Villa de Leyva is known for its whitewashed colonial buildings, cobbled lanes and vast Plaza Mayor.
Pat spotted a lovely flower that was totally new to her. Maybe someone will see the photo and identify it.
Casa Terracota is a whimsical clay house created by Colombian architect Octavio Mendoza. It is mostly built of clay without any supporting beams. Our guide happened to have a friend who lived next to the property. He recalls a number of early attempts at developing the technique simply collapsed. Inside the house includes clay benches, clay beds, clay shelves, clay everything. The bathrooms add some colorful tiles which made us think of Anado McLauchlin’s work. For those of you who do not know Anado, see: madebyanado.com
We took a shorter route back to town and then went to lunch at Mercado Municipal. Bill had the Barbacoa Lamb and Pat had the Mushrooms. The lamb was prepared like confit and accompanied by some very al dente vegetables and rice. Pat’s mushrooms were seasoned with garlic, chili, wine and sesame seeds. The wine, a Bonarda from Argentina, was still a bit young but mellowed nicely over the course of the meal.
We next headed to the fossil museum which is under renovation and the star attraction, a Kronosaurus is all covered with blue plastic. That Kronosaurus is a Cretaceous-period (more than 65.5 million years ago) relative of the crocodile. We were especially sorry for a young French couple we met there who had walked all the way from town, about an hour, without a glimpse of the fossils.
We next decided to check out pre-Columbian Archaeological Site, El Infiernito. And wonder of wonders, it was open! It features several earthworks surrounding a group of menhirs (upright standing stones), as well as several burial mounds. It was likely a center of religious ceremonies with a rudimentary astronomical observatory.
We had dinner at a small Italian place, La Ricotta, Carbonara for Pat and Gnocchi with Four Cheeses for Bill. Believe it or not we each had only one glass of wine.
On our leisure day, it was kind of drizzly so we slept in and worked on our blog until joining Alejo for lunch at La Feria, where we enjoyed several Colombian dishes. Lomo Fino de Res a lo Cachaco (beef tenderloin strips), Pechuga de Pollo a la Brasa (grilled chicken breast), Plátino Maduro (cooked ripe banana), Arepa de Choclo Casera (a bread made of corn meal & fresh corn stuffed with cheese), Envueltos de Mazorca (a polenta like filling enveloped and cooked in a corn husk), and Papas Chorriadas (potato wedges with cheese sauce). All accompanied with Colli Euganei Rosso wine, a red blend from the Veneto.
In the afternoon, we shopped around and found a couple gifts. Later we dined at the Spanish restaurant, El Rincon Gourmet. We selected a couple of tapas: Abondingas (Meatballs), Patatas Bravas, and a bottle of Riscal Tempranillo. There was a lovely crenelated candle holder that added a romantic touch.
The next day we were off early for Iguaque National Park. The 6,750-hectare area is a sanctuary of the Muisca indigenous people and a protected reserve for local flora and fauna.The hike is 4 km (2.4 mi) distance and about 800m (2700ft) in elevation. It is a strenuous hike that leads to a sacred lake where the Muisca people believe life began. To assure everyone returns before dusk, the trail closes to new climbers at 10 am. We were off by 9:59, honestly.
It was a drive over rather rustic / primitive roads for 1/2 hour to get to the trail head...a fitting approach to a similarly rustic / primitive trail. The initial part of the trail is paved with large stones which sounds nice but it wasn’t a smooth surface by any means. As we hiked through the forest, Pat enjoyed the plants/flowers/ leaves... After a short ways the stone paving ended.
Our evening meal was at La Cocina de la Gata, where we enjoyed French Onion Soup and Cheese Fondue with a mixed salad, a fitting meal for a cold drizzly day.
It was roughly a 4 hour drive from Villa de Leyva to San Gil where we stopped for lunch at the restaurant in Parque Natural El Gallineral. We observed or were observed by a blue macaw as we ate. We chose the Tipicos Gallenras, a large meat sampler with "pollo, sobrebarriga, carne fresca de res, carne oreada, cerdo, chorizo with yucca y arepa santandereana". Make that chicken breast, and grilled flap steak / sirloin tips, some other fresh cut of beef, a smoked thin beef cut, pork loin and chorizo sausage with yucca root and local little corn cakes stuffed with some fresh cheese. As if this wasn’t enough, we had two appetizers: Cebollitas Ocañeras Piquantes (small pickled onions) and Patacón with Hogao sauce (banana this time in a small pancake form with Hogao sauce) Note: Hogao is the non-spicy Colombian sauce served with most dinners, similar to a non-spicy Mexican pico de gallo salsa.
After lunch we did a short stroll around the park. It was especially cool to see the wedded trees... Around 300 years ago a Ceiba Tree and a Fig Tree joined at the roots and have since lived a long happy life (we assume) together.
After lunch we did a short stroll around the park. It was especially cool to see the wedded trees... Around 300 years ago a Ceiba Tree and a Fig Tree joined at the roots and have since lived a long happy life (we assume) together.
From there it was a short drive to the start of our bike ride. We last biked in Bali (another downhill route). We discovered bikes gears have evolved significantly, in a good way, at least Pat thought so. She really liked how simple it was to think in terms push with right thumb to gear down for climbing hills (yep, there were a couple) and pull with your index finger to gear up. Pat’s bike was a bit higher than she was used to so it took a few tries to master getting on and off, but we were soon off for another mostly downhill bike tour. Along the way we stopped to visit craftsmen (basket-makers and stone carvers) and for a few views before arriving in Barichara for a sunset snack looking over the valley.
The snack? It started with roasted & salted “big-butt” ant eggs, aka "hormigas culonas," a seasonal delicacy in Colombia...crunchy and tasty. We also had toasts, fruit (tangerines & pineapple, both sweet and flavorful) and coconut covered jellied guava candies.
After the snack we walked over to Casa Barichara where our luggage was waiting for us in our room.
We settled into our room and then wandered down to the town square with Alejo. None of us were was especially hungry but we decided we should have a small bite. We chose to eat outside on the plaza at the Terra Barichara Hotel. A flatbread pizza and a bottle of Bardolino split 3 ways was the perfect amount to tide us over til breakfast. Wandering around town, we noticed the fleet of taxis.
The next morning we slept in and lazed around the room. Then we headed out, stopping first for some photos as the nearby Capilla de Santa Barbara, and then shopped our way down hill. We especially liked a leather shop and the basket shop with products made of fiche fiber. A fiche plant is similar to a giant agave.
We ran into Alejo along the way. He recommended that we have lunch at Noa’s. Their speciality is Fagottos (wraps using a pita type bread). Pat’s was stuffed with beef tenderloin, onion confit, mushrooms, roasted pepper, white cheese and arugula. Bill had one with serrano ham, mozzarella, fresh & dried tomato and arugula. Both were great and went well with a French cabernet sauvignon. While we were eating a French couple sat down at the next table. We ended up in a great conversation that mixed Spanish, French and English. I suppose we all tried to use Spanish, our common language. But whenever we couldn’t find the right Spanish works, a French or English version seemed to work just fine. What fun!
After lunch we hiked down to the valley below following a rustic stretch of the Camino Real (the Royal Road) to Guane village. Along the way we enjoyed the views, the cattle in the field (mostly Brahma) and the birds. As we arrived into Guane the road became more of a cow/goat path than a road, but shortly we turned onto a town street with fewer animal droppings... Guane is a very small town but of course has a nice church. It also had a colorful tourist bus parked in front of the church.
That evening we walked to a small Italian Restaurant, Ristorante de Cocuo. The wine list consisted of 4 or 5 fine wines that were set our for our selection. We chose the Pascua Sangiovese Puglia. The bottle looked as rustic as the trail we had hiked earlier. The wine was pretty fine. Bill had pasta and meatballs. Pat had pasta and Italian sausage. The fettuccine was a rough homemade style and cooked al dente. Just to our taste!
We had had breakfast in the garden under the shade of a tree. While eating, Pat had noticed several very large buds of a Pittaya (Dragon Fruit) plant that was draped over the tree branches. Arriving back at the hotel, Pat remembered to check out the Pittaya Plant. Perfect timing. The blooms were gorgeous. But by 7 AM, they were closed up and ready to fo cus on producing fruit.
Casa Barichara is a lovely B&B with relaxing grounds. The staff members were all very gracious. Breakfasts were ample with eggs cooked to your preference. One morning Bill ordered the "traditional Colombian" breakfast with chorizo, arepas (the bread) and a corn pudding wrapped in banana leaf. And the napkin rings were cute. A range of little animals from cats to giraffes and warthogs. And they did our laundry...all by hand!
In the morning, we were off to see the Juan Curi Waterfall in San Gil. Following a nice hike past some farmlands with chickens, roosters and peacocks, we approached the falls. As we got closer the terrain got more rocky and a bit tricky to navigate. We arrived at the base of the 250 foot high falls to learn we had the option of climbing to the top and rappelling down. We decided it would be wiser and safer to watch others have that fun. We returned to the trail head along the same trail but stopped along the way to observe the mules. We don’t know if it is typical worldwide, but apparently Colombian mules tend to have striped hind legs (like a zebras legs).
Our evening meal at La Nube Posada was quite special. We started with tabule salad with peppers, tomato and parsley. Very refreshing. Next up was Lomo de Res Quemado”, beef tenderloin with mustard sauce. This included a very tasty chayote & mango salad. For dessert we had mango again. This time roasted with vanilla ice cream on the side.
The next day we had a 7:30 pm flight to Medellin. This left ample time for rafting in the Fonce river. It had rained a little overnight so the river was a bit high. This delayed our start briefly but apparently the runoff runs off quickly. Still, this allowed us time to stroll around the center of San Gil. In the Plaza Mayor there is an interesting statue of an Indigenous Chieftan with wings and a condor head sprouting out of his chest. This was apparently a chief who ended up escaping the enemy by jumping off a cliff and transforming into a condor.
In addition to our raft there was a guy in a kayak who checked the rapids ahead of us. Nothing like being coddled on an adventure rafting trip. Before heading out we had training re how to steady ourselves on the raft, what to do if we went overboard, how to get back on the raft, how to work with the kayak if they had to rescue us... It turns out the more useful coaching tidbits were the terms directing us how to paddle, what to do if we were heading into a big wave and how to help steer the boat by all getting on the same side. Later when we followed directions well and we got through the big water without mishap, we would high-five with our paddles.
At one point our guide really liked the action of the water and he directed us to keep steering back into a wave and then he would advise us all to duck as the water washed into the raft. The cool thing was that Bill & Alejo were in the front and they took all the water so Pat stayed quite dry. What gentlemen!
After the raft trip we were able to shower and make ourselves presentable before going to lunch at Teté Fileté in San Gil. The four of us shared and order of Monster Fries (French fries with chincharron / fried pork skin). Very healthy, no? For his main course, Bill ordered the Brocheta Mixta (a skewer with pork, onion, tomato, served with a rack that reminded us of what we had in Capetown some years ago. Pat chose the BBQ Pork Ribs with Sesame / Honey Sauce. Both were excellent.
Then we were off on the 3.5 hour drive to Bucaramanga airport for our flight to Medellin. It is a long, windy road with some construction and a lot of truck traffic. Checking directions on Google now (9pm), it looks like a 2.5 hour drive. The highlights of the trip was that we drove along the Chicamocha Valley (a large canyon) and the bird that posed for Bill once when traffic was at a standstill.
The 40 minute flight got us into Rionegro. We were met at the airport by Nico (guide) and André (driver). From there it was a 40 minute drive along the mountains to get to our hotel in the La Poblado district of Medellin.
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