Finally...a honeymoon!

I am so far behind on updates, I don't even know where to begin. Since the wedding, Matt's baseball league was canceled due to the terrible weather the country has been having. Lots of landslides had doubled travel time for teams and rain delays were a regular occurrence. So, the last game was on December 7th, and we've been traveling around since (finally together!).

We actually took our real honeymoon. The house in Villa de Leyva was our destination, but this time it was just the two of us for 5 days and couldn't have been better. We spent a lot of time in town shopping in the plaza, eating in tasty restaurants, and people watching. Occasional rain stopped us from going back to the waterfalls to repel, so we rented a couple of bikes and rode over 20 km in one day...the last 3 of 4 hours Matt spent riding on a flat on hilly dirt roads. Ouch!

 

Despite the flat tire and sore bodies, the day was worth it. An ostrich farm was our first destination where Matt was able to feed an ostrich, and  we were able to eat one! Ostrich chorizo = YUM! 

After eating some ostrich we headed to El Fosil. The area in which Villa de Leyva is located was once in the ocean, so there are several fossils to be found in the valley. In the VERY TINY museum, you can see a VERY LARGE fossil of a sea creature, the Kronosaurus. Even though it took 5-10 min to go through the entire museum, it was worth the 4,000 pesos to catch a glimpse of this guy.

After seeing ancient sea creatures, we headed to Infiernito, an archaeological site of the pre-columbian Muisca with upright standing stones and burial grounds. In one area, there are 2 lines of stones believed to be used for astronomical observation. Throughout the rest of the park are phallic stones.

Who knows what Matt and I were thinking after our sore butts from bike riding all day, but the next morning we got up and went for a 2 1/2 hour horseback ride. It was amazing, and my horse was much calmer this time. We even had some fun galloping. Our guide took us up into the hills to see views of the city, and we stopped at a small restaurant (aka some lady's house) for a beer while the horses took a little break. The morning was gorgeous, and we even have a little souvenir from Matt's horse. He kicked off his shoe at the end of the ride!

I miss Villa de Leyva so much more now and can't wait to go back!

Waterfalls, Horses, & Weddings...OH MY!

It's been a BUSY week, and probably one of the best I've had here so far. I don't even know where to begin. Last week, I spent 3 glorious days at Matt's aunt's house in Villa de Leyva. She's currently living in Lebanon but is so nice to let the family use the house. Thanks, Pilar! I spent my time there with much of the family. I knew the minute we drove over the mountain and saw the valley below that I would love this small town. It's pretty enough for a postcard, laid back, and the most relaxing place I've been in a long time.

I left Bogota at 5am by bus with Tia Ligia and Tia Myriam. I was exhausted, but it was worth it when we got there. We arrived with breakfast already made by the couple who takes care of the house. Mmmm...what a start. Not only was the food amazing all week, but every place I turned in the house and the town evoked a "WOW" from my lips. I want to live here!

The second day there, the family went on a very long and beautiful hike full of amazing views, steep trails, waterfalls, and crossing rivers. This was intense! Dean & I rappelled down one of the waterfalls. The height didn't bother me, but the full force of the waterfall was frightening. The rocks were so slippery. However, it was exciting! I was so proud of myself when I finally made it to the bottom. I don't have pics of my rappelling on my camera, so I'll post more about that experience when I get pics from the family. In the meantime, here are some images from our hike.

The last day we were in town, we started our with a 9am horseback ride for 2 hours to a beautiful spot with pools of salt water. I haven't ridden a horse in 26 years, and even then someone was walking the horse for me being as I was 5 yrs old! I chose my horse, and little did I know what I was in for. I had the Type A horse for sure. His name was Tornado, and he just HAD to be in the front of the pack...which meant more galloping than I was prepared for. I laughed the whole time though. He also had to eat every 5 min, so there were abrupt stops when he eyed a delicious weed or tall sprig of grass. He jumped down a hill, and I almost thought I was going to fall off the side. Despite all of this and the sore body the next day, I loved it! Let's do it again!

After Villa de Leyva, I came back to get ready for none other than wedding # 2! (on a side note, I also came back to a beautiful bouquet of white roses on my night stand...big smooches to my amazing husband!). The morning of the wedding there was a ton of rain. Surprise! I thought it would clear up, the wedding wasn't until 7pm. Well, it got worse. Matt had a game that morning that ended up being canceled. At 2pm I left to go to Matt's cousin's house where she was in charge of getting me ready. 4 hours in a Colombian hair salon was quite the experience. I pretty much had no clue what was being done to me in this tiny room full of people, but I had a lot of fun with the family while there! After hair, nails, and makeup were done, Sonia rushed me to her house where I threw on my dress, veil, shoes, and jewelry in about 5 min. Bad news: the dress was too tight! I've eaten way too much good food since being here. I didn't even eat lunch that day because I was afraid that would happen! Let's just say 5-7 arepas each time I have them probably isn't the best idea. It made for a very uncomfortable dress that left red marks on my rib cage later. However, after a 20 min speed race across this giant city to get to the church on time and seeing how happy everyone was, I forgot about that tight dress pretty quickly. Matt had it easy that day. After his canceled game all he had to do was get a haircut and then be at his aunt's house by 5pm. Lucky! The wedding was beautiful, fun, and it really meant a lot to be able to share it with Matt's family (especially Adriana and Dean, our co-novios).

This night was a blast! We were partying until 3am, danced the night away with everyone, and constantly laughed. I even learned a song in Spanish to sing along with as a surprise to Matt. Thanks to Iony for teaching me! I was also told the family was impressed with how much I danced that night. They say I am now Colombiana and definitely an Ariza! No mas gringa!