Moments in Ráquira

I can't believe that I forgot to post about this town! While we were in Villa de Leyva we took a little trip to a town called Raquira. It was about an hours drive from where we were staying. After spending the day in Villa de Leyva, where the pueblo is very colonial, it was fun to see Riquira, a town of many colors, and murals. 

Almost every store sold hammocks. I was quite close to buying one!! Just an issue of getting it home :)

The word Raquira means 'City of Pots' in the Chibcha language. It is a town that if full of art, and hand made things.

They had some statues showing the different types of hand made things that people make here. 

Even the church has some added color to it! :)

I just love all the colors! A lot of towns in Colombia are covered in graffiti, but here I did not see any! Just the beautiful colors with the murals. 

Taking a rest from all the shopping. 

I spent the most money here then I have anywhere else! A perfect place to buy souvenirs, and some things that I just could not pass up!  

Moments in Fusa with Friends, and Back to Bogotá Again

On Tuesday night I went to the Sister Workers batch to have dinner with them. Then stayed at one of the friends house just down the road. This little lady's name is Senora Ofelia. I look at this picture, and she really does look very little, while I look like a giant! On Wednesday morning, one of the sister workers, Salena, picked me up, and we hoped on a bus to head to a little town called Fusa where we would go to Bible Study.

We had time to look around Fusagauga, Fusa for short, when we got into town. Below is a market we roamed around. 

Some plants for sale. 

This is a little garden at one of the friends home where the Bible Study is. 

Getting lunch ready. Making a yummy fruit drink. 

The friends at this home make leather goods for a living. Here is the little workshop they have in the home. 

Leather tools......

Leather......

And the sewing machine. 

I told Salena that she matched right in with the couch, so I had to take a picture :)

The road they live off of. 

This is me with another sister worker, Karen. She was in Colombia getting her visa papers figured out. She labored in Colombia for 14 years, and is now in Penn. helping out her parents.

The wonderful little meeting. A very friendly bunch of folks that I have enjoyed getting to know! 

At this point I can not remember the names...once I do I will update this :) We got a ride back to the bus station. 

When we got back to the batch there were some of the friends there waiting for us. Salena's companion Ema did not go to Fusa with us because she has not been feeling well. So these folks came to give her company, and eat dinner with us. 

It's funny, I was just about to write all the names of the people in the above picture, when I only just now realized that the sister workers name is Karen, and so is the mom holding the baby. The whole time I have been saying the workers name in an English accent, and the mom's in a Spanish, and it did not seem like they had the same name. How funny. So, anyway, that is Karen, and Karen, and Cesar. The babies name escapes me. She was so cute! 

Above: Here is a picture of Ema. I had meant to get one of Ema and Salena together, but it did not happen. Ema is from Chile, while Salena is from Irland. I have a lot of fun with these ladies. They are very kind to have an open home to me.

So, after dinner I took a taxi home, only to find out their was a party going on there that I did not know about! My cousin Consuelo had received a very prized award at the University she works at, so they were celebrating. 

Paula, Consuelo's daughter, Consuelo, and Martha. 

You can't see it too well in this picture, but Consuelo has a ribbon on her shirt that she received as a part of her award. It was a very pretty ribbon! 

And of course I always need to add a picture of  my tios :) I wish I had gotten a picture of the food! There were beautiful cheese platers with meats and fruit. It was a nice way to end the day. 

Moments at La Finca in Villa de Leyva

It get's kind of tiring having to come up with a title for each post, especially when I do so many in one day! :) Tio Eduardo has a finca (farm) just outside of Villa de Leyva called El Milagro. The Miracle. It is under construction right now, getting new floors and a new roof, so we did not stay there while we were in Villa de Leyva. My cousins place that we stayed in is on the same property, so I was able to walk up and see Tio's place.

The entrance to El Milagro. 

Different views of the house. 

Some chickens in the yard. 

Tio taking a look at one of his horses who had a problem with his teeth. 

There were many flowers. I guess you can tell by now that most of Colombia is just filled with flowers! I'm pretty sure my mom would love it here. You can garden all year round! :)

Tio cleaning up a tree. It gave him something to do for quite a little bit! 

This is the farm that Tio grew up on, so it's been around for quite a while. I feel like I need to come up with a better describing word then beautiful, because I have used that word a lot today in writing these posts! But in one word, that is what it is! I had told Tia that I would love to live in Villa de Leyva, and she told me the house was available to me at any time. How sweet ....who knows....I may have to take her up on that :)

Moments of Falling in Love

There is a hotel at the top of a hill that overlooks Villa de Leyva. I fell in love with the place, and hope to one day maybe spend time in this little piece of heaven! The amount of flowers were amazing! The climate is the same year round, so it is just as beautiful all year. 

The mountains are the backdrop of this lovely hotel. 

The entrance. 

A fountain in one of the open sitting areas by the restaurant. 

This place comes in layers. It is on a hill, with 3 different levels on the slope. So this means a lot of stairs. 

Above: This is one of the levels with a lot of rooms. 

More of the amazing gardens. 

The swimming pool. There is also a day spa where you can get massages in a building by the pool. 

Looking down. 

Another picture at the entrance. 

As you can see from the pictures this place is a beauty! What a perfect hotel for a getaway! I'm not sure what the pricing is for a room. I tried to find out online, but they would not tell you....I don't think that's a good sign!