Day 2. The flight to Pereira

You can fly from Bogata to Pereira (or Armenia) for $20 US!  No not on a puddle jumper, but a full airbus complete with drinks, movies, and flight attendants.  The flight is around 40 minutes...if all goes as planned.  Our afternoon flight had lovely views of puffy and clouds and even mountaintops peeking out from time to time.  We arrive to the coffee fields of Pereira and prepare for landing.  Just  as you expect the jolt of the wheels touching down, the plane goes full throttle and off we go.  Announcements are made in rushed Spanish that I can't pick out up from down, but I conclude that we must be going around and attempting again.  This happens not just once OR twice but three times!  This is when I get nervous.  More announcements are made and I do hear Armenia, which is a town that is about 90 minutes away by car from Pereira.  The lovely gentleman beside us, takes pity and translates in broken English that yes we are headed to Armenia because we can't land due to wind in Pereira and we will wait it out on the ground in Armenia.  This is when I began to think.  Neither Armenia or Pereira are our final destination but a town that is equal distance from both-Salento Colombia.  So after landing in Pereira, I flag down a flight attendant and between my broken Spanish and our new friend, we explain that we would like to get off here.  After some debate with the ground crew, off we go, while the rest of the full airplane sits to wait it out.  Once off the plane, we talk to a taxi driver and explain that we need to drive 90 minutes away to Salento..the town, not the local restaurant that is 5 minutes away.  So for $35 US off we go...to the mountains and Salento. Where there is a will there is a way.

Our view of Pereira as we pass several times