All posts tagged: Villa de Leyva

Villa de Leyva: The so-called sleepy town that whipped my ass into shape

The itch to travel is a desire to be everywhere at once. It’s a mental disease but an excusable one, since human nature instilled in us a certain insatiable curiosity. Until my early twenties, I used to have this obsession with sitting in the middle seat of any dinner table, large or small, so that I could follow the conversations happening on both ends. But of course, one can’t be at two places at once, and it can be stressful to follow two (or three or four) conversations, especially at crowded dinners. After all, you are sitting in just one seat. You are confined to the space you occupy and there is no way to be on every chair at once. If you get up to the other end of the table, you miss out on all that happens in your current seat. Before embarking on this journey, I made a promise to myself to not over-scratch this itching spot–I would not be able to see every museum, climb every beautiful hill, or watch every magical sunset. …

The ABCs of Hostel Talk

It’s been almost one month since my quasi-backpacking trip has begun and inevitably, I have observed some patterns. First and foremost, one must make a concerted effort to be alone. Since I left my hosts’ home in Bogota, I have yet to have a meal by myself. True story. Leaving Bogotá with a smile, I arrived at Renacer Hostel in Villa de Leyva following a long journey from Bogota with stops in Zipaquirá for a tour of Catedral de Sal and Ráquira, a small village famous for its pottery-making inhabitants. The hostel, which is a good 20 minutes walk from the town center, was quiet. Considering it was Monday after Semana Santa, it was not surprising to find Villa de Leyva, described in general as a sleepy town to be in total hibernation. Perhaps solitude would find me here, I was thinking as I put my bag in the dormitory and sat at the patio to rest. Three minutes barely past before somebody invited me to dinner. My first dinner overlooking the beautiful Plaza Major …