We left our spiritual haven in Bogota to catch a bus to a small colonial village 4 hours away. The bus station was a good 30mins out of Bogota and so we went there unsure of what time our bus would actually leave and in the hope we could get tickets. We managed to find a bus easily but it didn't leave for another 2 hours so we had lunch at the station, a typical menu of the day, whilst trying to kill time.

Our bus was a proper coach and very comfortable. It was the first time we decided to wear our money belts because we had heard too many stories of columbian buses being hijacked! Coaches were probably ok but we couldn't be sure.

The bus ride was fairly uneventful and as we left the city it became very clear how beautiful the countryside and highlands really were. As we got closer to our destination we drove down some very windy roads into a beautiful valley. The town of Villa de Levya was declared a national monument in 1954 and has been preserved so well that virtually no modern architecture exists. It was founded in 1572 and is a popular weekend jaunt for Bogotano's.

We caught a taxi to our hostel, Columbian Highlands, which was about 1km out of town. The hostess wasn't very welcoming but our room was nice and the surrounding common areas and garden very pretty.

When we went back into town for dinner that night it became clear that this town really only operates for weekends and being a Monday our options for dinner or any form of entertainment were somewhat limited. We ate at a simple terrace restaurant that opened out onto the Plaza Mayor, the massive central market square. I haven't seen a colonial market square that big for a long time and it reminded me more of Eastern Europe than Spain for some reason.

After dinner we walked around the town for a bit before deciding that we needed a taxi. After some time we couldn't find one and some local people offered to take us but we thought better of it. Even though our hostel was only 1-2km away it was on pitch black lanes. We walked back to our restaurant and asked them to call us one and they said the taxi's don't generally work after 9pm, especially on a Monday. We were the exception to the rule not staying within the town limits. In the end the waiter called his mum to come and pick us up! Good ol' mum!

The next day we had a gorgeous breakfast in the gardens whilst I played with the owners daughter, Carolina and their chiuaua, Lila. Carolina and I were at about the same level in the spanish language so got along famously!

We walked into town to check if it would be in the same state of quietness as last night and found more of the same. This was a little disappointing because we could see nice cafes and shops existed they just weren't open. We walked around some more before deciding that we should keep moving in the quest for reaching the Caribbean coast.

We had a simple mexican lunch at Mr Coqui's before catching a mini-bus to neighbouring Tunja, 45mins away. When we arrived at the bus terminal we were lucky to find a bus leaving within 2 mins to Bucaramanga, 7 hours away, that would get us there for 10pm that night. This saved us a bit of time and proved to be a great connection. The scenery on the way was absolutely stunning...it really is a beautiful country.

The city of Bucaramanga doesn't offer a tourist anything but a worthwhile stopover and so we had a restful 16 hours there before boarding our next night bus to Cartagena on the Caribbean coast...woo hoo! xx