We left the national park / amusement park around mid-afternoon on Thursday, and made it to the town on San Gil later that afternoon. We spent two nights there catching up on grocery shopping and enjoying the pool at the hotel where we camped. We also met a fellow traveler known online as “Gringo Rick.”
From San Gil we made the short drive up to Barichara, a picturesque town situated on the edge of a deep valley.
Barichara is a perfectly preserved colonial town. There are rules that nothing can be built that doesn’t conform to the traditional architecture.
We spent some time exploring the sights on the quiet cobblestone streets.
The cathedral is set on the shady main plaza.
This guy asked if we wanted “salchicha.” Quinn got all excited, because a salchicha is a hot dog. But it turned out to be a drink. Sure enough it tasted just like a hot dog. Mmmm. Hot dog juice.
The inside of the cathedral was not ornate, but it seemed to fit the town.
Conveniently the town planners left the best views in town in the form of a dirt lot at the rim of the valley. Campsite!
The town was supposed to have good restaurants, but we couldn’t resist the views from Restaurante Camper.
We made the 9km trek along the camino real to the town of Guane. If possible, Guane was even quieter than Barichara. A bus ride back made for a great outing.
Based on advice from Gringo Rick and from a Colombian man who rode up to our campsite on his motorbike to take in the views, we spent the next day exploring back roads in the hills.
We got the van’s tires a little muddy as we enjoyed some spectacular scenery.
Thanks much for the great pics. I’ll bet the “salchicha” did not have the nitrates and nitrides that our hotdogs have. HT
Beautiful!
What sort of hot dogs are you eating??? Chicha which may or may not be like Salchica is made from corn! Go see the salt mine and look out for a town which makes dessert (not far from San Gil). There are also some interesting caves in the area. (Cow cave)
🙂
thanks for the comments! Dad, I’m pretty sure the hot dogs here are every bit as bad for you as those in the US.
Rupert, I had no idea that you were a connoisseur of Latin American hot dogs! I hadn’t heard of the corn variety at all; I’ll have to look for them.
Apparently here in Villa de Leyva the longoniza sausage is the thing. It’s supposed to be similar to Portuguese sausage. We’ll be on the lookout for it at the farmer’s market tomorrow!