It's 5 am, and I'm wide awake, brushing my teeth and making sure I don't forget to pack my electric toothbrush in my luggage. My backpack and carry-on suitcase are stuffed to the brim and I'm hoping that I'll be able to get away with just not having to check anything. My flight leaves at 8 am and Dedi is going to drive me to the airport at 6 am, hopefully giving me plenty of time to get through security.
I arrived at the airport at 6:30 and breezed through security thanks to my global entry status. I sat down in the waiting area with Mike who has also decided to join the fun of riding across the cafetero (coffee growing) region of Colombia with 8 local Colombian riders. Soon we were joined by Jose who is originally from Medellin, knows most of the Colombians, and is the one who enticed us to join this adventure. Jose though is flying on American Airlines with connections in Dallas and Miami. Mike and I are on United with one stop in Houston.
Left ot right: Jose, me, and Mike at ABQ airport
11:00 am: We arrived in Houston on time and faced a 5 1/2 hour layover. That was my doing. We could of taken a later flight out of Albuquerque, but I didn't trust the short layover ( 1 hour?) not knowing if there was any immigration control in Houston. It turns out the only check was to have my passport out during boarding. The good news is that I had two complimentary passes for the United Lounge so that made the layover pass quickly. As much as they say, alcohol should be a no no when traveling, it was hard to turn down the Margarita that Mike offered to me, a token of appreciation for using my second pass for his entry.
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| Mike and I enjoying a drink in the lounge |
Using whatsap, we sent the above picture to the cyclists in Colombia and to Jose who was in Dallas and were advised to not get borracho (drunk)!
Jose sent us a photo of him sitting in the airplane bound for Miami with a distressed look on his face.
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| Why so sad? |
Jose explained that due to a mechanical issue on his plane, he was going to have to switch planes and was going to miss his connection in Miami to Medellin. Thus, no smile.
We then received a photo from Orlando, the 4 th cyclist from the USA joining the tour. He looked equally distressed.
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WHy so serious?
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Orlando explained that he was worried about all the climbing. His training in Tampa involved riding up and down a 5 story parking garage until he got too dizzy to go on. Just no hills to speak of in Tampa.
10:00 pm: We aarrived in Medellin after a nice uneventful 4 1/2 hour flight. I was excited to be in Colombia. All kinds of emotions were running through me as distant memories of living in latin america as a child rushed through my mind.
I realized as I approached the immigration control that having a seat in the back of the plane and stopping for a nature break has put me at the tail end of a long queue.
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View from my seat at arrival
Queue in immigration |
It took me two hours to get through immigration as I zig zagged back and forth through a labyrinth of 30 lines. I had multiple short conversations with some of the passengers as we passed each other going in opposite directions.
Once out with luggage in hand and passport duly stamped, I was met with a big hug by Manolo who had driven out to pick us up at the airport. He was not at all surprised by the delay in getting through customs. We were also joined by Pepino, the bike mechanic for the trip, and Orlando, who had arrived about an hour earlier but had an even longer wait to get through immigration.
I was ready to find our AirBNB that Jose had reserved but Manolo asked if we wanted anything to eat. Mike said he'd like something light and in hindsight I'm glad we stopped. To my surprise there were many options along the way, and memories of all night open-air eateries from my time in Puerto Rico came back.
I got a plate of patacones which is the Colombian version of tostones as they were called in Nicaragua. Double fried plantain slices. I also ordered a Milo chocolate drink. More good memories.
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Left ot right: Manolo, Pepino, Mike and Orlando
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I offered to pay and was pleasantly surprised to see that I could pay with TAP using my Garmin watch.
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jet lagged and ready to find a bed!
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After our snacks, Malono dropped Mike and me off at our AirBNB and drove on with Orlando who was going to stay with him at his house. Mike and I managed to get the key out of the lock box (code 1234) and open the outside door but jet lagged as we were, we weren't certain if we had walked into our room or a lobby. I spotted some stairs and guessed we were in a lobby so we headed up to the 2nd floor and to our relief found a door with our room number on it. After 30 minutes of failing to find the trick to open the door, I called Jose, who was stranded in Miami. He informed me that we needed to turn the key through 4 full revolutions in the direction of the latch (opposite direction of what you would expect) then hold the key so that it didn't spring back and with the other hand, turn the knob. It worked.
We found a nice set up with two twin beds in one room and a queen bed in the other. Mike said he didn't care which room he got, and I, despite feeling a bit of guilt, opted for the queen bed. I made a mental note to pick a less favorable room in subsequent lodging arrangements.
I was in bed by 2 am and thought I'd get a nice deep sleep. Manolo was coming by at 10 am to take us to his house where our borrowed bikes were stored.
The church bells started ringing as soon as my head hit the pillow. They continued randomly throughout the night but banged in earnest starting at 6 am! So much for starting off the adventure fully rested!
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