Travelogue: Day 3 - Bogota, Colombia to Mexico City, Mexico

Today we depart Bogota for Mexico City as we head north toward the U.S.A. and Canada. We will be flying over the isthmus of Central America, and there will be tons of wonderful sights to see along the way. Buckle up and settle in for a treat!

As we push back at El Dorado International, an Avianca Airbus taxis by behind us. Avianca is Colombia's national flag carrier, and they have one of the nicer liveries around:



Here we are at the runway, cleared for takeoff. The mountains of Colombia rise all around us, providing some dramatic scenery:



Here we are airborne over one of the Andes Mountains ranges in Colombia:



Soon, we begin to see the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean off to the west. Before long, we will also see the Caribbean Sea (part of the Atlantic Ocean) off to the north and east:



As we fly over the Pacific Ocean, the isthmus of Panama is visible immediately ahead of us:



This is one of my favorite shots on this leg of the tour! We are flying over the Panama Canal here. See the locks below? Panama City is located immediately adjacent to the canal. You can also see two former U.S. air bases below as well, one on either side of the canal. Both bases were returned to the government of Panama along with the canal:



Now we are flying over the Caribbean side of the isthmus for a while. Costa Rica is off to our left:



Here we are back over land -- Nicaragua, in fact. Lake Nicaragua is visible below us. Note the large island, Ometepe, with its twin volcanoes:



Now we are back over the Pacific coast, looking toward Guatemala:



We are in Mexico now, on our descent toward our eventual destination of Mexico City. Puebla lies in the valley ahead of us. The Valle de Mexico (Valley of Mexico) is located on the other side of the two large volcanoes visible ahead, Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl:



Here is a much closer view of Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl as we swing by:



Looking ahead, the Valle de Mexico (including Mexico City) stretches out before us on the other side of the mountains. We will circle the valley and line up with Runway 5R at Mexico City's Benito Juarez International Airport to land:



And here we are on the ground. Looks like a busy day in Mexico City!



Total flight time: 3:48

Next: on to Houston!