My trip to Colombia has not got off to the best of starts.
Leaving work was a battle in itself, for various reasons, which I have mentioned in an earlier post.
Gatwick was little better, with arriving over 2 hours before my flight was due to take off and yet almost walking straight onto the plane as the queues for check in and to get through security is tighter than ever.
Atlanta, America. Ah ...what to say about this place.
Firstly, I had to queue to go through customs and replace my luggage, despite only wanting to board the next flight out. A queue of 1500 people ahead of me wanted the same thing, and that was just the foreigners.
Having to be ID with both Index fingers and looking into a webcam to pose for their records, was only mildly frustrating, but the fact that I could time the yanks getting in a record 35 seconds, while us poor immigrants had to wait on average 10 minutes each meant that even with about 50 booths I felt that at the end of it I could fully understand why people the world over hate the states. I wasn't even wanting to be here, and already I was feeling almost like killing someone.
Well as normal i tried the McDonald's, and I think I understand now why American women give good BJ's, as their strawberry milkshakes require such a high powered level of suction that the average milkshake drinker must be able to beat a Dyson hands down. It was nice, but too thick and did nothing to quench my thirst.
The fries were the best in the world, top marks for that, pity that the actual burger let it down a bit, being only so so in its taste. I must say that I also did not rate their hot apple pies either, they were too doughy and the filling was all stodgy. So far, though I don't often rate England for many things, its McDonalds apple pies have to be the rare exception to the rule, as they do just that ... they rule supreme.
Waiting in the lounges before the second trip I wasn't really expecting to hear a piano belting out non-stop interlinking hits from the Beatles and John Lennon, but I have to doubt the pianists choice of songs, for one of them was Eleanor Rigby ... with lyrics like "all the lonely people, where do they all belong" - ironic, or just melancholy ... for me it was too much the later.
After the departure gate had been changes for the second time and been delayed by a further 3 hours it now meant arriving in Bogota at around midnight, instead of 9pm, and with it went the last hope of meeting my friend tonight, as I cannot expect anyone to wait around at an airport until 1am for someone to arrive.
However it was even worse than that, as despite sitting next to a delightful girl who was born in Colombia but raised in the states, my spirits fell even further when it was finally realised that they had indeed left my luggage back in Atlanta, along with about 10 other peoples belongings.
No paperwork, no phone charger, no clothes ... just me, my passport, the book I bought in the waiting lounge and my wallet were all that I arrived and took with me out of that airport.
Realising how bad my luck was, i decided not to risk getting an unlicenced taxi, so after haggling with a guy to get a receipt, i just walked out of his taxi and up to the rank, as I had been suggested at the start, and after a short but manic ride through the city at 2am in the morning I reached my hotel.
At this stage I have to say that carrying a mobile phone with internet access was a true lifesaver, as it was about the only way I could have not only filled in all the lost property forms, but also been able to ask which hotel I was needing to get to. Also a good memory came into play, as even without this I might have been able to get there by asking for the "El Belvedere Hotel in Transversal"
Here things took a turn for the better, as the receptionist did indeed speak English, my room was able to be spotted with just my passport as ID and the room was clean, tidy, has a tv, minibar and spare refresher kits for toothbrush, etc, etc.
Only thing I have to say is, after being on your feet for 26 hours, regardless of spending some of it asleep on a plane, always read the directions carefully or you too may end up trying to shave having just stuck a load of antiperspirant gel on your mush ... not something that I want to be remembered for, but there you have it.
The morning came all too, and it felt as though I had only got a few minutes sleep, but after a hearty breakfast of ... pineapple and melon segments ... I managed to wolf down a cup of coffee and try to get in touch with my friend. Pity her brother / father answered the phone and neither spoke any English or understood who I wanted to speak to.
So now I'm left in my hotel, with no belongings, unable to get in touch with my friend and thus with my cellphone dead bound to stick to my room else we miss each other again, having now sent her a few emails to say to her to call me.
I hope that my luggage arrives today and that the rest of the trip goes more smoothly.
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