Day 48: Medellin – Bogota – Stefan, on the run

Wednesday, May 15th, 2019, 2nd half of the holiday begun today.

Todays plan:

“Medellin to Bogota

Check out after breakfast at Selina hostel, Medellin. Get an Uber to Jose Maria Cordova Airport, Medellin. Take flight 8 to Bogota.

ARRIVAL TRANSFER – A Bamba partner will be waiting for you at the arrival gate holding a sign with your name on it. If you cannot find them or if your flight is delayed please contact the emergency number below.

Check In at the Cranky Croc, Bogota.”

I get up. Wash myself with a view over Medellin, pack my bags. Then I go down and have a selina breakfast, two low caffeine cappucinos, fair eggs benedict, a cereal+fruits bowl.

Go up to my room, check everything, check out.

Uber to airport is below 70.000 pesos (20 eur) for a 50 minute ride. I take the first, Jose in a Chevrolet Spark. He immediately messages me “How many people, how many bags?”. With a chevrolet spark I would panic for an airport ride, too. At least he speaks english. He is here in 4 minutes and speaks German fluently. He is Venezuelan, did 2 years in Germany (refugeed with 16 years alone), is now in Medellin doing city tours and Uber driving (1.650 rides in 2 years, not bad). He tells about his time in Germany, had a train ticket there and visited nearly every city with morning train there and the night train back. He tells about drugs, that colombians mainly smoke weed or take chemical drugs (a mix ecstasy and an sexual exitement increase). Cocaine is generally a tourist thing since a gram is only about 10 eur here.

The airport is well organized. I miss the luggage drop, they bring me. Nobody speaks English. I get a nice magnet.

I check my luggage. Again 23 kgs exactly. Get a nice fridge magnet. Go through security. Super fast Wifi. I do a 1.5 GB update of my pad within 10 minutes for free. Then I get a coffee. Good coffee. Gate 8, 11:35, I board to Bogota.

Supernew jet, smart seats for large people, too. Austrian, have a look …

FLIGHT 9: 15.05.2019 Avianca AV9303 Medellin (MDE) 12:09 – Bogota (BOG) 13:06; flight time 0h57m;
Economy; checked luggage: 23 kg, 10 + 5 kg carry on; Seat 26K, Airbus A320neo; 500 star alliance bonus miles

Free seat beside me. I write Blog, still one week to catch up.

I arrive in Bogota. The flight was super short. About 300 kms only. Luggage arrives. I go out, the driver is already waiting with a sign.

He misses the crancy croc hostel and drives up the hill. I help him with Google maps. He used it, too, but is not able to follow it. As a professional taxi driver. He is happy when I get out.

I enter cranky croc hostel. The receptionist asks me to wait 10 minutes. I start the discussion with “what is your nicest room and how much is the upgrade to it.” She cannot find my reservation but gives me a bunch of keys to take the room I like most. I take 201, it has a balcony in the back and more beds in it, I can use as tables. Everything is new here. The room is quiet. Breakfast is included with a credit of 15.000 per day, upgrade is 10.000 per night.

Perfect, a shower head and everything new and one handed water mixer.

Fine. I drop my stuff, get a map from the receptionist and start to walk.

Is this lock to keep them in or out? Anyway it seems effective …

I get to museo del oro and go in. It is open to 6 PM. I take the audio guide. They say it is three hours for all rooms. Not true.

Audio guide is +8.000 pesos, you have to pay 20.000 pesos deposit, you donot get headphones, but can use a built in micro speaker. You have to hold the device to your ear, but it works out.

The gold museum explains about the indigenous people and the history, economics of them. Second section is gold works, how they mined it and the different techniques of forming, than there is the treasury and the connection to religion and spirituals. Finally you go in a circular room completely dark and watch a light show with lots of gold. Definitively worth it.