I wasn’t sure what to expect from Colombia when I boarded my plane. I neglected to read the guidebook in the weeks leading up to the trip and I’ll be the first to admit that most of my knowledge of the country had previously come from watching Romancing the Stone and Blow (learning recently that Romancing was filmed in Mexico and the days of kidnapping, public assassinations and hot flight attendants were long gone). Johnny Depp and Michael Douglas wouldn’t lie to me, right? Colombia must be dangerous, it must have drug cartels and it must be filled with gun-toting-american-hating rebels ready to kidnap me off a cross-country bus, right? Boy, was I surprised.
It turns out that Colombia is a beautiful place filled with smiling and happy people that are very welcoming to outside travelers. Transportation was clean and safe, people strolled the streets at night without fear and no matter how hard I tried, I could not find myself a proper kidnapper.
This photo was taken in a small village called Villa de Leyva. It was a stop on my way to Bogota, helping to break up a potential 19 hour bus ride. I thought that the long bus was due to poor roads and constant mechanical problems, but it turns out that Colombia is just a really, really, big country. Rather than take the trip in one sitting, I highly recommend stopping in a few small towns along the way.
Villa de Leyva is a small colonial town of about 4,000 people. At the center of town is Plaza Mayor, with guesthouses and restaurants lining the edges. It makes for a great place to grab a beer and just watch life slowly move by. At 2,100m, the weather is also very nice (warm during the day and cool at night), providing a great break from the coastal heat and humidity.