Back on the road and heading towards Bogota with the traffic not so bad we decided to take the regular route via Villa De Leyva. With lots of mountains and scenery and high altitude farm lands the ride into the capital was enjoyable even with a few wet days thrown in.

The steep streets of San Gil. We had a couple of days here wandering around town working our leg muscles on these hills.

Passing traffic.

Lots of road side treats for very sweet teeth but good cycling energy.

After some long hills we came across a random Swiss Cafe selling delicious Brocolli and cheese crepes, very much needed.

 On the road to Villa De Leyva we cycled through  a lovely canyon and with so much rain there were waterfalls pouring on either side of the road. However at 2500 meters high it was a little cold for swimming!

Cycling in the clouds and with the green fields we felt like we were on a day trip in the Brecon Beacons! Although it was wet it was really enjoyable cycling with very little traffic.

Looking for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Entering Villa De Leyva, a really lovely town in the mountains, we found it hard to leave here.  We spent four days just wandering the little cobbled streets and eating great food. We camped in the garden of the hostel Renacer which had a good backpacker feeling.

Couldn’t resist buying some of the local spun wool.

The cobbled square of Villa De Leyva.

A little bit of  bike maintenance and cleaning, luckily the sun was out!

Chiquinquira, a small town full of churches and plazas.

A new favourite second breakfast, we discovered that all the little bakerys do fried eggs with bread and a cup of Colombian coffee…ummm!

Not our favorite food option, but good for all those meat lovers.

Zipaquira, the main attraction here is the salt cathedral, an old salt mine transformed. Its a fasinating place to visit.

Going underground.

Walls of salt, we didn’t lick them though!

Salty tree of life.

Salt cathedral, Zipaquira.

Back out into the daylight, the main plaza Zipaquira.

Cycling into the capital.

La Candaleria, the historic old part of the city, full of cafes, restaurants and Museums.

It’s better by bike.

Botero’s Mona Lisa, he manages to make everything look fat. A great collection of his work in one of the many museums and galleries in the city.

Street art, Bogota

Colonial houses complete with colonial locks.

Flower power!

At first we were not sure about the city, it felt very big and dirty. However once we scratched the surface, walked the cobbled streets and found good veggie food, we discovered a great city that really grew on us.