Last day in Colombia. I start out in the hotel making sure my bags are packed up well then I meet cash for coffee at the sidewalk cafe connected to the hotel. Cash is planning a trip to Santa Marta so I give him the info of the 2 great hotels we had in the area. After coffee, I check-out of the hotel but put my bags in storage for later in the evening when I need to head to the airport.
I hop on the metro and end up getting off at a station that looked like a nice area. I pass a bunch of larger motorcycle shops for brands we don’t have in Canada and wander in looking at them. AKT, a Chinese brand, sell a 125cc bike for $980 usd ($1280 cdn). With how many thousands of AKT we saw on the road they must be reliable.
A little later on I pass a small restaurant selling empanadas and mozza sticks. I decide that this would make a good last meal and go in to order. I ask for what I want and for some reason, after no problems ordering for a month, the ladies there don’t seem to have a clue what I’m asking for. Turns out, the guy sitting at the food counter seat next to me is a Colombian living in Toronto. He helps and it turns out they did know what I was asking for but they wanted to know if which type I wanted as cheese and which was carne. I sorted out my order and then the 4 ladies working there pretty much ignored the other customers while they made sure I was offered each type of salsa, a drink, was there anything else etc. I guess gingers are celebrities on that area. (Probably not a common tourist area).
Heading back to the hotel area it is now rush hour. The metro is packed and I barely squeeze in. Luckily, my spot is right near the door and a couple stations later at my stop I’m just drawn out the door with the crowd.
Just wasting a couple hours now before my flight and Cash messages to see if I want to get together again for a bit before leaving. I meet him and Angela and we spend an hour or so chatting over a fresh maracuya juice. Saying goodbye for the final not time this trip, I head back to the hotel, collect my bags and Uber out to the airport.
The Uber ride was great. Nice young guy who spoke a tiny bit of English but for the most part we talked in Spanish. He wants to go to Canada for his schooling and is driving Uber to pay for school.
Unfortunately, I get to the airport a little too late for my plan to work. The Copa air counter has now closed and I have to wait for it’s early morning re-opening. I can’t go through to the departures lounge until after checking my bags, so the VIP lounge and beds are out. waiting 4 hours, Copa’s counter finally opens at 2am but now they can’t seem to get my bags checked. After about 20’minutes of computer problems I finally get past the counter, but also am told I need to get my air canada boarding pass in chicago because they cant do it. Seems with Copa, whom previously I had liked, everything now goes wrong. I head off to the international departures terminal thinking now I can enjoy the lounge, only to be stopped and told that customs doesn’t open until 3am. I don’t think I will even get a nap in the lounge now.
Getting through security and customs, it is now about 3:15 and boarding starts at 3:30. I just scrap the whole lounge idea and figure I will just get on the plane as early as possible and nap there. Of course this plan also fails. Seems a technical problem has occurred with the extendable walkway and boarding has been delayed while the push out manual stairs. At about 4:15 we board the plane. Not enough time to snag a Z before takeoff now.
First flight ends up leaving on time despite the issues. We arrive in Panama and I hike the entire airport once again for my connection. Weirdest part was having to go through a second mini security for boarding. Shoes off, bags into the scanner, the complete works. All set up right in front of the gate. Now on to Chicago.
The chicago flight goes smoothly. A little over 5 hours long. I was offered breakfast but had already eaten a croissant on the first flight so I passed, waiting for the lounge food instead. Now, at the airport, I have to collect my bags, go through customs, recheck my bags and then go to another terminal (by bus) for my flight to Vancouver. I also need to check in with air canada for the flight as Copa couldn’t do it. Air Canada also tells me they will retag my bags all the way to Nanaimo, since Copa could only do it to Vancouver. I do all of this and then clear security again, and finally get to a lounge. In terminal 2 here they don’t have a “priority pass” lounge but the united one is included with my airplane ticket so I head there. Just like most of what United does, it’s a nice attempt but it sucks compared to the other lounges (I don’t like United and purposefully avoid flying them).
Before my Vancouver flight I go to a restaurant for lunch. A burger and drink works out to over $30. About the same as my last 3 days combined in Colombia. Burger wasn’t to bad though. I make my way to the flight and board the plane hoping that Nanaimo flights will still be running with the apparent snowfall. Just after boarding, an air Canada dude comes on the plane and lets me know that they might have lost one of my bags. I will know more if it doesn’t show up. DUH!
Rest of the flight goes well and arrives in Vancouver on time. Then I head off for the Nanaimo flight, but all sorts of delays and cancellations are going on. My flight ends up boarding about an hour late and after de-icing takes off an hour and a half behind, but at least it flew!
Finally arriving in Nanaimo, I am exhausted but happy to be home. Carolyn is there to meet me at the airport and welcome me home. Before we can leave though, I have to go to the Air Canada desk and start the process for my one missing bag.
Colombia Motorcycle Ride 