Listo, Claro, Perfecto

Exploratory ride from Oiba to Villa de Leyva

I was honored to be invited by Julio, of A Caballo Por Colombia, to explore a new trail he wanted to add to the tours he offered. While Julio had done part of the trail with friends and, as always, rode the route on his motorcycle prior to the actual ride date, it was a first excursion as a possible official ride. Three words you will hear often in Colombia encapsulated this ride: Listo = ready, Claro = of course, Perfecto= perfect

The ride started in Oiba. After being picked up at our hotel it’s a few hours to Oiba. We stopped at one of my favorite restaurants along the way, Betos Parrilla, for scrumptious local food – Cuchuco soup, lemonade sweetened with Panela and a Picada meat fest of beef, pork sausage, chicken, potato and plantains. Stuffed to the gills we continued north, with a brief stop in Arcabuco (which we would visit on horses a week later) to try the Amasijo ( a pastry filled with dulce de leche for which the town is famous) at a cafe that opened in 1948.

We then headed to a Finca owned by a friend/veterinarian of Julio’s who breeds champion Colombian Pasos, Trocha y Galope, Trocha and Trocha Galope horses. A lovely facility with beautiful horses and a demonstration of the Trocha Galope too. It’s not a tourist demonstration, he rode his horses especially for Julio and his clients.

We stopped for a quick sandwich and ice-cream for dinner, before heading to our hotel to bed.

The ride

The horses, as with all Julio’s rides, a mixture of Arabians, Arabian/Criollo and Anglo Arab mixes. The ones chosen for this ride were the smartest and had not been on any routes recently. They were all forward and willing partners that behaved well and kept an endurance pace when asked. The tack is excellent and picked for horse comfort, I took a sheepskin seat saver and I recommend them. I did try out a local saddle to give feedback for Julio – I had a lot of feedback!

Along with Julio there were two assistants: Wilson who is the full time horse wrangler and a wonderful horseman who not only assures the horses are well and the tack fits, but rides at the rear; and on this ride a new helper, Juan, as the support driver who helped with the horses ( assuring they had sufficient water), brought our luggage,helped with lunch, followed us on busy roads and stopped traffic for us when necessary. A Caballo Por Colombia continue to be the most safety conscious outfit I have ridden with anywhere in the world; walkie-talkie and phone communication between the team, safety briefings, first aid kits, insurance (with insurance wrist bands for all) and vehicle escorts for the horses/riders through town – 5 stars.

The terrain and itinerary It was a brilliant itinerary, this is just a brief overview. Day 1: We started with a climb out of Oiba heading to Guadalupe. It was a very hot day, in the morning we rode through coffee and cacao farms and in the afternoon it became more pastoral. It was the Virgin of Guadalupe day so we were able to see hundreds of decorated trucks, cars and motorcycles (blue and white to match the virgin’s robes) in parades, and even some local families on their horses. Day 2 ended in San Jose de Suaita, where we stayed at a cute eco-lodge with orchids, fruit and coffee growing and even cacao in bloom. This was an easy day for the horses and fun for the bi-peds as we were able to visit and play/swim at Las Gachas, natural waterholes with small caves in the limestone that originate from an underground river. After, at a fast pace we arrived at a beautiful waterfall, Cascada lao Cabellero, for lunch – swimming is an option there too. Day 3. A lovely ride with long canters and stops for water and beer, plus a lunch on a hill courtesy of local farm owners. That night was spent at a cattle ranch in Vado Real, the owners of which were extremely welcoming and gracious – note: the ranch had a swimming pool, pool table and great wifi, plus fabulous, and well deserved, pasture for the horses. Day 4. This is a big day for everyone, 20+ miles, almost 3 mountain ranges and significant elevation changes. This trip goes through wild areas that tourists do no normally visit: mule trains carrying sugar cane to manufacture panela (the sugar cane in this area does not produce enough sucralose to be used for white sugar, so is only used to manufacture panela) and lots of locals working the fields. Our lunch stop was at a private farm, wow, they put on quite a spread and all the neighbors came to meet us. The afternoon was through trails of orchids, butterflies and more farms. We went too quickly for photos! The day ended in Gambita at a somewhat luxurious hotel, quite a change of pace. Even a hotel dining room. Day 5. After a quick wander around Gambita – popped in to the church – we rode about 21 miles. The views were breathtaking and our lunch spot, La Palma was a tiny Pueblo in the middle of nowhere, where once again we were treated to a local feast for lunch – including a spicy salsa. We rode through Arcubuco – the town we stopped at on the way to Oiba – for our night of rest. Day 6. A short day that ends at Hacienda Flamingo in Villa de Leyva. The horses started to sense where they were and showed no tiredness after their trek. Cantering and trotting past blackberry farms and, as one gets closer to Villa de Leyva, some impressive haciendas. After lunch you can either relax and watch the horses getting loaded for their trip home, or pop into Villa de Leyva.

Rustic country food. This ride does not go through towns so you eat like the locals. Breakfasts were usually eggs, fresh fruit (papaya,pineapple), juice (lulo, blackberry and orange), arepas, breads, hot chocolate and coffee- the coffee is not strong like European roasts. Lunches – a couple of days we were so remote we took sandwiches, otherwise meat, rice, potato, plantain and maybe an arepa. Dinners similar to lunch: we did have homemade lasagna in once place and were able to order from a menu in Gambita. There are beer and soda breaks, aguardiente and sometimes ice-cream. Water was plentiful with lots of opportunities to refill bottles, water packs.

We were testing out the route so I cannot say exactly where you will stay owing to a couple of places possibly changing: but everywhere we stayed was clean and had running water – though not always hot. I would recommend this ride for fit riders used to a medium/fast pace, though based on the 3 rides I have done with Julio, this is the easiest. It is not appropriate for riders who spend a couple of leisurely hours a week meandering through the countryside or riding around in an arena.

Culture, fauna, flora

This ride offers many opportunities to see the local villages and you will most likely still be the only foreign tourists the locals have met/seen. There are chances to visit the cotton museum in San Jose de Suaita, learn about the area from the hosts- especially if you speak Spanish. We stopped by a panela mill, on a future trip perhaps an actual visit to see the production might be possible. There are so many flowers, orchids, butterflies and birds and it’s a visual feast. The area through which we rode has wildlife but it is illusive and you are unlikely to see it – except in wall art in the villages.

Villa de Leyva

Probably the best preserved Colonial town in south America, Villa de Leyva founded in 1572, was declared a National Monument in 1954, it’s on the tentative list for a Unesco World Heritage site – which it definitely deserves. The town square, Plaza Mayor, is enormous and is believed to be the largest completely cobbled town square in South America. There are lots of little shops, restaurants and coffee bars. One of the oldest hotels there, the Posada de San Antonio – across three restored colonial homes – is available for longer stays (it’s owned by the same people who own the Hacienda Flamingo.) There is a chocolate museum – to which I did not go – but there are some other stores selling excellent chocolate, honey and jams from local fruits.

Before you go:

Contact Julio at A Caballo por colombia as this ride will now be available ‘upon request only‘ and is not in his calendar.
If you are going in a couple of days early I can recommend a good guide for Bogota
The traffic in Bogota is horrendous, leave lots of time to get into/out of and around Bogota
If you live at sea level remember to leave time to adjust to the elevation
You can bring coffee, chocolate, pottery, linens, jams, amazing Colombian rum and Aguardiente back to the USA
Bogota airport can be slow, especially for arrivals
No matter the season take waterproof riding jackets
I recommend a seat saver
Hot water is not always available. Many places use in shower-head on demand heaters that struggle to heat much water. I travel with bathing wipes/dry shampoo anyway which are great on the cooler days when a warm shower isn’t available.
Water bottles are provided.
You will be required to buy travel/health insurance
Tipping the guides is OK in US dollars,though they would prefer local currency and local towns and merchants require Colombian pesos – get from an ATM or the airport