The Colombian Diaries
Category: Travel and Places
Colombia is a multi-cultural, diverse, fascinating place, full of irony and contradictions. It has warmth, beauty, danger and ugliness but always, repeat always, an energy and vibrancy. Seen through the eyes of this gringo it has been always interesting, something new in every turn and a very simulating experience. I’ve made several long extended trips there over the years and have been lucky to have my wife as my guide along the way to teach me about her culture.
We made our home base in Bogot which has been describe as 24-hours of controlled chaos and took trips and excursions all over the country, from the historic seaside city of Cartagena to the little jungle town on the banks of the Amazon River, Leticia, and many places in between. I would like to share some of my impression with you about this interesting country.
First Impressions
Having met my Colombian born wife in the states I had of course heard much about her country of origin and had finally arranged a trip so I could see it for myself. We had selected a Venezuela airline because it had a better price but I didn’t realize they did things a little differently than the other major airlines. The flight was delayed several hours in Miami because of mechanical problems but it wasn’t until we got in the air that I noticed the real differences. As we ascended, the plane became cold as if the heater was broken or they were trying save on their energy bill. The meal wasn’t exactly spectacular being only a cheap hamburger bun with a slice of American cheese wrap in plastic as if prepared in someone’s kitchen in a Miami condo the night before.
There was a stop in Venezuela but even though we were going to continue on in the same plane, we had to get out and go through immigration because they said they had to “clean the plane”. This struck me as a little odd since I couldn’t recall ever having to stop in mid-flight so the plane could be cleaned. Either they were clean freaks or something else was going on. I really never found out why we had this bizarre stopover but was happy we were finally on our way to Bogot.
However, I did find out landing in Bogot was also something special and a bit harrowing. Bogot is on a high plateau surrounded by even higher mountains that rim the city. This requires the pilot to climb over the mountain while approaching and then once clearing the peaks, suddenly dive out of the sky in order make the runway. This particular night, as many other nights in Bogot, it was raining. I felt like we virtually drop out the clouds for the landing.
Having arrived very late someone evidently locked the door to the main terminal and we had to walk alone the tarmac around to another building where we entered through what appeared to be an unlock garage door.
After a $5 taxi ride from the airport, we didn’t get to sleep until about 4:00 in the morning. This was my first impression of Colombia but it would get better and even more interesting.
To be continued
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