How To: Sunday Paseo- Boyaca in a Day

Last weekend, Natalie and I joined Brighid's host family for a traditional Colombian Sunday paseo. Colombians often work on Saturdays, so this means they take Sunday relaxing and free time very seriously. Brighid's host family invited us along to a town called Raquira. Raquira is an indigenous word meaning "city of pots." and the town certainly lives up to its name. So the three gringas went on the family road trip (about 4 hours from Bogota) to go pot-shopping. We certainly got more than we asked for, and ended up visiting almost all the hot spots in the department (equivalent of a state) of Boyaca (northeast of Bogota's department). Here's how we managed to squeeze everything into a day and have a successful Colombian Sunday.

1.  Squeeze as many people as possible into a little hatchback. Gas prices are HIGH in Colombia, and the roads are pretty winding. So be prepared to be a little squished and make the best of it. We chose to pass the time singing the Colombian National Anthem, speaking in English when no one else understands, and taking lots of landscape pictures.

2.  Bring snacks. We introduced Brighid's host parents to PB & J. They were pleasantly surprised by its deliciousness. It was a great cultural exchange. 

3. Be prepared to stop for coffee and church breaks. We assumed at first that we were stopping in the town of Chiquinquirá for a bathroom break. We ended up hanging out for an hour and a half exploring while the family went to mass in the giant cathedral. One city to check off the list.

Yes, that is a giant poster of Pope JP II. 

4. Have no expectations. I had read about Raquira in the guide books, and I'm a fan of ceramics, so it was on my list of places to see. But I wasn't sure what to expect and I was thrilled with the result. Raquira is literally filled with ceramics. Cheap beautiful pottery from dishwear to massive pots I only wish I could plant beautiful things in. Alas, I'm limited by luggage restrictions and practicality. So I settled on some classic kitchen pieces.

5. Take the long way around. The family was asking us which places we wanted to see, to which we responded "anywhere!" We ended up going further into Boyaca and visiting the town of Villa de Leyva. This was a treat because we have plans to go there next weekend. So we got a preview and can't wait to go back to the beautiful, desert-like, mountain town.  It was worth it to go a little further out of the way to hit another city on our list (we're up to three now).

The family (Manuela wins the cutest family member award) in
Villa de Leyva

6. When hungry, stop at any side-of-the-road barbecue joint. These are literally all over the highways around Colombia. And it's because so many people take these types of road trips on Sundays and festivos. Now, this may not be the first choice for any vegetarians here, but the plantains, potatoes, and arepas make it doable. And when you don't eat meat you get to attract really adorable puppies to you.

7.  When the sign says "Dairy Capital of Colombia," stop and get some dairy! It was getting late and when we made our final stop I was nervous we would never get home. The family wanted a snack of hot chocolate and cheese (a popular combo here) so we made a pit stop in Ubate- the dairy capital of Colombia. The stop was a quick one, and turned out to be SO worth it. Not only did we find GREEK YOGURT, but the store owner gave us token mini-pots to remember the day. Such a great keepsake for a very successful day.