Flying over the Andes

Ok I wasn’t going to post anything today but here I am sitting a super slick, shiny, new Terminal 3 in Sao Paulo where I am waiting for my connection to Bogota (as you do). It was a super cheap flight so why not. 

My day started at 4am when I checked out of the hotel and was given a brown paper bag with some breakfast since I would miss service. That’s a first and much appreciated. A cabbie collected me for a lovely ride to the airport; no traffic, super ride and a spotless terminal. Here I was expecting a check-in repeat of the performance when I was leaving Buenos Aires but I was so very wrong. Super polite staff, super fast check-in - the exact opposite to my previous LATAM experience. 

Our flight got off to a real bumpy start, so pleased I was in a dreamliner which are supposed to be better in coping with the bumps. We were warned as we approached the Andes to be prepared for turbulence but it didn’t eventuate thank goodness. 

The tinted windows gave the most stunning hue over the sun and the sky. Sadly I didn’t get to see any scenery below as it was too cloudy. I wait for that moment. 

There I was just coming to grips with my Spanish now I am plunged into a whole new world where I don’t speak or understand a word of Portuguese. So instead of speaking English to them Im automatically coming out with Spanish words. Funny how quickly you become accustomed to things. 

I had figured an easy way of converting the past two currencies to NZD. Here, not only do I have no idea of rates (and couldn’t be bothered checking my converter) but had to go change 10USD so I could buy a cuppa as they wouldn’t take USD or visa. Oh the joys of airports; definitely not the parts of travel that I enjoy. 

When I went to change the money Miss Snot behind the counter snapped at me and asked for my passport, which I duly handed over. She took all the details, checked it was me and when she gave it back I noticed my boarding pass was missing and did a little flip moment. Then I realised I had given her my expired passport (which I need to carry as it has my US Visa in it - just in case). See lovely Miss Snot - you aren’t as almighty as you think you are. 

With nothing better to do at the airport I watched, the planes, the passengers and the staff. The most intriguing of them all were the people that set up, with unbelievable precision, the barriers; you know those metal poles with the straps between that force you to go in a zig zag to get where you are going. Just like a maze. Obviously people don’t have enough to do as they can play with them for ages, making sure they are all symmetrical, straight and oh yes! actually going somewhere rather than reaching a dead end. 

Boarding for the last leg to Bogota was simple and uneventful, then we waited and waited. Well past due departure time and we still waited.....and waited till eventually we took off. 

Dinner was the usual airline rubbish except for an exquisite choclatey caramelly dessert. I told the attendant that it was delicioso and she promptly scuttled off and found me another. Ive changed my mind about LATAM. 

Its the most stunning day with a thick layer of cloud beneath us, but its just like a landscape. Flat flat white plains and every now and then a mountain range of cloud popping up out of no where. Quite magical and in all my years of travelling have not seen anything like it. I tried to grab a pic but it didn’t do it justice. The sun is bouncing off them and they look like jewels sitting on a pad of soft white silk. 

I so wish I could see down through the clouds. Flying over the Amazon Basin and then turning in and over the Andes must make for an amazing view if it weren’t for the pesky clouds. It I was more than rewarded by the sunset where the sun was peeping through the cloud layers glowing in the sky. Wow! And Wow! again

And so I arrive high up in the Andes to Bogota, Colombia (elevation about 2,800 metres).

I join the long long immigration queues. They have a lot to learn from the Chileans, but having said that I got through without issues and even had a chat with the customs official. 

My driver was waiting when I exited and was taken to my hotel (Villar America) by the coolest driver who insisted on teaching me Spanish on the way. But we found common ground with some English and a bit of Greek thrown in. 

It was dark by the time we arrived and couldn’t see much but I noticed the signs for petrol at NZD 4.50 a litre. Yikes!  

My hotel? Another functional, no frills, wee, clean place with restaurants and a few shops nearby. I didn’t venture out of my room till the afternoon and discovered their restaurant downstairs. Lunch? Colombian soup; beef broth, corn, plantain, avocado and tortilla. Just what the doctor ordered on this cold day when its bucketing down outside.