Heading to Medellin

Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2017--Bogota to Medellin

I was up by 6:30 and out of the apartment about 9:00.  I wasn't sure how the traffic would be going to the airport, and I wanted to get an early start even though I didn't have to be there until 11:00 to check in for my flight.  A nice woman was headed the same way and volunteered to use her slap card for me and let me pay her cash.  She spoke English, so we visited on the way there.  Not only was there really no problem with traffic, but it was one of their Transmilineo rapid transit buses which operate like a street-level subway, with dedicated stations, dedicated traffic lanes, fast in/fast out stops, etc.  I was in the terminal at the airport by 9:45.

When I got in line to check in with Avianca for my flight, I was a bit worried about the Kiwi.com ticket I had bought.  At $60, it was 2/3 what the airline website was asking.  But the Avianca agent didn't bat an eye.  She even went further and told me that my 13:10 flight was delayed until sometime after 15:00, but she could put me on an earlier flight leaving at 12:40 if I wanted.  Of course, I wanted.  That meant I would be boarding in just a couple of hours.  I suggest anyone who flies to check out the link above for Kiwi.com to see if they offer any good prices for where you plan to go.  I became familiar with them because Kayak.com now lists their rates for flights when searching there, so it isn't necessary to go to Kiwi, Kayak will redirect you there if you choose one of their offerings.

Well, that new flight got delayed, too.  But we ended up leaving only about 20 minutes after my original flight would have left.  So I still made it to my apartment in Medellin (pronounced here as "Med-a-zheen") by 16:00 as I had originally planned.  It was a rush though.  My bus from the Medellin airport got caught in traffic about 5 blocks from here as it was turning the opposite direction to go to its final stop another 3 blocks away.  I managed, with the little Spanish I speak, to beg the driver to let me out because I needed to go the opposite direction.  He pulled over to the curb, the one other passenger remaining from our previous stops got out also, and the driver opened the back trunk for me to get my suitcase.  I rushed that 5 blocks, because the person meeting me for the apartment had planned to be here only from 15:30 to 16:00.  I arrived at 15:55!

My apartment here isn't as nice as the one I had in Bogota, but it is nicer than it looks in the photos (as you will notice if you read some of the reviews).  It has more of a lived-in feel to it and is older.  But it is plenty big for me (3 bedrooms, 2 baths, living/dining room, and kitchen.  It is only 4 blocks from the main plaza in the old downtown area, and there is a metro station just 3 blocks away.  And it is very inexpensive, especially compared to hotel rooms here.

I am exhausted.  But I still wouldn't be here if I had taken a bus.  Getting up at 6:30, the earliest bus I could have caught would have been about 8:00.  That means I would have arrived here about 30 minutes ago AT THE BUS STATION and would probably be getting near to the apartment about now.  It would have made a much worse day than sitting reading in the airport, taking a 45-minute flight, taking a 35-minute bus ride into town, and then walking 5 blocks.  I've been here at the apartment now for over 3 1/2 hours.   And by flying, I got to look down on the beautiful, green, crinkly mountains of Colombia.  It really is a gorgeous place even if it was made for no one to be able to get from place-to-place easily (or at least quickly).

I bought a Cuban sandwich at a shop on the corner, and it came with a Colombian soft drink--sweet and sparkly.  A young woman who came in to eat at the same time, chatted with me.  She was fascinated that I was touring Colombia for so long without speaking Spanish better than I do.  She had a great time teasing me by asking or saying things I couldn't understand.  One reason I went there is that everywhere else in the area had TVs going and were crowded with people eating and drinking while watching other soccer matches before the main one between Colombia and Brazil tonight.

I am tired and staying inside tonight.  It's so nice to relax.  It's been a big change from Bogota where it was cool to cold all the time.  It is so warm here that I have opened my windows to let some air inside.  Unfortunately, the forecast for the days I will be here calls for rain--rain throughout the day for the next 3 days and then rain at times after that.  I have not had any disruptions in my plans during the trip because of rain so far even though it was sometimes forecast.  So we'll see.