Friday, December 13, 2024

Wednesday, December 11, 2024

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once during the night, again at 4:15, finally falling back asleep and waking/getting up at 6:30.

I left the apt at 8:30 and stopped at the Bancolombia kiosk but it hadn’t opened yet. I sat on their stoop and she opened fifteen minutes later. I printed Laura’s green card and her letter of extension. I had a latte in Los Portenos, replaced a missing peanut and returned to the apt.


It's 7pm and we’re in the Courtyards of Marriott Bogota Airport. Now to recall our latest adventure.

At noon I noticed I had an email from Avianca that our flight had changed to a 3:58 departure. I notified Teresa that we can wait another hour or so before leaving and I texted Bryan that our flight had changed and to come at 1:30 instead of 12:30. He texted me a photo of our porteria and said he was already here but he would wait for us. I asked him to give us a few minutes. We were already packed so it was just a manner of finishing up a few things and we went down to his car. On the drive to the airport he explained he’s divorced and his wife got the truck (and some other “business”) so he’s starting over.

At the airport we had no bags to check and an Avianca rep helped us use the machine to get our boarding passes. She asked for my passport which was deep in Teresa’s carry-on. Luckily, I looked at the machine and saw, “documento de identificacion” and I took out my cedula and she accepted it. The time we’re supposed to be at the gate was 3:13 so we had some time to kill. We had a simple “menu of the day” lunch at a new restaurant as J&C Delicias appears to be permanently closed.

We still had some time but better to get through the TSA checkpoint first. We didn’t have to take off our shoes or our belts and once again they didn’t catch the portable scissors in my backpack nor my keys or change as I walked through what I thought was supposed to be a metal detector. As we were waiting in line to board I saw this young lady with her little dog.



About to go through the gate to get on the plane I noticed my boarding pass had a “no” under where it says “carry-on luggage” but no one said anything. I stowed my backpack and her carry-on in the bin right over us. Our flight took off on time and when we arrived in Bogota it seemed like we spent more time taxiing in Medellin than we spent in the air.

We were able to skip baggage claim and at the exit doors Teresa decided she wanted coffee. She asked a cleaning lady who recommended Juan Valdez or Oma. Right after that we noticed a Starbucks so we ordered lattes and took a nearby table next to another couple. I noticed his dog and I said, “Samoyed” and he said in English, “yes, it is”. I asked where they were from and he said Canada although their dark features told me they are most likely originally from India. I asked if the dog was able to ride in the cabin and he told me it was a Service Dog and then I saw the harness. I didn’t want to embarrass him and ask what service the dog provides.

I double checked our hotel info and a hotel bus is supposed to arrive every hour at gate 5 on level 2. We just passed gate 4 and we were right across from the escalator. At 5:45 we gathered up our stuff and headed up and outside. I had a jacket but Teresa’s was in her carry-on. I offered to open her suitcase but she elected to wait a few minutes. I checked the nearby buses but didn’t see one for Marriott. We waited until just after 6pm when Teresa suggested we take a taxi. We walked across the street and took the first available taxi. The driver crammed my backpack and Teresa’s carry-on in his trunk and as we were pulling away I saw the Marriott bus parked at the curb we had just left. The driver asked me for the address and it took a couple attempts to find it as he stopped at the curb and the traffic police sounded their siren. After a ride through heavy traffic and a payment of 26,900 pesos we arrived at the hotel and checked in to room 215. It was more expensive than I thought, 722,687 pesos ($220.50).

I had a problem connecting to their internet but after a call to the front desk they suggested another network and that worked, although it’s very slow.

We had supper in their large sprawled out restaurant. Teresa had some type of fish and I had their small pasta and we shared a bottle of water for 185,990 pesos ($43). I did notice beef ribs on their menu, something I haven’t had in a long time. I certainly wasn’t hungry enough tonight but maybe lunch tomorrow. Then again, they might be too chewy to enjoy.

I looked at google maps and I can see the airport, our hotel, and the CAS fingerprint site all relatively nearby. However, it’s hard to get a sense of distances.

We went to bed at 10pm.

 

JUST FUNNY



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