Colombia
August
18, 2012 - Things don't always work out as planned. Our next
stop was Villa de Leyva, playground of the Bogota up and coming
crowd, silicone central, and with a palpable electric ambiance. Alas, it was
not to be.
A quick excursion around town netted a few hotels in the +$180 range and not much else. Admittedly, it was a Colombian long weekend and the crowds were on a mission to have fun. We had to admit defeat and scurried on to Tunja. It wasn't the liveliest city in the world and a bit drab, reminiscent of the old Eastern Europe prior to German unification. Our hotel was definitely "old glory", but for a night it served its purpose.
Even our bikes found a place inside. Jan's made it all the way into the restaurant.
The next day we pressed on and ended up in Soata. We were once reminded why this country is motorcycle heaven. Twisties, vistas and smooth tarmac.
Soata is a town neither too large nor too small. Without a real purpose, it sits somewhere. The place lacked inspiration, reflected in the woman who ran the hotel we stayed at. She seemed pained to have to deal with yet another customer.
We debated what would be worse, live in a town without a soul where the path from birth to death is paved with the stones of predictability or live in squalor in Cartagena, with a chance to move up. The answer was unclear.
