Saint John, Part One

Saint John, Part One
Saint John, Part Two

Deciding Where to Go

For years I had had some leftover Air Canada Aéroplan points.  My mother wanted to do a quick weekend away and that seemed the perfect time to use them to get away to somewhere in Canada.  She wanted to go somewhere I had never been but wanted to go.  After discussing it and looking at itineraries, we settled on a long weekend in New Brunswick.

The Travel Plan

Our itinerary would take us out of National Airport on a Friday morning at an anxiety-inducing six o’clock.  Yes, six o’clock in the morning.  We would connect through Toronto, and end up in Saint John at about noon.  We would overnight Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and fly home Monday, also via Toronto.  We decided to rent a car, since we would want to explore the Fundy Coast and just have the general freedom a car allows.  The Hilton adjacent to the old town was our lodging choice.

Getting to Saint John

Most of Friday morning was a blur, but we did make it to National, through security, and to the gate with about twenty minutes to spare.  Our DCA to YYZ leg took off with an ultra-light load of less than a third.  In Toronto, we made it through immigration and customs.  Mother claimed and rechecked her bag, we went through Canadian security, and strolled to our gate.  Since we were on a prop we were in a gate area serving several flights to different cities across Eastern Canada.

Our second flight left pretty much on-time.  Two hours later we found ourselves landing at a very foggy Saint John airport.  It was so foggy that we were almost on the ground when we broke through the cloud layer.  Deplaning was a breeze and we walked across the tarmac and into the terminal building where mother awaited her bag and I sorted out the rental car.

The drive in from the airport was down a two-lane road, though Saint John’s “suburbs.”  Within about twenty minutes we were at The Hilton, checked in, the car parked, and in our room.

Arrival Day:  The Afternoon In Saint John

By the time we got into the hotel, we had not eaten since we both got snacks at DCA, so lunch was agenda item number one.  We consulted with the front desk and ended up deciding to check out two places across the street and decide between the two.  We settled on Grannan’s Seafood Restaurant.

After lunch we struck out and set about seeing the town.  We quickly discovered that, even though Saint John does have a certain charm, it is a small place and easily seen within just a few hours.  Of note was the well-kept, old commercial buildings and the City Market Hall.

Downtown Saint John streetscape

City park

City park

Pavilion at city park

Saint John's city market

Loyalist house

Another Saint John streetscape

Another street scape, with our hotel in the background

P & O cruise ship, pushing back, with a Disney ship in the background

 By this point we had been up for a long time and we were starting to feel it.  We headed back to the room to rest a little and freshen up for dinner.  That night we ate at the other of the two restaurants we had looked at the day before, the Saint John Ale House.  After dinner, we unwound a little in the room and soon went to bed.

Saturday:  Saint John’s Reversing Rapids and Driving Up the Saint John River

Saturday was a day for sleeping in and taking it easy.  We slept late (one of us—not me!—a lot longer then the other), and had breakfast at the hotel.  After breakfast we headed for the Reversing Rapids.

The tidal variance on the Bay of Fundy is greater than any other in the world.  As a consequence of that, the water rushes out of the Saint John River when the tide goes out; when the tide comes back in, the water is forced up the river with such force that it cases rapids going up the river.

Reversing Rapids

Reversing Rapids

Reversing Rapids

Reversing Rapids

Reversing Rapids.  We could have taken the boat with all of the passengers wearing rain-gear.  No thanks

Reversing Rapids, going upstream

 Next up, we loaded up and drove up the Saint John River, which was spectacular.  The day started partly cloudy.  The interplay of the sun on the blue of the water and the green of the countryside was wonderful.  It was such an enjoyable and scenic drive.

Saint John River

Sunlight plays on the trees and water.  Gorgous

Sailboat on the Saint John River

Looking out across the Saint John River

We arrived into downtown Fredericton and its annual festival, which was a surprise to us.  The festival is such that it made the television news and the following morning’s paper.  We really wanted to explore the town a bit but, since we had gotten such a late start, we were being dogged by incoming clouds which threatened rain.  We found a restaurant that was near the parking garage that was neither very good or interesting; certainly our worst meal of the trip.

While we were eating the sky opened.  We tried to wait out the storm but finally just gave in and decided we would make do with getting a little wet.  I played gentleman and dashed across the street, got the car, and picked mother up at the restaurant’s door.  I don’t really believe in chivalry but I certainly don’t see the sense in two people getting wet.

The first half hour or so of the drive back was a little hair-raising, with torrential downpours, ponding water on the roadway, and frequent signs warning us that there were liable to be moose on the road.  We finally broke out of the storms and we made it back to the hotel just before dark, which was good because it is much easier to see a moose standing in the roadway in the daylight!

Back at the hotel we unwound a little and freshened up before dinner.  We returned to the same place we had had dinner the night before, The Saint John Ale House.  After dinner it was back to the room and, before long, off to bed.

Putting Lasik to Bed

I finally made my decision:  I am going to skip the Lasik touch-up and stick with my less-than-perfect vision.  It is not the final result I ideally wanted but I can tolerate it.  (If you want the full story, click on the "Lasik" label at the bottom of the posting for more postings.)

Bogotá, Part Nine

Bogotá, Part One:  Introduction
Bogotá, Part Two:  Getting There
Bogotá, Part Three:  Sunday Morning Market and the Death Cab
Bogotá, Part Four:  Sunday Afternoon in Zona Rose
Bogotá, Part Five:  The Salt Cathedral, Part One
Bogotá, Part Six:  The Salt Cathedral, Part Two
Bogotá, Part Seven:  Zipaquirá
Bogotá, Part Eight:  Sightseeing About Town



Bogotá, Part Nine:  Checking-Out and Heading Home

Tuesday arrived, which meant it was time for us to go.  It was also my birthday.

We got up early so we would have time to get ready and get to our flight.  The birthday breakfast was again in the lobby.  My appetite had returned and I was able to eat a good bit.

Back in the room, we made our final packing touches and headed out.

I thought this was an interesting perspective, looking into a mirror  and its reflection of the city

Last look out our window

Downstairs, our driver from the day before would be taking us to the airport.  He seemed happy to see us and helped us with our things.  It was morning rush in Bogotá, so traffic was heavy, but we were generally going against the flow and our driver seemed to know how to manœuver through it all.

The front of the airport

At the airport, I stopped past the tax desk for a refund of the taxes I paid.  As always with these things, the paperwork was ridiculous and made us question whether it was worth it.  Next, we checked in and were offered passes to the American Airlines lounge, which was, to be kind, spartan.  It took a good while to get through security and immigration, but it was trouble-free, which is always good.  The whole affair took a sufficient amount of time that we had but fifteen minutes in the lounge.

We headed to the gate, where boarding had already commenced.  Luckily, we were upgraded, so there was a spot for our luggage and we were able to jump to the top of the queue.

As we sat, still on the gate, I could see storm clouds gathering, which was a little worrying.  It seemed to take forever for us to get our turn on the runway.  We crept down to the very end and stopped.  The pilot powered up the engines.  The brakes still engaged, we did not move.  The power of the engine increased, reaching the point that the entire plane was shaking such that I could hear suitcases in the overhead bins shaking and glasses in the service trollies clanking together.  I had never had a plane's engines going so robustly while standing still!  At long last, the pilot released the brake; there was a loud "pow," as the plane started down the runway.  Quite the experience.

Climbing out of BOG

Climbing out of BOG

Tightly-packed houses and buildings

Last sightings of Bogotá

On the northern coast of South America, blue, blue, and blue

Leaving South America

Before too long (the flight is about three hours or so), we were in Atlanta, through immigrations and customs, recleared security, and were at the gate for our final leg home.


Thoughts on Bogotá

I had been reading and hearing so much about Bogotá, so I am glad that we made the trip.  That said, I definitely think it is still a bit of an adventure destination, in that it does not have a heavy tourist scene or infrastructure.  Matter of fact, one cannot even send a post card, as there is no postal service!

I can happily report that any concerns I had about security were unfounded.  We encountered friendly people willing to help us and genuinely pleased to have tourists in their city.  There is certainly huge potential there.  For me, the most considerable downside was not the security but the altitude!  Next time I visit a high-altitude destination I will be better prepared and take precautions when I arrive.

Visiting Bogotá certain is not for everyone but there is a charm.  Do some planning to help negotiate the altitude, consider the value of a car and driver for part of the trip, and choose the right area to stay in.

Bogotá, Part Eight

Part Eight:  Sightseeing About Town

On our final day in Colombia, we decided to do what we set out to do the first day before the Death Taxi interrupted our plans:  see the old quarter of Bogotá.  Of course, getting to the old quarter and back presented a challenge, as I refused to get in another one of those seatbelt-less, death defying yellow taxis.  Getting there would be easy:  we could just get one of the hotel taxis; getting back would be more of an obstacle.

The front desk quoted us a rate to get to the old quarter of about $13.  "Do you want him to wait for you?"  Stupidly, we answered "No."  We should have just agreed and kept the driver for the day.  (Not to spoil the story, but, in the end, this is what we did anyway.

The driver seemed very nice.  He was a cautious driver.  Did not speak a word of English, but that was okay:  we were just going four miles.  On the way he stopped by a park that had a to-scale, topographically-correct map of the country.  The photos below do not convey the model very well, but one gets the idea.  It was a dated display and desperately in need of maintenance, but a neat idea nonetheless.

Us

Colombia, to scale

Andes

We loaded back into the car and headed up, stopping at an overlook to take in the cityscape.  It was then, when he was asking a young-ish woman if she spoke English, that I realized something was up.  She did not speak English, so back in the taxi.  Next stop was the base of Monserrat, which, of course, was not our destination.  We had planned to so up the mountain but not just then.  The driver found someone who spoke English.  The guy conveyed that the driver wanted us to go up the mountainside while he waited.  "How much does he want to charge us?"  I asked.  The fellow translated back "About $35 per hour."

We talked quickly about it, wondering if we were going to be cheated and thinking through the pros and cons.  We decided that, even if he charged us $50 an hour, it was worth having him at our disposal and not having to deal with the dreaded yellow taxis.  So, done deal; we bought our ticket and made our way to the funicular and up the mountainside.

Bogotá is itself already really high up; Monserrat is even higher, at more than 10,300 feet/3100 meters.  The funicular is quite a ride and not for those who are afraid of heights, or of rickety, old conveyances that look like they may not be very well maintained!

What are you seeing here?  Hard to tell!  You are looking at the tunnel through which the funicular passes as it burrows through the mountain to reach the top

Atop the mountain, one sees the city but then turns to see more mountains, lush vegetation, and nothingness

Looking southward.  It is hard to tell, but one sees buildings and development almost as far as the eye can see

Bogotá's downtown core

Looking northward, toward our hotel

Philip, with the city at his back

And, standing in the same spot as I was to take the previous photo, I just pivoted and snapped this shot.  The two could not be more different

Obligatory, South American, mountaintop statue of Christ

The church atop the mountain

Only from this perspective does one get a real sense of just how large and sprawling Bogotá is

Bogotá, stretching as far as they eye can see

The city's old quarter, from above

Model funicular; notice how steep the rise of the vehicle is

One notices pretty quickly how much thinner the air is atop that mountain!  We lingered for only about twenty minutes before heading back down, where we found the driver waiting for us.  I already liked this arrangement!

He drove us next to the old town, parked, and proceeded to walk us around the city and point out landmarks.  We had a guidebook, so we pointed to the things we wanted to see and he took us to them. He suggested other things, some of which we saw, others we just skipped.  We were so glad that we had decided to take up his offer!

Bolívar Square

Cantankerous Colombian llama

Bogotá's main cathedral, Capilla del Sagrario 

Bolívar Square again

Streetscape; I took this one mainly to show how quickly and dramatically the mountains rise from the city

Inside the cathedral.  In most places I have been, major churches are open and can be gone into.  The only way we made it in here is that they had just had a service.  We actually almost got locked in

Colombia's Congresso building

These buildings are very typical of what one sees in the old quarter.  Notice the beautiful balconies

Watch out!  Yellow taxi!

Us, in front of the Presidential Palace, between two guards.  We were reluctant to get so close to the gate, but the driver insisted

Not sure who decided on this color scheme

Inside.  Yikes!

Strolling the streets of the old quarter

Within an hour or so we had seen most of what we wanted to, so it was time to head to our final destination:  Museo del Oro.  Every guide book we read or saw on Colombia listed this as a must-do.  Neither of us are that interested in this sort of thing, but there are some things you see when you are somewhere, whether or not you are too keen on them.  I mean, even someone who has no interest in politics comes to Washington without seeing the Capitol and the White House.  We gave ourselves about 45 minutes and set up a rendezvous spot with the driver.

Just thought this was a neat photo; not even sure what it is

There were several instances of this sort-of display, showing us where the wearer wore everything

Doors to get into the vault

I hope someone told him that he needed a bit more than just this outfit!

Outside the museum

We were ready to go back to the room.  The drive back was just fifteen minutes or so.  Along the way the driver was sorting out what we owed.  We were not sure if we were going to get cheated or not.  We did not think so, since, if he did, we could complain to the hotel and they would presumably take some action.  We decided that anything south of $100 we would pay without question, even though we though we owed about $70.  He quoted us a figure of $62.  For 3 1/2 hours we thought that was great.  And, he was such a nice, friendly man.  We paid him $75 and were happy.  In fact, when we got back to the hotel, we asked if we could have him drive us to the airport the next morning.

After we got back to the hotel, we walked back down to Zona Rosa.

On the way to the Zona Rose:  taxis ... and horses.  I'd rather ride on that cart than in one of those yellow taxis!

Bomb-sniffing dogs are everywhere in Bogotá, including at our hotel.  This was one of two that worked at the Hilton.  This poor fellow was quite old and seemed ready for retirement!

Back at the hotel we freshened up and then went for our best meal of the trip, at LaDespensa Rafael.  Really an excellent meal to celebrate my birthday.  After a fine meal, it was back to the room to pack and get ready for the flight home.  Next up:  checking out, getting to the airport, and trip thoughts.