We Never Want This to Happen Again: We Got Stranded at the Airport in Colombia
Plus our very last video from South America
The first Sunday of the month has arrived again and that means it’s time for another update from our life on the road.
You’ll notice that this month’s newsletter looks a little different from usual. Apparently we have too many email subscribers to qualify for a free account from Mailchimp (a happy problem) so we made the switch to Substack.
This month’s edition comes to you from a still-wintery Toronto, Canada. Having lived abroad for more than a decade, we always forget that springtime is painfully slow to arrive in our hometown.
Fortunately we’re happy to spend a quiet month wearing cosy sweaters and enjoying downtime. That’s because we’re still recovering from being…
Stuck in Santa Marta
Those of you who follow us on Instagram had a front-row seat to our little drama attempting to exit Colombia.
We arrived at the Santa Marta airport ready to make the long journey back to Canada. As always, our tickets clearly stated that we were travelling with our two dogs in the cabin — an add-on service that we booked and paid for months in advance.
Unfortunately, Avianca had a back-end error with our booking and little Huxley and Jasper were no longer booked on the flight.
Even worse, there was no room for them.
We spent the next three days camped out in an Airbnb by the airport trying to get rebooked on the next available flight. The effort took more than 12 hours on the phone with customer service and cost a hefty additional charge (apparently last-minute flights from Santa Marta to Bogota to Toronto don’t come cheap).
If you’re wondering how the rebooking could have possibly taken that long, I can tell you that a full two of those hours were dedicated to simply processing our credit card payment.
The lesson learned from this experience? Always triple check the booking before heading to the airport — even when “pet in cabin” is clearly stated on the ticket. And perhaps avoid Avianca in the future. 😂
A final look at Colombia
Fortunately that one negative experience didn’t detract from the wonderful time we had in Colombia. Our last few weeks on the Caribbean coast included a whirlwind tour of Cartagena, one of the most beautiful cities in South America.
This city is Colombia’s most popular tourist destination and — no surprise — it also happens to be one of the most expensive.
We probably could have done Cartagena on a shoestring budget but, we’ll admit it: we had a whole lot of fun loosening up the purse strings and splurging a little. 🤭
And that’s a wrap on our time in South America. Six months, two countries and many wonderful memories.
See you on the road!
Stephanie & Gillian
2 Comments
Richard-traveler
Hi Stephanie and Gillian,
I was sorry to hear that we were not going to cross paths in Cartagena. I think I missed you by 2 days. I totally agree with you – that it was beautiful, and I wish I had time for more than the 3 nights I spent there. I stayed at the Hilton using points, so managed to avoid at least some of the costs.
Thank goodness you made it back – pooches and all. I honestly don’t know what’s wrong with Avianca. I also had to spend about 45 minutes on the phone with them to be able to force them to take my money. The website failed, and there was no realistic way to contact them except by calling their US customer service number. Those flights were between Bogota and San Andres (an island actually closer to Nicaragua than to Colombia, but still part of Colombia). I loved it there – and did both the private boat rental for a day wandering the lagoon, and also some parasailing! I highly recommend it – though, it is a resort, so the prices are going to be higher than Bogota (but not quite as high as Cartagena).
My Colombian airline adventure involved my flights between Bogota and Cartagena. I was originally booked on Viva, but on the day I was to travel, they went out of business. Amazingly, I was still able to book tickets on Latam for same day travel, and it only cost a bit more!
I just finished a quick visit to my family in the Seattle area, and have now embarked on my next travel adventure – a month in Madrid (where I am right now), then a week in Sardinia, a week in Paris, a week in London, then back to Sao Paulo. I’m actually planning on making SP my base for further visits to other places in South America. Wish me luck, and if you’re planning on heading south again, keep in touch.
Richard
Our Freedom Years
Ah, you were one of those lucky people who got hit with the Viva bankruptcy! So great that you were able to get on a LATAM flight right away…it seemed like a lot of people were left scrambling. For our part, I don’t believe we’ll be flying Avianca again any soon.
Your forward plans sound very exciting…have to love any journey that includes time in so many blockbuster cities! Good luck with everything and may all your airlines stay in business, at least during your travel window. 😂