Side trips in Boyacá: Chiquinquirá, El Infiernito and Ráquira

Basilica de la Virgen de Chiquinquira

On our way to the wedding in Villa de Leyva in Boyacá, we passed by what is considered the religious capital of Colombia—Chiquinquirá. It is the home of the Basilica de la Virgen de Chiquinquirá where the miraculous painting of the Virgin of the Rosary resides. This painting from the mid 1500’s was made on woven cloth using pigments from soil and flowers. Left unattended, it was ruined. After over 20 years, it was rediscovered and later on found to have restored itself. The shabby painting was transformed with no more holes or tears practically overnight. In the 1800’s Pope Pius VII declared the Virgin of Chiquinquirá the patroness of Colombia. And, in 1986, Pope John Paul II also came to pray in this basilica. When we saw the painting, it was still quite faded, but we were still able to see the image. It was awesome to have seen this miraculous painting!

Miraculous painting of the Virgin Mary

A coffee cart at the plaza

The kids played at the lovely plaza outside the basilica before we headed to El Infiernito (“little hell”), just on the outskirts of Villa de Leyva. It was called such by the Spanish conquistadors who believed it was the site of diabolical worship of the Muisca (indigenous people of Colombia). It was interesting to note that the Muisca were such an advanced culture that the alignment of the standing stones seemed to have been used to anticipate solstices and equinoxes, and determine what time of the year it was to help them with harvest. While the kids found the stones interesting, they were quite ready to move on to the next attraction. The adults, in the meantime, had quite a good laugh taking juvenile photos of the phallic structures.

Another town we visited (but this time, after the wedding) was Ráquira. Literally translated as “City of Pots,” it is the home of wonderful pottery and hand-woven products. We entered store after store to marvel at the vast variety of pottery and souvenirs. Hubby and I regretted that we couldn’t bring home some beautiful crafts as they were too heavy or bulky to lug home. The vendors did try to appeal to tourists of all backgrounds, because along with the traditional Andean pottery, one can find the somewhat lewd ones as well (which I will no longer even try to describe).

Pottery at Ráquira

We had a wonderful Sunday lunch at the Restaurante Cazuelaz Boyacenses beside the plaza. The interiors were quite interesting with various pottery, vintage appliances and even giant insects on the ceiling. The kids had ajiaco (Colombian potato soup with chicken and corn wherein you add avocado, rice and sour cream) while hubby and I shared a churrasco (grilled beef). The beef was quite bland without the absolutely yummy chimichurri sauce. We drenched our thirst with local fruit juices of lulo (like a small orange) and mora (Andean blackberry). Ahhhhh. A perfect shopping trip capped by a wonderful lunch.

having some ajiaco

Lulo and Mora