Some Kind of Wonderful

When my plan to go Colombia started to formulate – and it formulated rather quickly – I had an idea of how I wanted things to go but also had a pretty good idea of how things would actually go. And of course there’s always room for the unexpected. My expectations of how things would actually go turned out to be pretty accurate. The unexpected stuff? Well, I guess that’s why it’s called “unexpected”.
Things have been significantly quieter at the hostel this week. When I arrived last week, the eight-bunk dorm in which I was staying was filled to capacity. This week I’ve had the dorm to myself. There are three other pilots here from the UK but they’re staying in the private rooms.

I haven’t posted anything for a while so there are a few updates. For starters, despite the less than ideal flying weather I’ve still managed to keep myself occupied. And just to be clear, while the weather hasn’t been great for flying it’s still been comfortably warm – especially considering the sub-zero temperatures back in Toronto.

Since my last update I’ve only logged 12 flights but that’s been enough to keep me in the air for about two hours and several of those flights were four minute “sled runs” from top to bottom. So, two hours of air time isn’t too bad considering there was no flying at all on Sunday and Monday.

With the winds not being ideal, I found myself hanging out at the hostel or over at the launch site. The conditions were such that tandem flights could still be done and I think there’s a lot one can learn by watching the experienced pilots. It was during one of these observation sessions on Saturday that the unexpected happened. Actually, that would be a gross understatement. Without going into too many (or any) details, I met a nice Colombian girl. Also a gross understatement. I’m not going to lie, I could listen to her broken English indefinitely – actually, her English is very good. As is the Spanish accent that goes with it. I’m reasonably confident that my broken Spanish isn’t nearly as charming. I can’t imagine how it could be – I mean, it’s not really broken but rather non-existent. Anyway, her name is Marita and we talked. A lot.

This feels like a good time to insert a “yada yada yada” or “blah blah blah” before cutting to the chase. Did I mention Marita runs an ESL school (as in, English as a Second Language)? Well, she does. And somehow she’s convinced me stay in Colombia a bit longer and help out at the school. No, that’s not a typo. And no, I didn’t hit my head during one of my landings. Did I mention I’m a sucker for a Spanish accent? She’s also been showing me how to make empanadas (again, not a typo). Side note: Empanadas are fantastic – not necessarily the ones I make, but as a general concept they’re fantastic. If things work out I’m thinking a Colombian/Canadian restaurant specializing in empanadas and poutine would be a goldmine. I mean, how it could it not be?

Anyway, I don’t know how long this new situation will last or where it will all lead but for now I have a new plan (and a new life) in the making. And I think that pretty much explains why I haven’t posted an update for a while. I’ve been busy! I was considering not mentioning this at all – I mean, how cool would a secret life in Colombia be? Alas, it’s a secret no more.

With all that said, there was some good flying done this week and I did manage to get my GoPro working to capture a bit of me in the air. Not particularly good footage, but better than nothing.

Oh, one last thing. I mentioned it’s been pretty quiet here this week, as such, if you believe more than about 42% of this update, well … I have a nice piece of Colombian farmland for sale. Make me an offer.

For what it’s worth, I did make a new friend.

A new Spanish friend.