Villa de Leyva is a small spanish style colonial town which visually hasn't changed much from when it was built in 1576. It is very picturesque and was used in the film Zorro, rather than have the film crews travel to Spain.
It is a beautiful place and the people were very welcoming. This was not Bogota, on our first night we sat outside in the Town Square drinking beer with 100 or so locals, with fireworks going off and children and dogs running around late into the night.
This was a completely new side of Colombia, it was aimed at tourists but at the same time kept a stong grip on its simple past. There was no fear no uncertainty and the lifestyle was so laid back and relaxed I can see why so many people who come here want to come back.I know I could have stayed all week not just 3 days.
While there I visited a variety of locations with the support of Valerie whose Spanish is invaluable and I would not have been able to see or do any of the things I did this weekend without her support. This started by negotiating the hire of a Taxi for our personal use for the day. This worked out at £9 each and our young driver Jonothon, took us to each location then waited for us to return before taking us to the next place of interest. He was a star and although I doubt he will ever see this he has my thanks for making this weekend a highlight of my colombian visit.
I will do a short post for each location with some of the many images I took so you might be busy reading for a bit, but hopefully it will be worthwhile.
First some pictures that relate specifically to Villa De Leyva (If you want to know more you can check out this web site, though my images I think are better (Smiles)
www.villa-de-leyva.com - Clicking on Inglesias on the left column will give you the English Translation.
Entering Villa De Leyva by car
Looking across the town square towards the church used in the film Zorro
The remaining pictures are taken in and around the town.
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