October 13, 2008

Villa de Leyva

We just got back from a very relaxing long weekend in the interior of Colombia. We both agree that it was wonderful to see some other parts of this diverse country. We flew to Bogota Thursday and spent the night with our friends Lisa and Felipe. They were gracious and generous to drive us to our destination of Villa de Leyva. We left on our road trip Thursday afternoon, and our first stop was the amazing Salt Cathedral (actually built in a salt mine and includes stations of the cross and an immense cathedral far below the surface of the mountain) near Zipaquira. We spent the night at one of the Vargas family fincas (farms) north of Bogota. The finca is named Buena Vista, and certainly lives up to its name! The next day we reached our destination and spent two extremely relaxing days in the quaint mountain village. Our bus ride back to Bogota was much easier than we had imagined a country bus ride in Colombia could be, even though much of it was on curvy mountainous roads. We took lots of pictures, so you'll be seeing some new layouts in the near future!

14 comments:

Terry said...

Beautiful pictures! It's amazing to see the different architecture from different countries. Look at those lamps on the buildings-cool. The picture of you and your friends is great--although the dogs don't look too interested! Glad you had a good trip

Anonymous said...

I was a little upset the dogs weren't introduced. Max,our Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, really got excited when he saw them in the picture.

Ginny said...

I'm curious for more details about the farm and the mountain village:) With the stereotypes about what goes on in Colombia, especially the interior of Colombia, it may lead us to wonder~ just what made your time there "extremely relaxing"?
Ginny

Tina J said...

Good one, Ginny - such thoughts from our precious daughter-in-law! We did hear stories of recent kidnappings of our hosts' relatives, so we weren't TOO relaxed the night we were there on the farm!

Anonymous said...

Hey you guys--fincas sminkas! Did you stay at one of the cartel farms? I spent alot of my hard-earned Federal pennies saving for that place when I retire! Try not to get too chummy or get busted for PDAs my dear brother and sister-in-law! kjc

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing your pictures and adventurous tale of visiting the interior - awesome! I wanted to learn more about the Salt Cathedral but the link wasn't in English (my bad). Is it a walk below the mountain to the cathedral or do they have a tram that transports you down and back out? I picture a Richard Gere/Diane Lane or Robert Redford/Meryl Streep movie of you two riding around the beautiful countryside in a bus. It's a vacation for me just to look at the pictures and read your comments. Love you! Karen

Teresa I. Becker said...

Imagine, all the things you are experiencing for the first time have been happening for hundreds of years. Life on earth is an educational adventure! May every new memory lead to a thousand more.

Love and hugs, Teresa

Tina J said...

If you are following the link to the Salt Cathedral site, there is a little pull down selector at the bottom right side of the page that you can use to see the site in English :-)

We walked right into the mountain side and then down through the tunnels for our tour.

Anonymous said...

All the pictures look so beautiful! I can't wait to come and visit, however Garrett is a little nervous about me going perhaps some coffee could persuade him... ;)

Anonymous said...

Jim and Tina, Just wondering if you guys only travel with people your height???!!! LOL

Just an FYI, I have been on your blog a lot, but never left a comment. That was probably because I am not literate enough to figure out how to do it!! But when there's a prize involved, I learned really quickly!! Love you guys and enjoy your scrapbook pages/pictures SO much. Wish you were my mom/grandma. :). Love, Phil and Marjean

Tina J said...

Marjean,
Thanks for taking the time to learn to leave a comment! :-) We're excited to be spending Christmas in Colorado this year - I hope we will get to spend some time with you guys!

Anonymous said...

Jim & Tina,

The very first pictures shows a daddy trying to hold on to a little girl. I am sure she is throwing a "Temper Tantrum" (It just looks like a familiar scene these days). Probably not getting something she saw in a store. Is this an outdoor shopping area? Are those mountains in the backgroud? Beautiful and fun!

Love you,

Holly

Theresa said...

RELAXATION JIM & TINA STYLE = Machine guns, and country bus ride on curvy mountainous roads in the interior of Columbia.... Hmmmm?!?!?

RELAXATION THERESA STYLE= Massage, lounge chair pool side / ocean side with a glass of lemonade with a little umbrella in it.....

Tina I am glad you have good friends gracious enough to drive you to Villa de leyva, because by the looks of it... Jim had his running shoes on... and I wouldn't put it past him to think it might be a nice "relaxing" "little jog for the two of you!! You never know with Jim... after all he did bike from coast to coast!!

Beautiful pictures... I can't wait to see the new layouts...

With Love To You Both...
Theresa

CS said...

Soldiers with guns, a night on a farm,
A bus ride down a mountainous road.
I’m glad you survived without any harm,
Or adventures like Romancing the Stone.

Living life in an adventurous way,
Is Jim and Tina’s style.
And it’s fun to read about your exciting days,
As you are in Colombia for a while.

But as I’ve perused the world of blogs,
I never thought I’d see,
A picture of Tina flanked by dogs,
Without her trying to flee!

Sounds like you had an “aaahsome” vacation!


Hey - this is my first posting on a blog. Amazing what I'll do when a prize is involved!

Christine