Colombia 2012 Day 7

We had a late start for the day because we really didn't have anything planned except our transfer to San Andres.  The hotel was going to drive us to the airport at 2pm so we could get on our first flight at 4:45.  That meant we started late and went to the dining area and had breakfast late as well. They were obliging and served us anyway. The owners were there in the morning and we got to talk to them a bit. They had lived in America for a while. Some locations mentioned were Miami, New Jersey and upstate New York.  They were very nice people. For breakfast we had fried eggs with fresh cheese and their local bread called arequippa.  Instead of coffee they served us big mugs of hot chocolate with milk in it. It tasted like pure chocolate with sugar and milk added rather than like a cup of Swiss Miss. At breakfast we met Max who was their dog as well. Like most dogs, Max really liked me and we hung out together while I ate.  The food was good though I am still not really a fan of eggs.

After breakfast we took a small tour of the hotel grounds to see the pond, path, pool, Jacuzzi and general landscaping. The area was very pretty and even though they are not far from a fairly major city in the region you could not tell from there.  The owners said that around 90% of their guests are local (which I assume means Colombian) and the rest are foreigners. I am not sure fully what else there would be to do around the area besides the hot springs but if there are then it would be a nice place to stay a few days and just relax.  After we toured the grounds we decided to take a short nap until it was time to pack. When the alarm went off we got up and finished cleaning up and packing. The owner was waiting for us and we loaded up into her Kia SUV and it was of to the airport. it took us about 50 minutes to get there from the hotel.

At the airport checkin was not that difficult but they did search our luggage beforehand. It probably took us about 20 minutes or so with the ine. They told us our first flight was delayed due to traffic and we had more time.  So we used that time to get something to eat. Basically there were snack stalls and two fast food joints. We chose the one called Presto.  I had what were called Mini Chicks (which were chickent nuggets) and Daniela had a barbeque chicken salad. The drink I got was a Fanta apple soda. She had some sort of orangy soda.  After we ate we decided to go through security which is basically nothing like the US. You do not need to remove your laptop from your bag or take off your shoes. They still wand you with metal detectors after you go through the big one.  Once inside we had to figure out where our waiting area was which was a little confusing but we managed it. The flight left even later than they thought it was going to but all the same we would have plenty of time for our connection to San Andres.  We were on an Airbus A319 which I had never been on before. It had in seat entertainment but it was kind of pointless.  We were in the air for around half an hour and the flight was over.

When we landed and deplaned the minor adventure began. We didn't buy direct purchase flights together to get to San Andres but rather round trips from Bogota to Periera and back then round trips from Bogota to San Andres and back. Both were with Avianca so they were willing to check our luggage straight through though.  Daniela did not purchase her tickets normally but used a special method for travel industry travelers.  This meant she was on standby for the flight to San Andres and we weren't going to know if she could board until the very end.  I had a normal ticket and it wasn't an issue for me but obviously I wasn't going to go unless she could.  We had to pay a $26 per person tax to enter San Andres as a visitor too. while we waited the plane looked very full. She had to talk to a couple people to see if she could get her "Johnson" seat.  At basically the very last minute with us waiting just outside the plane we were told that she could board and we both would sit in the business class seats. In fact the very front two.  Ok, so that turned out to be nice.  We were on an Airbus A320 this time. The flight was about an hour and a small bit. They served us a snack which was meh, like an open faced ham and cheese sandwich and I had a coffee during the flight. There was a lightning storm outside so I had to keep her mind off of that by telling her some stories of my previous travels.  We landed without incident then couldn't get our free shuttle transfer to the hotel for some reason I didn't understand and had to take a taxi instead. They said we would be reimbursed for it though. They gave us a nice explanation of the grounds before taking us to our room. The room had a nice size to it but the faucet was a bit of a problem.  We had a balcony and could see the ocean from it but we were not on the beach itself. After getting settled in I was pretty much dead to the world and crashed then.  It was near midnight.  Daniela went to the lobby to find internet but was not successful. We didn't have internet in the room.

The pictures from today are located here.