Main Square of Villa de Leyva
Juan Guillermo, Martica, Juan Felipe and I left early in the morning (6 o’clock hour) to avoid traffic and drive 3 hours to a colonial town called Villa de Leyva. Once you leave Bogota-proper there are tolls to use the roads, which are very narrow but well maintained. The drive was beautiful. About an hour out we were in the countryside. The landscape looked like Julian (San Diego County) with rolling hills, grass, and a few big trees here and there. Occasionally we’d pass grazing cows or greenhouses were flowers were being grown.
We reached Villa de Leyva mid-morning and had breakfast at a French bakery. The owner is a chef who visited the town once, fell in love with it, moved there, and opened the shop.
French Bakery in Villa de Leyva
Juan’s friends, Andres and Ana Sandoval (whom I had met in Las Vegas a few months ago) stopped-in to say hello. They’d been vacationing in Villa de Layva for several days with their two girls, Antonia and Miranda. (For Colombians this is the last vacation week of the Christmas season which begins in early December.)
Here children often go to private schools. There is a German School, an English School, an American school, etc. In their senior year, students prepare for a big exam to allow them to be admitted to college in the country for which they’ve been preparing. Antonia and Amanda attend the American school and spoke English beautifully as they sweetly showed me photos of their trip.
The town was hot, but it was a dry, unlike the humid heat of the Coffee Region. We walked around and looked at the Colonial architecture with its Spanish style balconies, cobblestone streets, and large central square. There were people strolling and dogs napping.
The old homes, whose architecture features an open courtyard in the middle, have been converted into little restaurants and shops. We sat in one such square and had a drink.
The Streets and Architecture of Villa de Leyva
Juan Guillermo, Lisa and Martica in Villa de Leyva
We drove back toward Bogota, stopping an hour short at Entre Pues, a Medellin-type restaurant. Medellin is the second largest city in Colombia and has unique cultural characteristics such as the people’s use of many idiomatic expressions, their propensity to exaggerate, and their jovial nature. The restaurant is decorated with wood placards displaying myriad humorous expressions used there. The city also has its own variation on culinary flavors. We shared plates of those traditional foods.
Placards at Entre Pues
Alcohol is ordered by the bottle or half-bottle. The whole thing is brought to the table like a pitcher of water would be. We had aguardiente, the signature spirit of Medellin. It tastes like annazette with a strong licorice flavor.
Half-Bottle of Aguardiente Light
Toasting with Aguardiente
Where bread would be brought automatically in the U.S., a plate of fried pork meat (chicharrones) and small corn cakes (arepas) were brought out.
I have tried many varieties of arepas but was yet to try Juan’s favorite until this meal. It’s a sweet corn pancake topped with butter and the soft cheese called quesito-delicious. I also tried something like a sausage casing stuffed with rice and other ingredients (and cooked with blood), more choriso, and sweet plantains.
After another great meal, we retired to Juan’s for the evening.
