The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.

[Ojibear65]

Oh, frig! My plans to go to Bogota could be blown out of the water because of this Omicron crap. Christmas dinner has been cancelled at my family's place because two of the teenagers have contracted Covid. The Canadian government is advising not to travel internationally. I'm not sure how the new mutation is affecting Colombia.  Any updates.  I'm triple vaxxed but who knows how virulent Omicron is. I may have to postpone until May.

[Riobard]

Today’s trend, things under control compared to many other world regions, is irrelevant to the picture that could have emerged by two months from now, given how quickly new case incidence can surge anywhere and the prospect that all nations are invited to the Omicron party whether they want to be dragged into it or not.

Bogotá does seem to have a fairly good surveillance site that anyone planning to travel there may want to deep-five into … unfortunately it’s much heavier on cumulative metrics that are relatively useless to visitors than it is on rolling incidence per capita but you can see on one of the graphs the absolute number of new cases by day as well as the option to have table view that shows the exact number for each day from beginning of pandemic to today’s date. 

https://saludata.saludcapital.gov.co/osb/index.php/datos-de-salud/enfermedades-trasmisibles/covid19/

[Riobard]

21 minutes ago, Riobard said:

Today’s trend, things under control compared to many other world regions, is irrelevant to the picture that could have emerged by two months from now, given how quickly new case incidence can surge anywhere and the prospect that all nations are invited to the Omicron party whether they want to be dragged into it or not.

Bogotá does seem to have a fairly good surveillance site that anyone planning to travel there may want to deep-five into … unfortunately it’s much heavier on cumulative metrics that are relatively useless to visitors than it is on rolling incidence per capita but you can see on one of the graphs the absolute number of new cases by day as well as the option to have table view that shows the exact number for each day from beginning of pandemic to today’s date. 

By Spring/Summer there may be a booster engineered for the Omicron variant. If you have not committed cash that you would have to leave on the table the sting of postponement may be less. 

https://saludata.saludcapital.gov.co/osb/index.php/datos-de-salud/enfermedades-trasmisibles/covid19/

Sorry, Gremlins on this board when I attempted to add a few sentences to my original post seconds later. 

[Riobard]

[macdaddi]

Maybe I can help set your mind to rest. Not that I can fix the coming wave of Omicron.

Colombia has discovered cases (as of December 20) of Omicron. All three were tourists in the cities of Cartagena and Santa Marta on the coast.

https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/colombia-detects-three-cases-omicron-government-says-2021-12-21/

Currently there are two cruise ships off the coast of Cartagena with active Omicron cases. They are negotiating how to manage the situation (Colombia doesn't want them to disembark)

https://thecitypaperbogota.com/news/cartagena-bans-crew-and-passengers-on-cruise-with-covid-cases/28955

As a fellow Ontarian (who just returned from Colombia -- I like my white Christmas) I can tell you that the biggest hurdle will be to ensure that you have adequate insurance as most Canadian providers use a clause that gives them the right to deny coverage when the Canadian government issues a travel advisory/ban. This occurred for Colombia on December 15. Happy to share details for supplemental Covid medical and cancellation/disruption coverage if you want to exchange details.

https://travel.gc.ca/destinations/colombia?wbdisable=true

I still intend to return to Medellín(via Bogotá) in January, I just moved my ticket up by a week to accomodate some work happening at my place in the new year.

Good luck with your decision.

[Ojibear65]

At the moment Omicron is spreading rapidly in Canada, especially in  Quebec. However, hospitalizations are far less than with first wave. Here, we have learned from the first wave and are better prepared. I live in a small village and it's very safe here.  Thanks/Miigwech for the update.

[Ojibear65]

2 hours ago, macdaddi said:

Maybe I can help set your mind to rest. Not that I can fix the coming wave of Omicron.

Colombia has discovered cases (as of December 20) of Omicron. All three were tourists in the cities of Cartagena and Santa Marta on the coast.

https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/colombia-detects-three-cases-omicron-government-says-2021-12-21/

Currently there are two cruise ships off the coast of Cartagena with active Omicron cases. They are negotiating how to manage the situation (Colombia doesn't want them to disembark)

https://thecitypaperbogota.com/news/cartagena-bans-crew-and-passengers-on-cruise-with-covid-cases/28955

As a fellow Ontarian (who just returned from Colombia -- I like my white Christmas) I can tell you that the biggest hurdle will be to ensure that you have adequate insurance as most Canadian providers use a clause that gives them the right to deny coverage when the Canadian government issues a travel advisory/ban. This occurred for Colombia on December 15. Happy to share details for supplemental Covid medical and cancellation/disruption coverage if you want to exchange details.

https://travel.gc.ca/destinations/colombia?wbdisable=true

I still intend to return to Medellín(via Bogotá) in January, I just moved my ticket up by a week to accomodate some work happening at my place in the new year.

Good luck with your decision.

Thank you for the tips. How do you find the long journey to Bogota? I'm flying out of Thunder Bay. The layovers are quite long. Merry Christmas.

[Riobard]

11 hours ago, macdaddi said:

Medipac in Canada seems OK. I have used them before and the non-essential travel coverage exclusion clause #28 apparently does not apply when the travel advisory defines the reason for avoiding non-essential travel as being COVID-related. They also have an increased premium option that includes COVID. Do you know of any red flags about it? 

[macdaddi]

11 hours ago, Ojibear65 said:

Thank you for the tips. How do you find the long journey to Bogota? I'm flying out of Thunder Bay. The layovers are quite long. Merry Christmas.

I assume that you are doing the the direct flight to Bogota via Air Canada (apologies if incorrect) which take about 6 hours. It is nice to arrive directly at your destination, but landing in the middle of the night stinks. By the time you clear customs and have your luggage (BOG has one of the strictest baggage screening in the world) it is about 5am local time. I prefer to grab a room at a nearby airport hotel and get a few hours sleep before venturing into the city. El Dorado airport is in the west extreme of the city.

Check with your hotel when they will allow you to do the check-in, as they are not as flexible as we are used to in Canada or U.S.A. Plan your travel times accordingly. Fun fact--the word in Colombian spanish for Check-in is "check-in".

If you are transferring between flghts through either Panama or Mexico City (both are major hubs) then you may want to purchase a lounge pass where you can go relax between flights. Both airports are large and offer plenty of things to do while waiting for the next leg of the journey. I have flown through Panama City many times to arrive directly in Medellin and the layover was long, but the time went rather quickly. Take some entertainment to pass the time (book, music, podcasts, magazines).

Merry Christmas!

[speedoo1]

On ‎12‎/‎24‎/‎2021 at 5:48 PM, macdaddi said:

Check with your hotel when they will allow you to do the check-in, as they are not as flexible as we are used to in Canada or U.S.A. Plan your travel times accordingly. Fun fact--the word in Colombian spanish for Check-in is "check-in".

Hardly any property (in Colombia or elsewhere) is going to allow you check-in at 5AM (for a reservation with check-in same date around 2-3PM). As rates are fairly cheap in Bgta, you make the reservation for the previous night and then state in the reservation or inform the hotel in advance that you will check-in late /past midnight. Then you will have no issues to check-in early in the morning and get a few hours of sleep in the room; much better than waiting in hotel lobby or elsewhere because you have been told to come back for check-in in the afternoon (been there, done that)

[msclelovr]

Wise words @speedoo1 I always do this when arriving somewhere in the early morning on a longhaul flight from Europe (usually Australia or South Africa). It’s great to be able to unpack, shower, put on clean clothes and then walk out in the morning sunshine.

FWIW I put my arrival time on my reservation but follow up with a phone call the day before flying. It’s to make sure they know I’ll check in about 6am and want to go straight to the room. 

 

[macdaddi]

On 1/2/2022 at 2:58 AM, speedoo1 said:

Hardly any property (in Colombia or elsewhere) is going to allow you check-in at 5AM (for a reservation with check-in same date around 2-3PM). As rates are fairly cheap in Bgta, you make the reservation for the previous night and then state in the reservation or inform the hotel in advance that you will check-in late /past midnight. Then you will have no issues to check-in early in the morning and get a few hours of sleep in the room; much better than waiting in hotel lobby or elsewhere because you have been told to come back for check-in in the afternoon (been there, done that)

Apologies if I was not clear. Yes, I book ahead for the previous night of arrival in Colombia so I can go directly to the hotel from the airport and check in. If I arrive at 3am, then I need to book arrival for the previous day to ensure that I have a room to sleep in. But you need to communicate the late arrival with the hotel in advance.

The issue is that not all Colombian hotels allow you to check in outside of their fixed check in window so you need to confirm what is that time-frame with the hotel. If you stick with the large international chains you should be fine, but local establishments may not allow you to check in after midnight, for example. Better safe than sorry.

[speedoo1]

On ‎1‎/‎10‎/‎2022 at 4:29 AM, macdaddi said:

The issue is that not all Colombian hotels allow you to check in outside of their fixed check in window so you need to confirm what is that time-frame with the hotel. If you stick with the large international chains you should be fine, but local establishments may not allow you to check in after midnight, for example. Better safe than sorry.

Thanks. I didn't know that. My experience with hotels/establishments in Colombia is limited (and to chain hotels and Airbnb). Som Airbnb places have limited check-in times,but then it is/should be clearly stated in the profile. I can't recall to have seen it for the hotels I have stayed in in Colombia.

[Ojibear65]

Hi. Everything is on hold until the Omicron situation is sorted. A teaching job landed in my lap, so I have postponed my trip until July or August.  Anyone ever try Noom? I'm trying to lose weight.  😕  My goal is 40 lb by summer.

[macdaddi]

On 1/13/2022 at 6:45 PM, Ojibear65 said:

Hi. Everything is on hold until the Omicron situation is sorted. A teaching job landed in my lap, so I have postponed my trip until July or August.  Anyone ever try Noom? I'm trying to lose weight.  😕  My goal is 40 lb by summer.

Sorry to hear that your travel is delayed. I was in Bogotá last week and was impressed how everyone is in masks -- except once in the clubs where it is open season.  Otherwise I felt very safe and enjoyed getting reacquainted with the city...had note been since before the pandemic began.

Good luck with Noom -- I hear great things!!