You may not have heard of the small town of Sutamarchán in Colombia, but it makes for a delicious stop if visiting the department of Boyacá. The town is known for its longaniza, a sausage similar to chorizo. All of the places serving longaniza are on the main road that passes through town.
Chiquinquirá is a city in the department of Boyacá, Colombia. Located just an hour from Villa de Leyva and three hours from Bogotá, it’s an important place for religious pilgrims going to see a famous painting called the Virgin of Chiquinquirá (Virgen de Chiquinquirá). There isn’t much else to see if you aren’t interested in churches.
The Iguaque Flora and Fauna Sanctuary (Santuario de Flora y Fauna Iguaque) is a great place to enjoy nature near Villa de Leyva.
On November 13, 1985, the people of Armero, a prosperous town in Colombia, were busy going about their daily lives. At 9:09pm, Nevado del Ruiz, a volcano located 48km away, erupted. Just over two hours later, deadly lahars (mud flows) wiped out Armero and killed almost 25,000 people. In an instant, lives were changed forever.
San Andrés Town (El Centro) is nothing to write home about. It’s quite ugly, but is where most of the island’s resorts, hotels, restaurants, shopping, and tour operators are located.
We had planned to visit both Acuario and Johnny Cay, two of the top attractions to see while on San Andrés, during our few days on the island. It’s possible to do both on a combo tour. Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t cooperating.
I’ve heard the same from many Colombian friends: eating in San Andrés is expensive and the food isn’t that great. It IS expensive by Colombian standards, and in our experience, the food WASN’T that great. Of course, we only tried three different restaurants on this trip, so we hope next time the results will be different (and our choices will be better).
Rocky Cay Bay is probably the best beach on the island of San Andrés. It’s about a 15 to 20 minute drive from the main town, and with its fun beach atmosphere and quiet evenings, it’s a great place to stay during your trip.
San Andrés is a Caribbean island that belongs to Colombia. It sits about 500 miles north of the mainland and while you’re on Colombian soil, you won’t feel like you’re in Colombia (except for tourists from the mainland). You’re more likely to hear reggae than reggaeton and Creole and English spoken by natives rather than Spanish.