Mrs. ItchyFeet What could be worse than an overnight flight, you might ask? A 7am flight! While technically the first leg of my flight from Seattle, WA, USA to Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia is domestic (traveling through Miami, FL), I like to get to airports early. Traffic is so unpredictable in Seattle! The 4:30am drive had way more vehicles on the road than I would ever have anticipated. Don’t you people sleep!?! Well, I certainly did not, with the fear of sleeping through my alarm clock. It was so incredibly nice of my Father-in-Law to give me a ride to the airport. Hopefully, the light-rail to Bellevue will be operational soon, which would really help!
But it’s a travel day
SeaTac Airport is doing a ton of renovations, so it took some effort to find a human to check my passport so I could get boarding passes. She made sure to let me know that my checked luggage would make it all the way to Medellín… um… I hope so! But she only gave me a boarding pass to Miami. But I want to make it to Medellín to pick up my luggage! It’s a different airline from Florida to Colombia. Can I not check in until I get to Florida? Guess I’ll find out.
I made it through security extremely quickly and found my way to the airport lounge (travel credit card for the win!). It’s a travel day, so it’s definitely not too early for a free drink. Technically, I’m still awake from last night. Turns out it is too early! They can’t serve alcohol until after 6am. Who knew!?! No worries. I just had to wait about 10 minutes. Long enough to figure out how to check in for my connecting flight on their website. That was confusing.
After breakfast and coffee (and a Bloody-Mary!), I headed for my gate with a pit stop to fill my water bottles and grab food for the plane. Just in time to start loading up. The flight was uneventful, but I was super disappointed to discover that upon landing in the domestic part of the Miami airport, I had to leave the secure zone and go back through security at the international part of the airport. WTF! But I filled up my water bottles for this journey! I had to hunt down a drinking fountain to dump what I couldn’t drink. Sigh.
I’m still not checked in?
At least I have TSA Pre-check so I didn’t have to take off my shoes or pull out my liquids-bag or iPad. I still don’t enjoy going through security. It was really weird because I got this TSA Pre-check laminated piece of paper to use for the combined line. So the ladies behind me were completely confused that I didn’t take off my shoes, but they were forced to. They kept pointing at my shoes, all bitter. Sorry!
Unfortunately for me, both lounges after security were full. Guess I’ll head to my gate instead. And it was a good thing I did because they started boarding like over an hour before takeoff. I patiently waited for my zone to be called. Once my ticket was scanned, I realized there was a problem. I got the red no-go light! I was directed out of line and to the counter… behind a very unconcerned older lady who seemed to forget that you only get one carry-on and she had to pay for the mountain of stuff she was bringing with her.
Maybe they need to see my passport again? Did I screw something up when checking in online? Now to wait while the lady’s credit card comes out of the wallet… goes back in the wallet… comes out of the wallet again… and goes back in the wallet again. “Zone 3”… “Zone 4”… “Zone 5”… “Zone 6”… Will there still be space in the overhead for my bags? Finally, the credit card goes back into her massive purse and I’m called up to the counter.
Turns out, they needed my flight information for my flight leaving Medellín. They have to make sure I will be leaving their country in a timely manner. I only get 90 days. Don’t want to overstay my welcome! After digging that out of my calendar events, it was smooth sailing, and I made it to Colombia in no time… along with my checked luggage. I unintentionally squirreled my carry-on bag into one of the first-class bins, but it made it too. The restriction label can only be seen when closed! By now it’s like 9pm and I’m very tired. Must find an ATM to pay for a taxi.
Why won’t this work!?!
I found an ATM, but the people in front of me seemed to be having some trouble with it. Is it out of cash? That happens sometimes but would really suck right now. I try my card with no luck. A security guard lets me know that there is another ATM further down the hallway. Taxi drivers are constantly asking if I need a ride. Only if I can get money to pay you! The next ATM is also a no go. Crap! Time to get some internets and pull up a ride share app so I can use a credit card.
Lucky for me, ride shares are allowed at this airport. I scheduled a ride with someone three minutes away. The app told me where to go. I didn’t listen because I figured he would have an easier time picking me up in a spot that wasn’t on the crosswalk. Silly me. He had parked and walked down the stairs behind the crosswalk to find me. We eventually found each other, and he was very nice about it.
So, José María Córdova International Airport (MDE) is in the mountains at 2,142m (7,027 ft for my US folks). It’s 20 kilometers (12 miles) away from Medellín, which sits at 1,495m (4,905 ft). Plus, there are some enormous mountains in between the city and MDE. What is the easiest and fastest way to get through those Andes Mountains into Medellín? Tunnels! One of which is the second longest in Latin America!
How gorgeous is this!?!
It was so cool driving through the tunnels and then seeing the nighttime vistas of the city open up in between. There were several mountain passes that we had to travel down and they all had these amazing views. I could not stop pointing and exclaiming excitedly. I hope Medellín is this pretty during the day. Once we made it to my apartment, the driver was so nice to help me communicate with the gate security guard who had my key.
The apartment is on the 13th floor!!! Have you ever lived that high up!?! I once stayed with a friend for a few days in Hawaii who was living on like the 28th floor, which was crazy. I was too scared to spend any time out on the balcony. This is not that bad, but still very high up. I can spot scarlet macaws flying at eye level! I am also very excited to find out that the tap water is drinkable. Not so excited to discover that toilet paper has to go in the trash and not in the toilet. You can’t have everything.
The shower head was broken, but I did have hot-water, so that’s a bonus. The bathroom is tiny in that I occasionally bump my head on the glass shower door as I’m sitting down on the toilet. There are now a few forehead streaks on the glass. On my first morning in the apartment, I discovered that the moka pot for making stovetop coffee was missing a metal filter. I tried using a paper filter with mixed results. I’ll just have to buy instant coffee until the owner can get me a new one, which she promised to do as soon as possible (along with fixing the shower head). Lucky for me, I’m in Colombia and the coffee is amazing in all its forms!
The City of Eternal Spring!
I have so many things to tell you about Medellín! The city is gorgeous. The weather is amazing. It’s at such a high elevation in the mountains but still in the tropics, so the weather is around room temp (20C or 70F) most of the time. They don’t call it The City of Eternal Spring for nothing! It’s wonderful to walk around the city, but it’s actually a bit cold for the swimming pool. Can you believe it!?! And that’s after I bought a swim-cap because it’s required. Rules. The apartment balcony overlooks two large schools for very young kids. I’m pretty sure they have recess all day (or take turns) and are constantly being murdered (or are having the bestest time… I can’t tell) because they scream all day long during the week. I’m getting used to it.
The food here is so inexpensive and wonderful. I’m surrounded by these ginormous shopping malls, along with three very large supermarkets. It is weird going to fancy restaurants inside the malls, but kind of fun as well. I can get pretty much anything I want within walking distance. Although I do have a couple of fantastic stories about trying to find Napa cabbage for Kimchi. Those are soon to follow.
The city shuts down the street next to my apartment for pedestrians, dogs, and bicyclists on Sundays. All these puppy related booths get setup along the route. Selling things like dog jackets, leashes, dog friendly ice cream (pupcicles!). There are drinking stations for pets everywhere. It’s really cute. I definitely got sunburned that first Sunday walking around because… tropics and high elevation! Boy, do I feel that elevation. It’s an adventure!
Too cool, sounds amazing