Hot on the heels of a trip with my girls, their partners, and their kids, Rudy and I are heading to Colombia for a couple of months. I have only had 6 days of turnaround time and into this short week I have packed in walks with friends, a trip to Morden to visit my sister, multiple trips to art shops and other stores to pick up much needed supplies, and loads of other running around. Rudy and I are traveling with only a carryon bag for each of us and it is amazing now much I have packed into that small compartment while at the same time I wonder whether I have packed the right things.
Because of this whirlwind I have had little time to worry about the things that need to be worried about. Thanks goodness Rudy has done some prep (and although he would hate to admit it, also a little worrying). We wake up for the last time in our king-sized bed and Leona and Donna drive us in to the airport on sloppy wet roads. (the weather is what we might experience in March and I wonder why we are getting away for the winter although I know there will be much more cold and blizzardy weather yet to come in Manitoba)
We fly from Winnipeg to Montreal and arrive there late afternoon. I am struck by how Zen I am feeling. None of the usual trip anxieties and my stomach is not upset at all. I am also struck with how airports are the same everywhere. There are so many diverse people and it feels like we are in a foreign country already with all the French being spoken. But even in this foreign feeling environment Rudy manages to find a TV that is broadcasting a Jets hockey game. We can’t catch all of it before our flight leaves for Bogota but the Jets are ahead and all seems right with the world.
The overnight flight is just what you might expect. It is impossible to catch more than a series of catnaps as it is sooo uncomfortable and the flight seems to drag on forever. But arrive in Bogota we do and after a long wait in customs lineups and a ninety-dollar visa fee we make it out of the airport, into the cool Bogota morning. It is 4:30 a.m. We stop at an outdoor café for a delicious cup of coffee and feeling much revived we catch an Uber to our apartment for our week in Bogota.