Enough of Bogota...we needed some country fresh air!

We've seen almost all we want to see in the big city of Bogota, but we're booked in at the hostel here until Saturday morning. And we needed to get some fresh air and see some countryside. So yesterday we took a short bus ride to the little farming town of Guasca...only 50 kms (30 miles) from the hustle and bustle, yet rarely visited by tourists.

I figured out where to catch the bus at the corner of Calle 72 and Carrera 13 and we walked part of the distance before flagging a taxi.

So we paid 5,500 pesos ($2.50 CAD) for the taxi to get us to the bus stop, and sure enough there was a bus marked "Guasca" when we got there. We hopped on the bus, and off we went.

The east side of the city of Bogota is nestled up against a steep mountain, so the city just kind of stops against it. But once you get through to the other side of that mountain, it is nice green countryside. Some development is beginning to happen, but it's amazing that it's so nice and green on one side, and the big city is such a short distance away.

It took about an hour on the bus, and cost 5,500 pesos ($2.50 CAD) each. The town of Guasca is a pretty laid back place...population about 7,000. It's in such a nice little valley surrounded by dirt roads and small farms. We actually checked out to see if they have a hotel, and we found a room there for 50,000 pesos ($22.50 CAD) per night, so we're thinking of changing our plans and heading back there tomorrow!

Here's some pictures from our walk...

The church plaza in Guasca.

Looking back at town as we headed out for a walk.

Beautiful countryside.

Odd looking flowers.

Pretty.

Horse and cart.

Colombia countryside.

A couple of dogs taking themselves for a walk!

Colombia countryside.

We had read about a small abandoned chapel and ruins from a Spanish monastery from the 1600's and I had the coordinates input into the iPhone map that we use. Sure enough, we managed to find it. There was an old sign there saying that you have to pay 5,000 pesos to visit but there was nobody around so we simply opened the gate and walked over. It's just an empty chapel, with old ruins beside it. No other info, and very little available online. It's called the Capillas de Siecha.

Capillas de Siecha.

More countryside.

We made it back to the town of Guasca at about 3:00pm. Found a little restaurant for a late lunch. Had to be the cheapest meal yet! Half of a roast chicken, with boiled potatoes, a couple of small corn arepas, and a beer for me and a bottle of some kind of orange drink for Ruth. Not the best meal ever, but the total bill was only 12,000 pesos ($5.40 CAD).

Turns out that we walked 10 kms (6.2 miles), so it was nice to get some fresh air and exercise in the Colombian countryside.

We found the bus back to Bogota and made it back to the hostel around 6:30pm. It was a good day!

Seems we're having difficulty with accommodations for the next few days. We had been planning on going to Villa de Leyva, but things have booked up quickly now that Colombian schools are out for holidays for the rest of the month. Can't find anything in our price range. So it looks like we're going to go back to Guasca tomorrow and hopefully the room will still be available there!

Today, we're doing another day trip...this time a hike to Colombia's highest waterfall.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

These quality nesting pots and pans were designed for boats and RVs where space is an important consideration. They have really good reviews...

Magma 10 Piece Gourmet Nesting Stainless Steel RV Cookware Set

And in Canada, on sale today only...

HP Stream 11.6" laptop