We had been in Villa de Leyva just under 24 hours but already loved it so much, and our fabulous hotel, that it was a wrench to leave. But there is so much to see.
We hotfooted it to Bogota, to catch a flight to Armenia, but got caught in traffic. Unbeknownst to us the weather where we were heading was awful and flights were being cancelled. By the time we arrived at check-in they had given our seats away. We were due to leave at 16:45 but got bumped to 22:00. Being British (and one American) we took it all in good grace, encircled the cases, and sent scouts out on sorties to case the food court and what drugs were available at the pharmacy! They are more liberal with their availability of over the counter drugs here, so people have stocked up!
After about an hour we found out that we had been booked on a 7:45pm flight to Pereira, instead of Armenia. I managed to find some strawberries, the only food that wasn't junk food, for my dinner and then headed through the non existent security into the departure lounge. It was bedlam!
There was an angry mob at the front. We had bets on who would loose it first. "Double denim" guy was the out and out winner! No one knew what was going on. All flights were either delayed or cancelled, but the screens weren't working. We just sat there and tried to find the funny side!
One guy just sat on the floor and played his guitar, others abused the ground staff, and there were random shouts. Announcements were made that were inaudible to everyone. Then all of a sudden at 9:45pm a door opened and there was a stampede! Turned out to be our flight so we ambled along (just to differentiate ourselves from the marauding locals!), boarded and 30 minutes after take off we landed. Because we were in the wrong place the airline had agreed to lay on a bus for us, but only then did they announce that it would only take us to Armenia bus station and not our finca!
I am not sure I can convey the comedy that followed. Bearing in mind most of us had barely eaten all day so were becoming delirious with hunger and in need of sleep! The bus could barely fit us all, it must have been built for midgets, they couldn't fit the luggage in the boot, mine was put in the inboard toilet, the window next to is didn't close properly, the two drivers were about 16, they had "pimped" the bus with lights, furry dice, jangling ladies and countless other tat, and as soon as we set off they cranked up their salsa hip hop! How they didn't burn out the engine given that we never left 3rd gear is beyond me. Fiona and I ended up almost in hysterical laughter at the back of the bus with our guide!
Poor Leon had to get our bus driver to meet us at the bus station. We all switched buses and drove the final 20 minutes to our finca, and finally got to bed, relieved to still be in one piece, at about 1am!
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