our 'hospederia' for the first two days

first view of our mountain chalet

It is exactly one year ago that we first arrived in Villa de Leyva. We asked the taxi driver (Fernando, now a good friend) if he knew anywhere nice to rent. Within minutes, he hooked us up with Louisa, who became our landlady for the next six and a half months. We moved into her mountain chalet two days later, and we had a wonderful time there.

The original plan had been to spend a month travelling round Colombia, looking for a place to settle. However, we never got further than Villa de Leyva. We just immediately fell in love with it and never left.

Some things are meant to be.

3 months ago

About three months ago, an extensive fire turned the hills surrounding Villa de Leyva into smouldering charcoal. It was a disaster.

Look at those same hills now, all green again.

I am very excited. My kids might be visiting us soon in Villa De Leyva!

I am making a list of things to see and do:

• coffee shops with delicious cakes and cappuccinos
• cozy restaurants
• colourful tourist shops (Yas loves those)
• thermal baths
• horse riding
• white river rafting
• mountain trails

Until they arrive, I plan to re-visit all our favorite coffee shops, to remind ourselves which one does the best cappuccinos.

Mother Nature was obviously not too impressed with our efforts to save Mother Earth. She decided to let loose a whole month’s worth of rain on Villa de Leyva today.

The Earth Awareness Festival was cancelled after the third song of the first act, when the equipment started sparking and one of the speakers cut out.

We all packed up our guitars and various other instruments and consoled ourselves with cappuccino and brownies in the coffee shop on the corner.

The cats escaped being skinned today.

I agreed to sing Michael Jackson’s ‘Earth Song’ at an Earth Awareness Festival in Villa de Leyva tomorrow.

In an attempt to give the Aaaaaaahs and Oooooooohs in the chorus a lift, I asked two local lady singers to join me.

Having heard us rehearse, Greys told me we sounded like an assortment of cats being skinned.

The things we do for music…