Day 4 (February 20, 2023):






The Compassion Columbia office in Bogota, where we spent a good part of the day.


Our delegation split up into small groups and we met with each of the teams in the office to hear about their work. One of the teams was dressed in traditional Colombian outfits.


The country Director for Compassion told us that Colombia is known for three things: flowers, coffee, and hospitality. On the hospitality front, they certainly lived up to that expectation today. This special meal was provided to us for lunch. 


This is a traditional Colombian soup which they serve to us today. It is quite thick and is made from puréed potatoes, chicken, and a special leaf that only grows in the Bogota area. It’s one of those dishes in Columbia that every son says his mother makes the best version!


El Dorado International airport in Bogota, one of the biggest in Latin America.


Canada has Tim Hortons. Columbia has Juan Valdez Cafés. Actually, they are a step above Tim Hortons and are more on the level of Starbucks.


Juan Valdez did not disappoint.


Taxiing out to take off this afternoon, we saw this huge Colombian flag.


Also on our taxi out to the runway, we passed the intricately designed control tower for El Dorado International Airport. 


A couple of views of Bogota upon takeoff from El Dorado International Airport. It is simply a massive, sprawling city.



The sun had just set as we started our descent into Cartagena, on the Caribbean Sea. From the air, we were shocked to see such a maze of high-rise towers comprising the tourist strip of Cartagena.


For $15 CAD, we were able to upgrade to business class on our Avianca Airbus A320 flight from Bogota to Cartagena. There was no in-flight service on the hour long flight, but the seats were incredibly spacious and comfortable. An amazing deal for $15 extra. 


The stunning old city walls of Cartagena, en route from the airport to our hotel this evening. We actually caught a short fireworks display as we were driving by.



The Cartagena tourist strip at night.

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