About 4 hours travel by bus from Bogota, tiny Villa de Leyva claims a mere 10,000 inhabitants - but from what we saw, we'd guess that there are at least 5 times that many people there every weekend. Yep, a little tourist town. perhaps the most well-known in Colombia because of it's proximity to Bogota.When we stepped out of the bus and began the walk to the town square, we were immediately charmed by the cobblestone roads and walkways. However in less than 200 feet of walking on these cobblestones, we realized they have a big downside: cobblestones are not flat. They're little hills, a sea of little hills with no reprieve, no cement sidewalks. Heaven help the wheels on our luggage.
But remember that cobblestone roads are cute and quaint - and THESE cobblestone roads along with the colonial tile roofs, are the visual trademark of this pueblo.
A fantastic safety element is that cars are only permitted in a few of the streets of the pueblo, leaving the rest for thousands of weekend strolling pedestrians.
The drier climate, the well-stocked weekly farmer's market, and the warm, sociable people have Jeff and I immediately musing about the possibility of calling this place home. We stayed here on the outskirts of town for 3 nights and became ever fonder of the notion of returning to this area for further exploration.
With sad regret, on Monday morning we once again packed our bags and hopped our last bus back to the bedlam of Bogota.
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