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New Year’s Eve dawns with luminous black clouds and more rain. Our alarm goes off at 7am and Fero complains as it is only 4am at home. Following coffee, a shower and breakfast, he is much happier.
We pack up and recreate our adventure from yesterday. We caught the bus from the hotel (much more cautious driver) into El Centro and transfer to a hotel zone bus. This bus travels the full length of the island where the majority of the hotels are situated. It is about 15 miles long and takes us 40 minutes or so. The route is large hotel resorts one after another and really doesn’t resemble Mexico at all. We get a glimpse or two of the beach and the ocean, however it is mostly hidden behind the luxury hotels.
At the turnaround point, we are the only two left on the bus and the driver tells us we need to get off. We asked if we could pay again and ride back with him. He shrugs his shoulders and says Si! The route back was filled with more turistas like us, so Fero coined it the Cancun ‘hop on-hop off’ for a mere $.75 each. The driver had to slow down considerably as the rain was a torrent at times. We were so happy to be on the bus and not wandering around!
We got off the bus at the center and realized we were in the exact same spot as last night, sooooo we went back for more of those incredible taquitos and bifstek, It was equally as delicious.
Here the waitress told us of a very quick and efficient route to the airport, via a bus company called ADO. We walked the longest “two” blocks quickly and arrived at the bus terminal sweating from the exertion – the sun was now out and a full 28C. Finally finding the correct queue I purchased two tickets with 2 minutes to catch the bus. We made it – whew!
A short half an hour later we arrived at the lovely air conditioned airport and settled ourselves for the two hour wait before boarding. Before we knew it, we were boarded and bonus, in exit row seats and an empty seat between us! LATAM (LAN) airlines are fantastic and we received a nice sandwich and glass of wine – free! Comical though, we asked for a second glass of wine and were told, no wine left, only whiskey.
Both of us slept for a good portion of the flight and before we knew it we were in Bogota. Immigration was quick and Canadians had their own line (due to the entrance fee we had to pay – and here we thought we were special!). There was only the two of us in line so very few Canadians here. And we have noticed not many people speaking English, so my Spanish will be tested.
Our taxi driver was extremely nice and it took only 30 minutes to be dropped off at our suite hotel. We are in a business area of Bogota that was recommended as a safe area of the city. The room is very spacious and we are close to Parque 93 which is beautifully decorated for Christmas.
First order was to shower and get a taxi to find a wine store. Most of the stores & restaurants were closed but our driver managed to find one for us. He waited as we happily filled a basket of wine, champagne and snacks. Back to our hotel and we were set to ring in the New Year.
Happy New Year everyone!!!!!