boyaca

this past week was spent in the northeastern region of colombia called boyaca.  this area is known for its natural beauty and historical colonial towns.  we spent the bulk of our time in two such towns, villa de leyva and barichara.

villa de leyva was our first stop. i know i keep saying every town is charming and beautiful but it is absolutely true!  villa de leyva has white washed building set on stone streets surrounded by hills and desert scenery.

the town's main plaza is the largest in all of colombia. it is a full three and a half acres so they weren't messing around!

we arrived in town on halloween and this being one of our favorite holidays were super excited that colombians celebrate it.  we had bought a few costume pieces in bogota so we were prepared.  todd's mummy costume was a full on family affair taking six rolls of toilet paper to wrap him up.  it had been raining when we first arrived but thankfully it stopped by the time we hit the streets!

......all dressed up!

costumed children filled the streets.  the trick or treating happens in the center of town, the kids going from store to store.  and they don't say 'trick or treat' but instead sing 'quiero paz, quiero amor, quiero dulces por favor'.  most families end up in the central plaza.

what a fun and memorable halloween......and todd said this was his favorite costume ever!!

nearby villa de leyva is a national park called santuario flora y fauna iguaque.  local legend of the muisca people claims that humanity was born from the waters of the sacred laguna iguaque.  the hike up to the lake takes about 3-4hrs.  unfortunately riley wasn't feeling great that day (when my competitive child lets his little sister leave him in the dust i know something is wrong) and i was getting a headache from the altitude (we started at about 9500 ft and since we hadn't been at elevation in awhile i wasn't acclimated).....so riley and i only made it about halfway up.  but todd and lucy made it all the way to the top.

from villa de leyva we continued north to the small town of barichara.  my guide book says that this town was voted the most beautiful pueblo in colombia.  not sure who voted and when but the town is indeed quite lovely. mostly we chilled in this sleepy little town and soaked up the town's chill vibe.

we did do a little hike to a neighboring town along a path called camino real.  this path was what remained of countryside trails used between these small colonial towns for communication and trade.

and we also walked to the edge of town to take in some of the gorgeous viewpoints overlooking the hills....

from barichara we continued further north to the city of bucaramanga.   on the way to bucaramanga is the specactular canon del chicamocha which we stopped at.   there is a park here with a gondola that takes you over this amazingly beautiful canyon (which didn't ride the gondola as it was a bit spendy but we enjoyed the views)

we only stayed a day in bucaramanga but we went to a local parade of sorts complete with a military band and a retired colombian futbol player.

el pibe (one of columbia's all time greatest players)

this region is known for its obleas which are caramel or jam between two thin wafers....yum!

and we did happen to catch another futbol match!  this one was called partido de las estrellas.  it was a match between some retired players from the national team against some retired players from the professional bucaramanga league.  since it was a friendly match the atmosphere was mellow and mostly everyone was excited to see their favorite players.

tomorrow we head to our last volunteer stay of the trip which is a couple hours outside of medellin.  we plan to stay a week (fingers crossed we don't have to sleep on the floor again!).
hasta luego!