We travelled from our house in Chia to El Dorado Aeropuerto Internacional in our family group of 10. Saying good bye to some of our new Colombian family as emotional but we have been invited back to Mariana’s 15th birthday in November 2025. We shall see but maybe!

Flight from Bogota to Santa Marta was uneventful and about one hour duration. The next challenge was to fit into our 8-seater people mover with ‘mucho equipaje’. Well it was done, and I was amazed, with four suitcases on the roof, and some very tolerant and helpful back-seat squeezing of the ‘dos chicas’ and youngest ‘adultos’. A good team effort all round as ‘Padre’ was ready to book an extra taxi!

A lovely drive to Santa Marta, observing the vegetation change from Bogota and seeing more of the Colombian jungle, the weather so much warmer and oh, some relief from the high altitude. All of us have noticed the difference and we can literally breathe easier now we are at sea level. We are certainly in a foreign place for we Australians, seeing cacti in the hills, different birds (maybe some vultures?) and being in awe of the mighty mountain (Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta) rising from the sea, with snow on them I understand. These are a separate range from the Andes which traverse much of Colombia and through large areas of many countries in South America.

Today is now bliss day after the hustle and bustle of getting here, meeting family, preparing for and so enjoying a wedding, now we are just chilling. So good. And a masaje later for all of us! Yes, we are privileged travellers. And the Colombians are so accommodating, joyful, smiling and no signs of resentment or envy. They are inspiring, while we must acknowledge we have stayed away from areas of danger, poverty or delinquency, etc. We are grateful how our Colombian family have wrapped their arms around us, given us their blessings and ensured we have been safe at all times.

So, for several days, we are enjoying the bliss, the impressive ambience and comfort, and looking forward to some other small adventures in next days.