The New El Dorado Airport in Bogotá

The new addition is on the left; the old 1950's tower is on the right.

Arrivals and departures out of Bogotá will be both easier and more enjoyable now that the all-new El Dorado airport has opened. There was not a hint of this wonderful outcome when I returned in September, although I have known there was work going on on this project since my first arrival several years ago at the outdated 1950's terminal. It is now managed by Operadora Aeroportuaria Internacional (OPAIN), a consortium composed of Colombian construction and engineering firms and the Swiss Flughafen Zürich AG, and the light and airy design is a winner in my book.

 Imagine my surprise and delight when the taxi from the bus terminal pulled up the ramp to the totally modern glass and steel structure to let me out. (By the way, the Wikipedia information is no longer totally correct as they have no new photos of the new facilities.)

The all modern, 'green' banjos will
try to minimize usage of paper.

Moving walkways are a great addition!

And there has been barely a hesitation as the staff adjusts to their new surroundings and bags are quickly processed while people are hustling off to their new gates to await boarding. The high ceilings and glass windows make it seem like each gate is really an open invitation to the mountains beyond, making it even harder to leave this wonderful and interesting country.

My trip from Barichara to Bogotá was smooth (as the busses go) and I even slept a little this time. We arrived at the bus terminal in record time and because there was no festival ending or starting, the crowds were light, so I was able to get a taxi right away. As I was leaving my art class earlier the day before, my teacher just had to tell me a sad story of a woman he knew having a travel problem, but I put that out of my head and continued to intend my story was going to be different - and it was.

The shift in size is as big as the new facility; I'd be guessing, but it feels as
if the airport has quadrupled in size overall. Much needed, and as a traveler,
much appreciated! This is in one of the gate areas.

But one aspect of the airport will not get my praise. The restaurant Crepes and Waffles, usually offering great service and quality food, really disappointed me. At 5:30 a.m. there were not a lot of customers, but I still had to wait 20 minutes to even get my order placed. Then my fresh juice arrived, but nothing else... not hot tea, not sugar, place settings only. The men and couples around me who had arrived after me were served first as I waited and waited. Finally I called the manager over and explained what was NOT happening and immediately it was corrected. But the egg, while hot, was not cooked as I requested, and the croissant was not made that day. The wait staff did not come over to see if I wanted anything during my meal, and in fact only showed up to clear the table and then after 25 minutes of waiting for her to return with my check, I finally got annoyed and tried to find the manager again. No luck, but seeing me get up caused a reaction and the check was delivered. I have concerns about the ability of this restaurant to meet the needs of an international traveling public wanting to make their flights on time, not to mention keeping up their former reputation of being a great place to eat.

The full view of El Dorado Nueva from the runway.

JetBlue, American, Delta all have service counters here (as well as Avianca, Copa, LAN and Spirit airlines to name a few), but JetBlue still gets the nod from me for being the best airline to travel back and forth on. They have streamlined the ticketing and baggage handling process so that I didn't have to wait long in line, and their bi-lingual staff make any travel problems easily solved. They continue to provide affordable daily service to and from Orlando, not to mention LEGROOM on their aircraft!

Travelers waiting for their flights will appreciate the free and fast WiFi services, the many highly visible modern arrival and departure information kiosks, and soon (I hope!) more trash receptacles.

Preparing to take off from the runway at El Dorado.

It was clear that there is still a lot of work to be done in these early days of the new airport, and some glitches (I wonder what word is equivalent to that in Spanish...?) still have to be worked out - like having signs after clearing Customs that direct you to the gates - but the moving walkways, the new shops, and the duty-free options for buying, were all very operational. I think if you are just arriving in Bogotá, this new airport is going to give you a great first impression of the country and its people.

UPDATE: Read about the cease-fire between FARC and the Colombian government which will benefit everyone, but particularly it will be good for tourism because visitors will want to come and see this remarkable country if they can be assured of their safety.

Much of Colombia was under heavy clouds as we took off for the U.S.

Obama win is good for Colombia

Approaching Barichara, you can see one of the cordillas of the Andes stretching out ahead under the clouds.

I am not taking sides when I say that Obama's win is good for Colombia, but the last four years of working to strengthen the ties between the two countries will benefit from a continuation of the existing policy. While I do not want Colombia to become 'Americanized' in any way, inevitably that is going to occur with people all over the country watching the TODAY show, learning English, and having more tourists coming from the U.S.

Clearly my blog has been read by a huge number of Americans, possibly those looking for a nice retirement option. And Colombia is supportive of retirees (although you have to prove you can support yourself to get a visa) and welcomes Americans as visitors. Santos has been working hard to bring the FARC to the peace table and since Obama supports this, there are plenty of hopeful signs that an end to the conflict could occur. This would only benefit Colombia as a tourist destination country because it has so very much to offer.

Cathedral in Barichara - early morning shot

Although the U.S. State Department does issue travel advisories about Colombia, anyone visiting here and taking reasonable precautions for their personal safety should not be any more concerned about touring here than touring in the U.S. Don't bother wearing your expensive jewelry in any of the large cities. (If you are going someplace where you want to show it off, carry it in a pocket or something until you reach the inside of your destination, then you can put it on and remove it when leaving. That's what Bogotonians do.) Probably that's good advice in the U.S these days as well.

Anyhow, all you folks reading this, come on over and see Colombia for yourselves... the El Dorado airport in Bogota is being upgraded, you don't need a visa for a two-month visit, and it's well worth the trip!
NOTE: One village in northern Colombia is totally pro-Obama... read this!

It was a Looooooonnnnnnnggggg Trip!

I don't have any photos to post of the trip from Barichara to Florida, but it was long and dark, and sometimes rainy. I left my old casa about 10:30 p.m. and arrived in San Gil at the terminal in time to catch the late-running 11 p.m. bus to Bogota. I determined I was charged the highest price (50,000 pesos) because the driver correctly evaluated me as a gringa, tired and distracted. Oh well, my Christmas present to his family... it should have been about $35,000 pesos.

The bus pulled into Bogota about 6:30 a.m. under temporarily sunny skies and I caught a taxi from there to El Dorado airport which is under construction for a fabulous new system, making it the most modern international airport in Colombia, and about three or four times larger - much needed! So I was ready to get into lines by 8 a.m. Only they weren't ready for me! The international flights -  most of them - leave after lunch and do not begin service for ticketing, etc., until 10 a.m.  OK, then.

I went back to the Beauty Salon I visited last year and they were ready for a customer, so I got myself a hair treatment, nails and while my hair was being done, they stuck me in a full body massaging chair for 20 minutes. I was tired but totally relaxed. Three hours later I went and got into the LAN line and was quickly processed, they took my two bags and no extra fees and I left for a light lunch and more lines for the LAN security final check.

Most of the international flights do a final search of your things in the waiting area for the flight. That's also when the last body scan is done, but it seems 'friendlier' somehow than the TSA people in the US make it. Not 'friskier,' suggestive or whatever, even though it is a frisking of the body total, but it feels less invasive.

Anyhow, flight was delayed slightly, but we arrived in time in Miami at 7 p.m. Now I've had 20 hours of traveling and less than six hours of sleeping as the bus is not condusive to quality sleep time, even though I was lucky to have two seats for most of the journey. By 9:30 p.m. I have my rental car and am heading up I-95 to Jacksonville as I will have to turn the car in at the airport and a friend will pick me up there.

Can't make it... angels on my shoulder guide me to a rest area at 2 a.m. and I sleep there until about 5 a.m. under the watchful eyes of the security guard and then I head out for a road trip breakfast before getting into JAX. It is noon by the time my buddy arrives to pick me up, and I can tell I am getting ready to crash after 36 hours of traveling. But when I get to my FL cottage, I am too tired to go to sleep and I finally fall into bed about hour 42....

No surprise that over the next few days I am fighting a cold... but I made it safely back to the U.S. and I will soon have this cold behind me. Hope you all are having good holiday events and I wish you joy!