To Colombia... again!

I am in Pereira, Colombia. This is my second time in the city, last time - about a year ago - I came to see my friend Nini, we did lots of things together, often with her sister and their two children. But now she is married, I have all the photos from October but I had never met her husband, Alexander, until yesterday when I arrived here. What a really nice guy! And they are so happy together! And of course that makes me happy too. I had big doubts about this trip and had a kind of panic the day before I came. Maybe it was a big mistake? Nini was not responding much on Skype. Maybe they didn't want me to come? And I had booked the apartment for 1 month with an option for one more and I booked my flights for a two month stay. For sure, I have lots of things to do apart from with Nini but she is the driving force behind my coming here again, as was the case last year. But, in the end, she warmed up on Skype and I was all set to come. That seems a long time ago now but it was Wednesday (27th). I will tell you about the journey.
Unfortunately, I have discovered that I can't sleep on planes, even in business class as was the case here. The flight from Barcelona to Bogotá was truly awful. I had a pain in my head which wouldn't go away and it prevented me from sleeping. But, having got up too early at 5am, I was too tired to do anything useful. So the (10) hours really dragged. And, of course, all my doubts about the trip really started coming back with a vengeance.
We arrived at 9pm local time, the wait for immigration wasn't too long and I only had my cabin bag and my suitcase and bike were checked through to Pereira. Oh, I forgot to mention, my bike was taken free of charge. I was expecting to pay 90 euros each way but the check-in girl made a phone call and was told that it was free for a business class ticket. News to me!
I was picked up at meeters and greeters by a driver from Hotel Golden where I had booked a room for the night. The room was fine but the hotel was very unpleasantly cold, especially the room. I don't know if that was the reason but I slept really badly, a lot of the time semi-conscious. Next morning I complained but the response was, "This is Bogotá, always cold". I guess you can imagine my reply.
The flight to Pereira was delayed slightly, I think they had to jump-start one of the engines! When we arrived above Pereira, the plane circled endlessly, as if it was in a stack over London. Maybe I missed it on the announcement, but the reason was bad weather below. After a long time, suddenly the pilot put on full power and we returned to Bogotá. Everyone was very tolerant and understanding, better than running out of fuel at 10,000 ft which was obviously the risk if he had waited longer. I guess the plane had sufficient fuel for its scheduled return to Bogotá anyway. 
The airline issued food vouchers and put us all on a different plane which left at 1pm, the flight is only 1 hour so, very soon I was on the ground in Pereira again. Nini and Alexander greeted me, they had come on his motorbike so I took a taxi, the bike fitted on the rear seat because, in the bag, it is very compact. The wheels come off, the handlebars are floating free and of course the pedals come off also. Nini and Alexander followed us to the apartment which we found easily, the owner was talking to the driver on the phone.
The apartment is stupendous!

After the cramped rooms that I suffered in the Philippines, this was truly amazing.  There is a photo of Nini and Alexander, probably the only time they were not laughing and joking.

I was just so mega-tired, I cannot explain how bad I felt. I thought maybe I was catching a dose of flu. I was very dehydrated from the flights. Nini is so sweet, she unpacked all my clothes and technical toys. We spent some time in the apartment and then I went shopping for food. And Nini and Alexander came with me. Then later, after a spectacular ice cream sweet, they took the motorbike back home and, after quickly cooking a meal, I went to bed at 8pm. I had a quick breakfast at 5am when I woke from a deep sleep and then went back to sleep again till 7am. I didn't care about re-synchronsing with Colombian time, I just needed sleep!
So that brings me up to the present time. Nini will ring me later and I will go to their home which is only about 3km away. They are preparing food for New Year's Eve and I offered to buy drinks.
About the panic over coming here? Well, I am so glad I came here, it dissipated very rapidly. Almost the first thing I did was to confirm my option on the apartment to 1st March. So that is where I will be till then. No way is this a "holiday", for two months, I live in Colombia. Now that is exciting, I think! No one to nag me about speaking Catalan. No stress from the continuing arguments about independence. I accept my fate. I went on two marches in Barcelona but I am tired of fighting the cause. Let them get on with it, I am a long way away.