When we got to the bus station at Bucaramanga we asked the most likely bus company about the time and fare to Tunja. After checking with other companies we returned to buy the tickets and found the price had halved. The journey itself was remarkable because the bus left when it was scheduled so to do, it took the correct length of time and the driver remembered to remind us to get off (in fact we were the only passengers to disembark here).

Understandably, few tourists visit this city for most of it is simply urban sprawl. However, in the centre there is (you guessed it!) a lovely set of preserved colonial buildings.



A couple of very old houses here are open for visits although you are required to have guided tours. This gives guides opportunities to speak incredible fast and at length about everything they know. On the whole, pleas for them to slow down have little sustained impact, requiring us to use all our mental powers to even vaguely follow what is being said. In a subtle twist from the norm, one guide here when asked to slow down decided to speak just as fast but more quietly. However, the houses themselves were rather good. 

Casa del Fundador

La Casa del Fundador Suárez Rendón was built around 1570 and was the first substantial house in town. It lies next to the cathederal right on the main square, which was originally called after the said Suárez Rendón. Very substantially built, spacious and luxurious for its time, it still has that "I could live here" feeling.


Particularly interesting are some of the ceilings, which have been painted with figures, animals, plants and heraldic designs. The state of preservation is very good because false ceilings had been constructed hiding the paintings and knowledge of them was lost for hundreds of years. 

For some reason, possibly associated with the desire to be tipped heavily, our guide took every possible opportunity to seize our camera and take photographs of us in and outside the house. We have not included them all here. From the balcony of the house, there are views across the Plaza to the hills. Our guide told us fabulous tales of Simon Bolivar, the Liberator, watching from here, seeing the enemies approach and heading out to fight them off. There also seemed to be a tale of him leaving his clothes somewhere and having send his men back to fetch them when the enemy was sighted. We didn't quite understand all the story, but maybe it ties in with the fact that another town in Colombia claims to have the only statue of a naked Bolivar on horseback....

Just round the corner is another house just a few years younger, La Casa de Don Juan de Vargas. Rather surprisingly, this has some equally vivid ceiling paintings of similar style, which had also been hidden away for years. There are even some curious similarities such as both houses having big paintings of rhinos (not in itself a local animal). It’s clear that at one stage there had been a bit of 'keeping up with the Rendóns’, presumably with each house owner attempting to outdecorate the other.

Keeping with the theme of over-the-top decoration, we visited the Iglesia de Santa Clara la Real. This was originally a convent and now serves as a chapel but mostly for private services such as weddings. The whole church is richly decorated in red and gold with equally sumptuous paintings. The guide here talked a lot about the presence of both Spanish and Indigenous art but we confess that the distinction was not obvious to us. Other rooms that were originally parts of the convent were also open, including some cells that were much less spacious and well-appointed than those we saw in the convent of Santa Catalina in Arequipa.

Just out from the centre of the town, El Paredon de los Mártires (The Wall of the Martyrs) is a preserved section of old wall where two national heroes were shot in 1816. This was in the period known as ‘the regime of terror’ when Spain had appointed one Pablo Morillo as ‘peacemaker’ and was trying to retake the colony after it had declared itself independent. The old wall is now protected by a further wall and glass. Unfortunately, when we visited it, it was also surrounded by a building site, rubble and fencing to keep us out! ‘Cerrado!’we cried and went on our way.


In the evening we went out to find somewhere to eat but our choices were somewhat limited. Having travelled through more mountains to get to Tunja, we are now at 2800 metres again, and felt that it was too cold to hang around eating street food like so many of the local people were doing. Few cafes were open and of these most had very limited offerings for would-be vegetarians. One pizza place had a veggie pizza on its board but no price. When we enquired he told us that he did indeed have a pizza with no meat, it was a fruit pizza. “It has apple, peach, cherry and pineapple” he proudly declared, failing to mention the cheese liberally piled on top. We passed on the pizza but it reminded us of the fruit salad that we had for breakfast in Envigado a couple of weeks ago. We were asked if we wanted everything and foolishly said yes. We got a wonderful range of freshly cut fruit but then it was smothered with milk, butter, a lot of grated cheese, a dollop of ice cream and three different squirty sauces. We just managed to avoid having sprinkly bits on top. Not exactly what we had in mind when we stopped there.