The House of Dreams & Scorpions

It was a cold night in Barichara. but the sun is shinning and we are out early to explore the town. Every single street is lined with perfectly maintained white houses. The smell of fresh bread is coming from a bakery. Kids in school uniforms are everywhere. The men that are sweeping the streets are smiling as they wish us a good day. We walk from one sight to the next and truly enjoy spending our morning here.

 

Colombian Army Bikes... they had gathered in the main square for some sort of propaganda show.

At a little cafe, overlooking a canyon, we have a coffee and take in the view while vultures circle above.

We both want to spend another day here getting to know the town and its people. But we really have to move on. There is so much to see and we only have a few months to make it to Tierra del Fuego.

In the afternoon we set off for Villa de Leyva. We decide to make some distance by sticking to the main road. In Moniquira however, we opt for a shortcut that is supposed to take us right into Villa de Leyva as it's getting dark. Just as complete darkness fell, the road suddenly turned into a bad dirt road filled with pot holes. Great! The whole not riding at night plan was out the door again. There was nowhere to pull off and camp so we just kept going.

Our sighs of relief are audible as as we ride into town. The relief only lasts a minute, though. The streets of old town Villa de Leyva are composed off massive cobble stones and after the nightly ride on the dirt Azure is done with it. We come to a stop on the main square. It's the biggest square in South America and it is beautifully lit up. Azure has come to a stop in a spot where she cannot put down her side stand due to the cobblestones and grumpily resigns herself to admiring the square from the seat of her bike. She just wants food and a place to camp. I scoot off to take a few photos. And then Fonzy shows up...

Villa de Leyva's Massive Plaza

In no time Fonzy and Azure are chatting away, realizing they had met before at a Horizons Unlimited meeting, and a smile comes back to her face. Fonzy is a photographer and he is doing a tour with Motolombia, a tour company based out of Cali. We have a lot of friends in common and before we know it we are in the square for an hour. We exchange contact information and head off our separate ways.

Azure, although smiling, has still not forgotten about the cobblestones and B lines it out of the old center. Once we hit tarmac she stops and waits for me. An old man comes over and asks if he can help. "Well, we are looking for something to eat and a place to camp". No problemo! Camping is just down the road across from the fire station and you can have dinner here. In no time his wife reopens her restaurant for us and for a few dollars we

have a delicious meal.

The center by day

The next day we plan to get out of town. We are still in love with Barichara and therefore not enjoying this bigger and more touristy city as much. But we do want to visit Casa Terracotta before getting on the road. We have a hard time finding it, even after running into the Motolombia tour group and Fonzy who point us in the right direction. We finally turn onto a dirt road that leads to the casa.

 

The red house looks like something out of a dream. Azure goes inside while I stay with the bike. We had a little bit of an argument about timing earlier and I make sure to let her know that we need to get out of here soon because we need to make some miles towards Bogota today. She runs inside while I sit and marvel at the house and its surroundings. Dark clouds are rolling in over the mountains. It stresses me out even more. The dark skies and the setting sun, lighting up the terracotta make for a picture perfect moment when a man with a white beard comes over for a chat.

"Where are you from?" "How long have you been traveling for?"

The map on the Zarges case does its job again aiding my broken Spanish in explaining our journey.

"What do you think about the house?"

"It is an amazing piece of art", I tell him.

"Where are you guys going now?"

"We are going to have to find a place to camp".

"Why don't you guys camp right here?" "

Yeah that would be great" I laugh. "No for real. I am the architect and I invite you to camp here. Or stay in the house. Whichever you prefer."

"No way!" Shocked, I struggle to find words.

"Let me show you around", he says.The inside is even more incredible than the outside. When we get to the master bedroom he says; "you can sleep in here" Now I have to pinch myself. I can't believe we are being invited into this masterpiece. The tour ends on the roof where there are countless places to hang out and relax.

When I get back to Azure and tell her we are going to stay in the house tonight she is beside herself with excitement. We talk to Octavio Mendoza for a while and get to understand the thought behind his design. The gardens are very interesting too, complete with herbs and edible flowers. We talk about life and the beautiful world we live in and he leaves us with "We just need more love!"

Apropos words that did a great deal to sooth the lingering tension from our earlier spat.

 

 

 

 

We make ourselves comfortable in our new house and are in awe of all the little details. Since we are still in town we decide to meet up with Fonzy for a beer. It would have been great to have it on our roof but we don't feel right inviting people over. We go back to old town and Fonzy shows us some hidden little gems. We have a great evening and luckily get some more appreciation for this town.

Fonzie showed us a few of the hot spots in town.

 

Back at the house we find a little friend in the bedroom. Ok, this could get interesting. We take no risk and set up the inner tent on the bed. This is part of why we chose this tent. It is very nice to be able to build a safe zone anywhere.

It's a beautiful night, nonetheless, and we marvel at where we're laying our heads down to sleep, yet again.