Goodbye Colombia! It was nice! The last luggage under the Christmas tree

Today - on Christmas Eve - Julia's backpack arrived with the Lufthansa luggage service.

Short jump two days back: I was lying by the pool on the rooftop terrace of the hotel on my last day in Panama when the phone rang. It was Julia, who had flown from Medellin to Panama, but did not catch her connecting flight to New York there. The plane had taken off in Medellin with a 2-hour delay due to fog. But Julia had already rebooked me on my flight tonight! Well, that works out well, then we can also drive home together from Frankfurt Airport. Neither of us believed that it would work with the luggage. And that's how it was! Julia's backpack was missing at Frankfurt Airport, but you have to say that the Lufthansa service was very good and now everything is there.

I don't want to miss writing a brief summary of our trip. Overall, it was an incredibly great experience and I don't regret it for a second. Of course, this form of traveling is sometimes exhausting and annoying, but it never gets boring. And boredom is not for me - my family knows what I'm talking about - lying on the beach for 2 weeks doesn't work for me. Again? Yes, I would do it again at any time, no matter which country in the world!

Of course, not everyone can do such a tour. With Julia, it was obviously a particularly great experience and a great advantage that we have known each other for 21 years now. Everyone knows each other's quirks and knows how they work. I have to say, I was very impressed by Julia's organizational skills. My years of training really paid off (right, Julia: "Damn it, now concentrate for 10 minutes!"). We could really rely on each other throughout the entire trip. That also makes traveling much easier than constantly having to think for two people. It may sound trivial, but try such a trip and you'll know what I'm talking about. There are constantly things to organize: how to get to the next destination? When do we have to go where? How do we get there? Book flights! Check-in! Get a taxi! Reschedule! Find accommodation! Gather information! Organize food! And so on and so forth... And of course, not everything always goes as planned - after all, we are in Colombia and not in Germany.

What is there to say about Colombia? Colombia is an incredibly interesting country. I have never seen so many different regions - in terms of vegetation, fauna, geography, and climate - in a single country. Even though there were a few tricky situations (only in Bogota, actually), the people are very friendly, helpful, and warm-hearted everywhere. Of course, there are exceptions in Colombia as well. So in every respect, Colombia is a highly recommended travel destination. If there is one thing that may be a bit lacking, it is the food. The Colombian cuisine - and I did not expect this - is not particularly special. Although the best conditions are given (there is everything from fish, seafood, meat, all kinds of fruits and vegetables), the cuisine lacks finesse. This does not mean that the food is not delicious, but you have to look a little more targeted to be able to eat something really extraordinary. Overall, you can say that the food gets better the closer you get to the coasts.

We can recommend everyone to take such a trip. If you want tips, we are very happy to help.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you again for all the positive feedback on this blog. Writing has always been fun for me, and if others like it too, that of course motivates even more! So: THANK YOU! It did surprise some people, but YES: I can not only do math, but also write!

In this sense, Julia and I wish you all a Merry Christmas! Stay healthy and have a good start into the year 2018!

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