A journey with obstacles - On the road with photo enthusiasts - Colombia 2025 - 1
2025-02-10/11 - A journey with obstacles
The flight to Colombia is with KLM. This means that we first have to get to Amsterdam and as the flight to Bogota leaves in the morning, the connecting flights take off very early. In my case at 6:00am from Stuttgart.
As I had already booked last summer, it was too risky and stressful for me to drive to Stuttgart at night in winter, which is why I chose an airport hotel. So, my journey starts already on Monday afternoon.
As soon as I arrive in Stuttgart, there is an unpleasant surprise: the flight to Amsterdam has been canceled. Later, I'm told that instead of KLM, I'm going to Bogota via Paris with Air France. The flight departs a good hour later and there is also a longer stopover in Paris. This also means that we arrive in Bogota much later. A fellow traveler who shares my fate has already phoned Thomas and has been told that he will send us a transfer. Well, let's see.
The alarm clock still rings at an ungodly hour. But I haven't slept much anyway. I'm at check-in at 5am, get my new boarding passes and hand over my suitcase. The security check is extremely accurate this time. Even the second lens I left in the backpack has to do another lap of honor. Over WhatsApp, I find out that it's apparently similar at the other airports.
The flight to Paris is unspectacular. As expected, CDG airport is chaotic. We land at a terminal far out that seems somehow improvised. It's been a long time since I've walked across the airfield at a major airport. Passengers are sorted through long, bare corridors and after passport control, we take a bus for what feels like 30 minutes until we arrive at Terminal E. This is more like what you would imagine a capital city airport to look like. Nice: there are old arcade games and Playstations where everyone can play for free.
The flight to Bogota is again nothing special, just long. Over 10 hours on a day flight is quite a stretch, especially if you've already had to kill 5 hours in Paris. I booked Premium Economy for the long haul. The seats can't be fully reclined, but the extra space is pleasant. Only the food has quite some room for improvement.
Once I arrive in Bogota, everything goes pretty quickly. There is not much going on at immigration at the moment; my old Brazilian Real and a few Euros are quickly exchanged, and the suitcase is arriving fast too. Our driver is already waiting, and we get to the hotel without any traffic jams. After checking in, we quickly take our suitcases to our room and then join the rest of the group, who are already waiting for us in the hotel bar, for a beer.
