Traveling can be exhausting; never feel guilty for taking breaks.

I write this at 1030, and I am still lying in bed. I did have breakfast, as it is included in my room, but that is about it.

The past three weeks have been go go go, and I am not a very go go go person. I travel full-time or at least live abroad, still determining exactly what, and many people I meet on the road have a deadline. They have things to see and people to meet.

I have been there and done that; the only thing I want to see for some days is nothing. So I have to put myself into check a lot of the time, being ok with going to a place and seeing absolutely nothing, which I have done multiple times since travel has become a competition.

I am at a super cute hotel outside of Villa De Leyva, and there is no wifi. I have a hotspot, but it only works for simple tasks; what app and hopefully upload this post.

It works on sites that only need a little. It sounds like my life; I function on simple tasks that do not require much, and if I meet too much resistance or stress, I choose another.

When I was younger, I pushed, and when I wanted something, I push, but traveling and living on the road is not supposed to be a stressful life. It can be stressful when others tell me what they have done, and I say ¨wow that’s a lot, ¨ and I say, I found a good coffee shop, but our goals are different.

It has taken me a long time to be ok with not seeing and doing everything. Some days that is enough, or making it to my hotel is an adventure. Yesterday I had to have the bus driver drop me on the side of the road, and I prayed the uphill walk I saw wasn’t too bad; it wasn’t.

Yet I have also overpacked, so today’s task is to see if I can lose some things.

I spent four days in Villa De Leyva, a beautiful colonial Colombian town. Did I see what all the fuss was about? No, of course not.

I prefer a town with character vs. one full of tourists. The town was packed, as I had a feeling it would be. The food was outstanding as they cater to the bougie people who come up from Bogotá for the weekend, the fancier ones.

My hostel was inexpensive, and I had a room, which has been my running theme; book a dorm, and it’s just me! Perfect.

Everything else was costly but delicious, so I can’t complain too much. I thought about taking some Spanish classes at the local school there, but I could not be in a place with no realness. The attraction is the pristine white buildings and cobblestone streets, yet no depth or character.

I am a harsh critic. I went to the weirdest attraction there, according to Atlas Obscura, Casa Terracota. That was so cool; the house was made out of the red soil in the area.

I grew up on the same soil. Remembering days of coming home when it was raining and I had red dirt stuck to my feet, the stain on my shoes. That soil is what is here. If you are a country music fan, you will know ¨Red Dirt Road¨ by Brooks and Dunn, classic.

Yet even though I was not the biggest fan of Villa De Leyva, I am glad I went to visit. I wanted to see a bigger town, but not a city. It also reminded me that I prefer towns where agriculture is the main staple vs. pottery. I liked to talk to the cows; there were no cows to talk to.

In that area, they also have something called Pozos Azules, basically artificial lakes, I walked there, and the price to see a fake lake was too much, I turned around.

I can see an actual lake for free; thank you very much. The other couple in the hostel agreed on that one!

Today I might walk to a town about 1.2km up the road; I am sure it’s a town no tourists go to, just like where I ate lunch yesterday. My kind of place; the food is always excellent, and the people are kind.

The area is known for longaniza sausage so I will leave my room for lunch. Other than that, chill; I have a book I want to read and think of my plan for the next week.

I originally planned to go overseas, but my plans change as fast as a hummingbird’s wings fly. I am headed south, as I hear a country south of here has land for sale, forever seeking my home base.

Well, today, I am headed south tomorrow; it could be something else. I want to see the Hotel del Salto I previously wrote about!

Let’s see where the wind takes me, but not back to Villa De Leyva.

XOXO

S.