1. Flight to Bogotá
Day 86
Today is moving day or a D-Day. Whatever you want to call it. It is time to change the continent.
I really don’t have almost anything to pack. Only a small duffel bag a bagpack for my camera. I grabbed everything in the morning and I am out of the door. I double check I have all my documents and the rest of the stuff. I even returned to my room to triple check. All good.
I booked a ride to the airport from a friend of the guy in the front desk. I gave myself plenty of time in case of any screwups. I rather be at the airport 2 hrs early then run like a headless chicken. 8 o’clock came and went and there is no ride. Too bad, I am calling for Uber. 3 minutes later I was on my way to the airport. Easy ride, almost no traffic.
Tocumen Airport is fairly nice with a brand new Terminal 2. I have checked in oline and I have no checked bags. Very easy. There was nobody at the security and at the customs. 2 questions and I am inside. I went through the scanner, got my bags check, all within 60”. CATSA (= the screening people at the airports in Canada, not a popular group) should send a study group down here to take a look how it is being done.
The new terminal is nice with lots of shops and restaurants. But I can only see so many Duty Free shops. I have 2 hrs to kill. I walk to my gate so I know where to go when it is time to board. I didn’t have a breakfast so I get a sandwich and a beer. Why not… Chatted with few friends on WA and it is almost time to go.
There are already lots of people at my gate. It looks like the flight is full. It is COPA Airlines Boeing 737-800. I vaguely remember that plane … 🤭 It looks like everybody has at least 4 suitcases with them… It is the same everywhere in the world. They are boarding by group numbers. I don’t want to wait so I play dumb and go with the 1st group. And it worked! Those years of practice, blood, sweat & tears come handy …
The flight is full and we leave on time. On the minute! I have a nagging feeling I forgot something. Well, too late now. We get airborne and almost entire flight is above the clouds. Didn’t see the Darien Gap but tracked everything on my phone. Timewise, the flight is just like Vancouver to Calgary. Before you know it, we start our descent. We broke out underneath the clouds and what a surprise! The landscape is not what I’ve expected. It is almost like we are landing in Europe. Small fields, forest and greenhouses everywhere. But I can see some hills around as well. We land on time and my phone right away laches onto local network. Great, I have comms. I have a lady from the Overland Embassy waiting for me to take me to my hotel. I check in with her and she is waiting by the exit already. KLM A350 and Avianca B787 land at the same time with hundreds of passengers. I race them to the customs. Not too many people ahead, maybe 5’. Literarily 30” to check my passport and get a stamp and I am in Bogota! Seriously, CBA people should come to see how it is being done efficiently and without any BS.
I found my girl and within minutes we are driving from the airport. WOW, this could NOT be any better, faster or more efficient. I expected a lot but I am still pleasantly surprised. My hotel is 10’ away from the terminal. It is on purpose so I don’t have to ride across the whole city to pick up my bike from customs. OA people will come and pick me up bright & early on Monday morning to clear the customs with my bike. Then I will ride on my own back to the hotel. The “hotel” is more like a house with few rooms for guests. Very homey.
I get to my room and start checking what I forgot. Well, the victim is my AirPods. Crap! I know where there are, on the bed in Panama City. Not too hard to overlook as the box is white I left it on white bed sheet… I sent them en email, lets see. Not getting my hopes up. The internet here is crazy fast so I have to take an advantage of it and update and/or download all I can.
But I need food and money now. Found a bank and an ATM and got out ½ million pesos (=$160). The rate is crazy here. 1CAD = 3,000 pesos. I have 100k bills worth not that much in my pocket. I feel I am rich, numerically speaking, at least. I found a pub and ordered wings and ribs. And Corona to start with. But my eyes are bigger then my stomach. I struggle to finish it. The portions here are MUCH bigger then in the previous countries so I will need to adjust the next time.
Back to the hotel and write the blog and do some planning. Oh, it is F1 weekend, so I have to watch that …
So, I am in South America! I honestly expected bigger drama to get here but I take it! All the border crossing in Central America was done in 2 hrs or less. I did my homework for every single crossing and it paid off. And to get to Colombia from Panama was easier then to drive to the US for gas. I am actually quite impressed. Well, I am here so fun part starts NOW.
Later … 🤙