[ Dec.2016 ] We went north from Bogota and arrived at Villa de Leyva which is said to be one of the most beautiful colonial villages in Colombia.

During our journey the weather was fine, but as soon as we arrived, the heavy rain started pouring.

We ran into the accommodation.

We spent two nights at Posada San Antonio which was housed in a traditional 1860s house.

Unfortunately our room was just by the dining room, so it was noisy and the room was very small, dark and cold.

On top of that, when we checked in, we were asked if we wanted their Christmas dinner and we said ‘yes’ easily, but it turned out to be a buffet dinner which was not so special, though it cost as much as COP320000 (about 96 pounds or 100 euros), which was really disappointing.

The staff were rather curt, which was rare in Colombia where most people were friendly.

Anyway, when we arrived, we were hungry, so although it was raining very hard, we went out with our umbrellas and got soaked.

The roughly cobbled roads were very slippery, so it was hard to walk and not to fall over.

Soon after we left the hotel, we came to a huge square.

This was Plaza Mayor, the largest square in the country, measuring 120 metres by 120 metres.

We learned later that only high rank government or military officials came on horseback from Bogota in colonial times and used this big square for maneuvering.

On the corner of the square, there was a complex of restaurants and shops and we went in to one of the restaurants there.

It was a neat restaurants for tourists, which an English speaking woman was managing.

The name was Savia, I think.

The chicken dish I ate there was with an unfamiliar sweet sauce, which was nice.

In fact, in, the chicken was very good as well as beef with firm meat.

After lunch, we found the rain had stopped, so we walked around the town a little.

Here, many people were wearing ponchos.

Especially men were wearing the plain coloured ponchos which looked hand woven.

This was the Christmas Eve, by the way.

In Colombia, apparently they celebrate Christmas on the Eve with a feast and at midnight they exchange presents.

Our guide said that they eat rice which is stewed with Coca Cola.

So it was a special day for Colombian people and to our surprise we saw a wedding at the church.