full of traffic detours and stop-and-go fun.  It was the time in between that really was wonderful.

The exchange home we stayed in was incredible!  Our now-friend, Jeannie, built Villa de Los Suenos (Home of Dreams) in the outskirts of Villa de Leyva, and we had the opportunity to stay in the “casita” (small house) next to her main house on the property.

Jeannie – with the help of local artisans and consultation with interior designers – created a magnificent compound that showcases artwork she has collected from her world travels in the foreign service and reflects her love of nature, her hobbies (it has a tennis court), and her openness for hosting visitors. We thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Jeannie and some of her local friends and really appreciated her “part of the family” treatment. 

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Villa de Leyva is the third most visited tourist spot in all of Colombia. It is a village that has maintained a very Spanish colonial look and feel – white structures, terra cotta rooves, intricate window trimmings and guard rails, and magnificent, locally crafted wooden gates and doors.  The center of the village is a matrix of cobblestone streets – at times struggling with a heavy load of truck, car, motorbike and foot traffic.  The weekend we were there the streets were pretty compacted during the weekly Saturday mercado (market), and in the last afternoon and evening as tour buses, guests from other Columbian cities, and local people came out to enjoy the plethora of wonderful handicraft stores, cafes, bakeries, and a wide variety of restaurants. But during the weekdays, the village was quiet and really pleasant to stroll around.

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The first morning before Ruthie and Alex arrived, Andrew and I walked into town from Jeannie’s – about 2 miles along a quite busy main street.  Without sidewalks we did a little dodging of motorbikes, gaggles of horses being clopped into town to give rides to tourists, big farm trucks, and random local drivers.  A bit dusty but nonetheless we got a flavor for the countryside and the growth going on in this remote village.  Many extranjeros (foreigners) as well as wealthy Colombians are migrating to Villa de Leyva in search of inexpensive land and housing costs, a calmer lifestyle than big cities but with access to Bogota.  Many build second homes here and construction is ongoing.  One of the local industries is woodcraft and the beautiful work is seen in magnificent gates, doors and furniture.

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On our walk into town we discovered that dogs rule Villa de Leyva.  Throughout our stay we encountered many, many pups that wander the streets – all looking very well-fed, all well-mannered and gentle, and some that guard their owner’s homes studiously but without major malice – just a lot of barking!  On our walk into town that first day, one gorgeous chocolate lab snuck under a big gate and started to follow us.  He had a collar but no identification, and simply latched on to us and escorted not only into town but stayed along for hours!  We went to the huge Saturday market, wandered through booths of colorful fruits and vegetables, sampled some local pastries (had to share with our comrade, of course), checked out how the locals prepare meats on open fire – and our four-legged buddy stayed with us through this entire labyrinth.  We even went into various café’s and stores thinking when we walked out the dog would have wandered on…but no…he was even chased out of a café he followed us into, we sat for a while having a snack, and when we finally walked out there he was all smiles and tail wagging!

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The Plaza Major (main plaza) in Villa de Leyva is apparently the largest in South America.  There is a central church at one end, and around the perimeter are cafes, small museums, a bank, and some small hostelerias (mini-hotels).  The plaza is a gathering place for major village events, and definitely a meeting place for tourists to get their bearings.

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During our few days’ stay, we explored many of the shops that sell beautiful handicrafts – woven baskets, cozy blankets made of wool and cotton, intricate wooden masks, traditional crocheted and woven shoulder bags, and loads of jewelry made from local materials.  We each did purchase a locally crafted wooden mask – some painted and some beaded.  We spoke with the shopkeeper who did the intricate beading work on the one I bought. She told us that the mask images were inspired by the visions that her family members had during trips on ayawasca -and judging by some of the faces it makes total sense!

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The US dollar is quite strong right now so everything was very inexpensive – including food.  We had one amazing meal in the village at a restaurant called Savia.  It serves many vegan and gluten free options which really was great for Ruthie and Alex as they both must stay gluten free for health reasons.  Savia was set in a lovely colonial complex with an open courtyard, a small retail store that sells natural food and cosmetic products – but the food is the main attraction.  We had incredible baked casseroles of grains or potatoes with cheese and fresh vegetables mixed in – enhanced by local spices – super yummy. On another day, Ruthie tried a local treat – hot chocolate with chunks of mild cheese melted in.  It sounds terrible but she said it actually tasted pretty good (I’d honestly prefer churros and chocolate!).

We made a few side trips to local sites with August or a local taxi driver as our guide.  We visited a well-known terra cotta house that looks like an alien encampment that adopted Gaudi’s decorative mosaic style…

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…a museum that houses some of the prehistoric skeletons of huge dinosaurs and other relics that were found in the Villa de Leyva area…

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…a lovely monastery that traces the life of friars that lived there many centuries ago…

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…and a very unusual indigenous Indian hut/home that is used for various local meetings, concerts and ceremonies.  This was deep in the hills in a hidden brush area that only locals would know about.  I suspect that the gathering there run a large gambit of intent and “visioning”…I best leave it at that.

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We took morning walks through the countryside and got to see many of the local farm animals – sheep along with large-horned rams; horses, baby chicks following their mom’s orders; and of course, more dogs of every shape and bark…

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…But a final highlight was a visit to an ostrich farm.  Yep, OSTRICHES.  I was stunned that ostriches were being raised in Colombia but according to a video we watched as part of our tour, every part of these eclectic-looking birds can be used for something human’s want: food (ostrich steak is supposed to be lean and tasty); wearables (skin for purses and boots); longer eyelashes (OMG); and even retinas (seriously???).  Some industrious farmers are raising these huge, non-flying birds for both amusement and retail.  I have to admit it was fun to see them up close – along with a complement of llamas, cows, horses and ponies – but I am still having an issue with the breakdown of the ostrich’s grandeur into body parts for sale.  Return to vegetarianism may be in my future!

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If you get to Colombia I’d highly recommend a visit to Villa de Leyva in contrast to big city attractions.  The people are warm and welcoming, and as you can tell the experience can be truly colorful and enlightening.

On to Cartagena!

Esther