Time to leave Bogota and head to our next stop Villa de Leyva. This place is gorgeous. Up in the hills and a little touristy it is a postcard picture of a small South American town and as such, movies and TV series have been shot here. White washed buildings with terracotta tiled roofs all set around a large square. Very relaxed and the people genuinely friendly. Starting to realise that most people really are saying hello to be friendly and helpful and not just to make some money off you. Sure, people need to make money and if you see the divide between the 'haves' and the 'have nots' you will understand why, but they are all really genuine and its hard to get out of the 'European traveller' mind set that most people are friendly because they want something. There is also a real sense of people helping each other out because they are all in this evident hardship together. Still trying to get used to the accent as even though I should understand a lot of the words, they are being lost in the casual way the words roll off the tongue. I am getting there though and the patience of the locals helps.

After a few consecutive days of eating eggs for breakfast I was excited about having granola with fruit again as it was on offer at the hostel. It's the simple things that make the difference but it wasn't just me that was excited. The activity of the day was to hire some bikes and do a 'small tour' outside Villa de Leyva. Little did I know what was in store for us. The route was 'only' 14km but there were quite a few steep climbs. It almost got the better of us and just before we reached the monastery (which was the furthest attraction but wasn't quite in sight), there was much cursing going on. It couldn't be much further but thankfully the sign in the distance confirmed we had made it. Reaching the gates however turned achievement into despair. It was closed on Mondays and the girls were not happy! I was laughing out of delirium as that hard slog was almost for nothing but as if we were deemed to be worthy by the powers above, the groundsman took pity on us and let us in. Despair turned to relief. We had a quick tour of the church and museum, spoke to some nice guys for a bit who were studying there..(''English?...err..Manchester United.!"...football brings people together again) and began our way back to town. We still had a few stops on the way to make and it wasn't all down hill. The storm clouds were also brewing...this was becoming more of an adventure than a leisurely afternoon bike ride. 5 hours later and everyone spent, we were back in town to destroy a well earned pizza.

Before departing for San Gil, we wandered into town to have one last look around and eat lunch. Menu del Dia for 3 pounds...you can eat quite cheaply here! The bus ride to our interchange point took a bit over an hour but twisted through quite treacherous terrain surrounded by amazing country side. It was quite amusing at some points just for how ridiculous it was. Before changing for the large bus for the bigger part of the journey, we were greeted by the driver under the bus doing some repairs...nothing to worry about!! Another crazy 3 hours winding through hills in the rain but we arrived in one piece.

San Gil is known for being a base to do lots of outdoor activities and was thankfully a lot warmer also. The natural skin colour was returning too and the relaxed vibe taking hold. In San Gil I experienced one of the, if not the best adventure type activity I had ever done. Caving, canyoning, abseiling and then jumping off waterfalls into the pool below. It was quite scary initially, especially the caving which is not for the faint hearted but adrenaline took over and I wanted more and more. It was truly exhilarating and set in some amazing scenery only 15 minutes from the town centre. Colombia's natural beauty is truly amazing.

Also visited Barichara which almost exactly the same as Villa de Leyva. Just as beautiful, more sleepy and declared a national monument.

I've been here a week now but it feels like forever. It's been hectic moving every few days but I am loving it. Only thing I would like to do more of is interaction with the locals but the small doses I have had have been promising so far. Oh yeah, oddly at times and in certain places, it does remind of Greece for some reason especially in the towns. Even if it is for the 'no throwing paper down the toilet' rule. :-)
Next stop...Carribean coast...'ta luego!

PS: Uploading photos is proving challenging so ill get them up there when i can. Thanks everyone for the messages. All well received so keep them coming!