How Missing My Cross-Atlantic Flight Home Last Year Made 2024 Unforgettable In All the Best Ways

In March 2024, I embarked on what was supposed to be a two-and-a-half month journey to Morocco and Europe.

I only packed a carry-on with warm clothes as I would be making my way north, chasing early spring.

I was meant to fly back to Colombia the first week of June. I never expected I wouldn’t return until mid-September, exactly six months after I left.

First, an unexpected flight cancellation allowed me to stay in Europe ten extra days, most of which I spent in Budapest.

Following my little Eastern European escapade, I showed up early at the Brussels airport on June 12, 2024 to catch a flight to Madrid from where I would then fly to Medellín.

But my Iberia flight has been cancelled due to “bird impact” and there was no way for me to make it to Madrid in time. Since my flights weren’t on the same ticket, by 7am I knew I would miss my afternoon flight home across the Atlantic.

I was suddenly stranded in Europe. And I was thrilled. So I jumped on a bus to Amsterdam to figure things out and I decided that, if the Universe didn’t want me to go back West, I would go East.

And that’s how I ended up in Istanbul.

Istanbul was incredibly overwhelming, in the best way. But it was challenging. After months of being in countries where I could easily communicate with the locals, I suddenly found myself in a place where I spoke exactly zero words of the language.

It took me a week to learn how to say “thank you” in Turkish.

And after months of being in big cities, and with the brutal summer heat making me yearn for saltwater, I went south in search of a quiet place on the coast. And that’s how I found Çandarlı, a small town in the province of Izmir. It was an unforgettable summer.

At the end of August, I knew it was time to start making my way West again. But I was in no rush, so I took the old Orient Express to Sofia before heading back to Spain and finally flying back to Colombia.

Missing that flight and leaning into the chaos made 2024 an unforgettable year. I can’t wait to see what other adventures await.