I enjoyed the TransAtlantic Virgin Voyages cruise so much last October that while I was on the ship I took advantage of the discount if you book while on the ship. Today, I headed for the cruise, through Bogota.
The cruise is actually from Barcelona to Miami, departing Sunday, October 11. So why did I spend the night in Bogota? I am spoiled and prefer to fly business class. I'm also cheap and not rich. I've found that you can get some bargain flights on Aviance and Iceland Air if you're willing to overnight in their country hub on the way. Later today, I'll be hopping on a flight with lay-flat beds (!) for the 10 hour flight to Barcelona. It saved me about 1/3 over a shorter flight on United, Delta, etc.
On the bright side, the flight was on time and uneventful. Some of the challenges were an old plane so business class was just coach with the center seats blocked. I spent 4 hours with my knees jammed into the seat in front of me, which is why I prefer coach. I put my headphones in my checked bag, assuming they'd have headphones in my business class seat. Uh uh. You could watch movies or TV on your phone but needed your own headphones. The guy in row 1 didn't have headphones either so he just turned the volume on his phone up. Which kinda was nice since it helped drown out the screaming toddler in the row behind me.
Has air travel gotten harder or was I a superwoman when I flew every week for a couple decades? Or, most likely, I've just gotten older and find life a wee bit more challenging.
Getting through customs was a challenge, mostly because I didn't see the signs. An employee pointed where to go but I ended up waiting in the Colombians-only line for 20 minutes before being directed to a different line, where I had a similar experience. I was very happy when two employees confirmed that I didn't need to pick up my checked bag - it was going on to Barcelona. I'll be double checking that this morning. My air tag shows it sitting patiently somewhere in the airport.
After getting through Customs and Immigration, I got a taxi to Aloft hotel. I considered walking up the block to Ara, a grocery store I fell in love with in Cartagena. You can buy some excellent roast chicken and potatoes but was too tired/lazy.
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| My airport (Orlando/MCO) has a store whose front window is an aquarium. Ok, it's the SeaWorld store. |
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| It was pouring before I left. My pool was almost to the top. I checked the security cameras this morning and it looks fine. |
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| I don't like crowds, noise and airports. But really, is there anything more exciting than leaving on vacation? |
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