When I was planning this adventure I figured that after about three weeks I’d need a vacation. So several months ago I bought a ticket from Baltimore to a small town in Colombia where I could visit with a friend and her family and relax in the country.

The ticket was on Spirit Airlines and although the fare was reasonable I was restricted to carrying one small carry on bag. This is the bag I took and anything much larger would entail a $100.00 fee, each way! Also, I was told that they don’t even serve water for free. But cheap is cheap and I took the bait. I arrived at BWI at 5:00 AM for a 7:00 AM flight, checked in and went through security. At about 6:15 they announced the flight would be an hour late, about the length of my lay over in Ft. Lauderdale. I went to the counter and they told me I would not make my connection and gave me two choices, go the next week or have my money refunded. Yikes! the next week was not an option so I had to take the money. I figured I would not be going to Colombia but decided to see if there was any other options that I could afford. I sat down, logged onto the free internet and started searching.

I found a flight on Avianca for not much more than my discount fare on Spirt! It departed from Dulles that afternoon, required an overnight in Bogata and a return through El Salvador. But I jumped on it and headed to Dulles. I had several hours to kill so after arriving I took the shuttle to the Air & Space Museum and spent a couple of hours there. On my return I checked in for the flight. Here you see the amount of baggage that can be taken on Avianca at NO extra charge. When the greeter saw my small bag she thought it was odd but sent me to the front of the business class line to check in even though I was not flying business class. I think she was relieved that she did not have to wrestle my bags onto the scale to be weighed. The flight was great, the food was good, the wine was good, the airplane was new and comfortable and nothing cost extra.

So, by the next afternoon I was here. This is the view from the porch of the house we stayed in. Behind the house were the Andes Mountains and although they were visible, the peaks were always shrouded in clouds.

The place was beautiful and we all had the best time. Swimming, walking, eating, relaxing and  . . .

Riding. Yeah, that’s me, on a horse! Something I had never done before but was able to do almost every afternoon while I was there. We rode through the orchards and picked tangerines and ate them while we rode. We went down to and crossed rivers and would stop in small towns for a few beers before riding back to the farm. The place was stunningly beautiful and I had a wonderful time.

But, all good things come to an end and I am back in Maryland now. I took Niner-Zero for a flight this morning. My niece, Joanna, wanted a ride so we flew out along the Wicomico river for  about 30 miles and then headed to the Salisbury airport where I topped off my fuel tanks. Then it was back to Bennett Field were I tied her down. Tomorrow it is time to get back to work. I plan to leave around 7:00 in the morning and fly to Cape Cod. It should take about three and a half hours. I am staying a few days with some friends who spend their summers there. It’s a dirty job, but someone has to do it.