Souvenir Photo Studio, by Al Bourassa: Friday July 17 , 2015 Colombia trip 1

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Friday July 17 , 2015

The Cuenca airport did not open until 6am and I was there at 5:45 to a dark building so you can imagine my surprise when the automatic doors opened and there wasn’t a soul in sight.. Great security.. I found the nearest seat and waited as some of the workers arrived and the lights finally came on. Needless to say I was the first person in line.

The

Because I had a short connection in Quito and my first airline LAN had no baggage agreement with TAME, I had to disembark in an unfamiliar airport, switch airlines and re-enter the security. Therefore I had made the hard decision not to bring a suitcase and I crammed everything into my roller-bag and my fanny-pack. LAN decided to weigh my roller-bag and informed me that I was 15 Kg and the allowable was only 8Kg. I said that I had no other bags and explained my connection problem. She said I was allowed 2 carryons so she handed me a plastic bag and asked me to separate the weight, which I did. Once I got through the security line-up I just combined everything again…

The LAN flight couldn’t get the passenger count right so we were delayed 25 minutes getting in the air so I was beginning to panic. However they landed in Quito in 30 minutes which I thought was bloody amazing considering it is about a 7-8 hour drive. I did not get the window seat that I wanted so I had to ask the lady sitting there to shoot Cotopaxi for me.

The switch-over to TAME was uneventful, they didn’t weigh my bag and I barely had time to notify Cristina of my progress.

The flight to Esmereldas on the coast was again only 30 minutes and I was happily assigned seat 6A at the window but it turned out to be fist come – first served…. And it was hot and muggy at 27C. I was given immigration entry and exit forms from both Ecuador and Colombia. I needed help from a helpful girl because one of the forms was totally in Spanish and I am not quite that fluent. I write this part as I await to re-board the same plane to continue to Cali. Again I was able to confirm to Cristina that all is on time so she is catching transport to meet me at the Cali airport. This time I actually got my window seat 6A so I was able to take a few shots. The clouds were amazing and it was quite a treat to fly into Cali and see all the green lushness of the area.

Going through Customs in Cali I got a rude surprise. As soon as they saw my Canadian passport they dragged me aside and showed me a sign that essentially said that since Canada is imposing a Visa fee for entering Colombians, Colombia is imposing a reciprocal penalty of 160,000 pesos, probably about $75. After finally finding a credit card that would work, I finally got through.

I then had to wait a while but Cristina finally did make it, sporting new straight hair with no gel. She has naturally curly hair that she does not like so she normally conditions and gels it. We caught a small bus to the main bus station, had supper, and enjoyed the guy from the store next door making time with the waitresses.

We found a room nearby with a ceiling fan, but no AC. I might as well get used to it. The temp is warm, 29C, but not muggy like Esmeraldas.

We tried to find a tour of Cali but there is just nothing on a Friday night. So, here we are, I working on the Blog and she is watching soap operas… What fun.

I hope you enjoy the photos. I apologize for the quality of the photos as I only have my laptop and Photoscape to work with on this trip. That was the day's excitement, Cheers, Al