Sunday, 17 February 2019
Pitolito, Colombia
So.
Today’s schedule is.
Depart hotel 1130hrs.
Arrive airport 1215hrs.
Flight departs Pitolito airport 1345hrs
Lands Bogota 1455hrs.
3hr drive to Villa Leyva, north of Bogota.
Overnight in Villa Leyva.
However.
Only two of those happened.
Woken at 0600hrs by stupid woman in adjacent room Skyping on her phone just outside my window. She finishes the call before phone is rammed down her throat.
Good to see Miss Germany again. She’s her usual bubbly and chatty self and have a laugh enroute to Pitolito airport, some 45mins drive from San Augustin.
She helps me check in and have to check rucksack in this time as hold baggage. Not concerned as there’s only one flight a day from this very small airport.
Say goodbye to Miss Germany. You know how you have an instant connection with someone? Well it’s like that.
No security scanners. Armed police rummage through your checked in bag which is then passed through a window to the baggage trolley. Hand luggage is rummaged through by a security bod and another security bod wafts a wand over my body. His colleagues laugh as I duck down to his height so he can waft wand over my shoulders.
Check in girl says flight on time.
So.
All good.
Sit at the single boarding gate. It’s open to the elements and a fresh breeze blows through providing some needed cooling.
Aircraft should be landing 1255hrs. But let’s add half an hour for the obvious delays.
Shortly after 1300hrs, there’s a hive of activity. Hi-vis vests are donned. Baggage trolley trundled out to apron. Flight controller picks up fluorescent orange wands and headphones.
Hear an aircraft fly overhead at 1330hrs.
This is it. Only half an hour late. OK. Not bad. They’ll turn it around in 30mins and we’ll only be 15mins past schedule plus that will be built into schedule.
So.
Looking like landing on time.
Ho.
Ho.
Ho.
There’s a lot of radio chatter.
Man in suit appears to be in charge and busy talking into radio.
No aircraft appears.
At 1400hrs, man in suit makes an announcement in Spanish. Which I don’t understand but can guess. Ask young girl sitting next to me if she speaks English. She does. She explains. Flight delayed because the pilots couldn’t land due to the weather. It’s clear but cloudy and a bit breezy but there’s more puff in a balloon than this wind. Am no expert but don’t see any reason why the aircraft can’t land.
Shortly after young girl has translated for me, man in suit walks up to me and motions for me to go the check in desk. His English is minimal but he has a beautiful, sexy, young girl, who looks like a young Keira Knightley, translating for him who I assume is a tour guide waiting for clients off the flight. Between her and the check in staff using Google Translate they tell me what I already know.
The flight is delayed. Could be 1hr or 2hrs. Depends on the “meteorological conditions”.
45mins later.
An announcement.
The flight is cancelled.
Yep.
The one flight per day to Bogota.
Is cancelled.
Clucking bell.
That’s all I need.
Contact the guide in Bogota. Thankfully we’d exchanged WhatsApp details a few days ago. He can’t believe it either.
I need transportation and an overnight hotel sorting in Pitolito.
He’ll ring me back once he’s spoken with his office.
In the meantime, the local passengers are dispersing and the airport staff are busy clearing away the equipment. There’re not many people about now. It’s 1530hrs. Keira walks up to me and asks if I need any help with hotels and says that the man in the suit, who is in charge, will give me a lift into town. He’s the airport manager. It’s her Dad.
Oh wow.
That’s not bad service.
There’s an elderly English lady in the same boat as me. Airport manager is busy helping her. Keira recommends a good hotel and says her Dad will take me and elderly English lady to hotel.
Nice bloke. Very helpful.
We all jump into his car. He’s drinking a small bottle of cider as he drives. Hmmm.
As we approach Pitolito, airport manager says something to daughter who translates. Would we like to join them for dinner later?
Well, that sounds very nice.
An evening with Keira will do very nicely.
Driven to Hotel Los Angeles (https://losangeleshotel.com.co/en/). A brand new hotel near the bus station. It’s about £30 for the night. Not even worth arguing over who should pay. Airline, agent or me. The owner is friends with airport manager.
Airport manager tells us he’ll pick us up at 1900hrs. It’s now 1600hrs.
The type of hotel is questionable when I find a pack of condoms in the amenities basket in my room. Doesn’t feel like a knocking shop but as we leave a young couple are checking in with no luggage. Rooms by the hour I wonder?
Airport manager drives us through Pitolito town. Assume we’ll be meeting Keira at the restaurant. Even though it’s a Sunday night, it’s all kicking off in Pitolito. The main square is full of locals meeting up, the church is full of punters praying at Mass and there are lots of bars with loud music blaring out with the disco lights dancing in the dark. Feels more like Nottingham city centre on a Saturday night.
Drive out the other side of town. Elderly English lady speaks Spanish and as she’s in the front she converses with airport manager. So I haven’t got a clue what we’re doing or where we’re going.
Drive out of town and then do a u-turn and drive back the way we came. It becomes apparent we’re doing a city tour when he points out the hospital and turns into the car park and drives us past the entrance to A&E and on to the other general departments, pointing out each one, before exiting car park.
Right. Sod the tour. Need food and beer now. Getting hungry.
Eventually.
Pull up outside what looks like a decent café in a new building. Can’t wait to see Keira again.
Except.
Something obviously got lost in translation.
Keira’s not there.
It’s just airport manager, elderly English lady and me.
His English is as good as my Spanish. Poor. Very poor.
Elderly English lady translates.
This is going to be a long night.
Order food and drinks.
Takes 45mins for drinks to arrive.
A further 10mins for food. Nearly 2100hrs by the time food is served.
But it is good.
All things considered, it’s a pleasant evening, if a little stilted conversation.
The bill arrives and airport manager picks up the tab.
Wow.
We have a group selfie and he sends it to the big boss in Bogota, who replies, “Excellent. Thank you.”
Now that’s customer service. He’s gone above and beyond what was required. Extremely grateful to him.
Return to hotel in his car. Rear seat belts don’t work. The back seat isn’t fixed into position.
All of a sudden, he does an emergency stop to avoid a sodding dog. I and the backseat slide forward and I only just catch myself from slamming into the back of the driver’s seat.
Always amazed by the kindness of strangers.
