ORD - IAH - BOG - BGA
Well today was a LONG journey.
A bit after 6 am, we (me, Mom, Dad, Grandma, and Noah) all piled into the car with my three giant suitcases, carry-on, and backpack. I wasn't able to check in online yesterday since I had a "return" flight reserved but not paid for on my reservation (long story), which meant I wasn't able to check in at the kiosk either. So we're standing in a long line of people with complication check-ins, and I'm worrying about getting onto my flight, PLUS whether or not all my baggage will make it onto my flight. I had read online that there was a baggage embargo for anyone going to, from, or through Bogotá, and there was a question about whether that meant two bags or three bags was the maximum (each time any of us called United we got a different answer, from "What embargo?" to "You will have to ship your third bag.")
Well, after standing in this line for a while, worrying and waiting, a United rep pulls me out of line to ask about my situation. She ends up canceling the troubling "return" flight, checks me in, and takes all three of my suitcases (50.0 lbs, 50.0 lbs, and 50.5 lbs... had to pay for the third bag, but not for the extra half pound!). Then it is time to say goodbye and make my way through security.
I was pretty amazed actually; I didn't have to take off my shoes or anything complicated like taking my laptop or my toiletries out of my bag. They didn't even have bins. My carry-on did make them suspicious enough to check it by hand though; I guess they saw what looked like a weird gel on the scanner. I think it ended up being my jewelry case...there's lots of plastic baggies in there, so maybe that looks like a gel? Dude swabbed the inside of it too. Anyway, turns out it was all ok.
So I go to Starbucks and due to my two Star Rewards I get a whole free breakfast, which is awesome. Then I make my way through the Jetsons hallway to Concourse C, find the gate and chill there for a while with Adam, one of my new coworkers.
Then the flight is delayed 40 minutes.
Then the gate is changed.
Then my seat is changed.
Our 9:10 flight ended up leaving at 10:05. Apparently the previous plane came in late, then had mechanical problems, then they decided they weren't going to fix it in time and changed planes, which resulted in many seat changes due to the different plane configuration. They flew extra fast to try to make up for lost time though! I think we got in around 11:45 or so. Plus, my seat change meant I got a window seat instead of a middle!
Our layover in Houston was ~3 hours, so the delay didn't hurt us really. At IAH we met up with a bunch of the other teachers and had lunch and one last good American beer before we got on our flight to Bogotá.
Nothing much to say about the IAH - BOG flight; I had a window again, I slept, I read, I played a game on the headrest TV. We made it.
Sunset en route to Bogotá
Once in Bogotá, we had to go through immigration, customs, and security. The immigration line was super long and we were worried we were not going to make our flight (we only had about an hour to make the transfer). However, it was quick and painless and the line went super fast. No one had any issues getting through, even the cat that one of my coworkers brought with her. Luckily we did not have to get our bags to recheck them; they were just checked on through to the next flight.
We had to run to catch a bus to take us to our plane (stairs on the runway situation), and Megan, the girl with the cat, almost didn't make the flight. But we all got on in time!
So chill.
Once we got to Bucaramanga (around 11:45 pm), we all got all our bags and met up with our new bosses and colleagues, who packed us all into a bus and drove us to our apartments.
I got all my bags! Embargo be damned.
Let me tell you, that bus was packed TO THE LIMIT (well, beyond the limit to be honest). It was a little terrifying.
Time to get friendly...and not get crushed by a suitcase avalanche.
And then it was complicated to get our suitcases out, since my roommate Colleen and I were the first stop. They helped us get everything into our apartment (so many stairs!) and made sure we were all settled before they left for the next stop.
