I hope I’m leaving on a jet plane…

I should really be packing right now but instead I continue to procrastinate. I have never really been fond of packing and I’m not sure why – it should be a very exciting process and for a normal holiday it would probably be a fairly simple task- bikini, sun tan lotion, beach towel and bobs your uncle. But this is not a normal trip.

In less than five days I am going to Colombia! I am very excited and privileged to be going to what I hear is a stunning country and what’s more exciting is I am going to make a documentary out there. I would tell you what it is about but that might spoil the surprise, suffice to say it is not about coca plants or anything to do with a white powdery substance.

So far in my suitcase I have suitable equipment for making my student budget documentary, my insect repellant and my trusty copy of Lonely Planet Colombia, which I’ve just realised was written two years ago and a super up to date version was released about a week ago! Typical- how was I to know.

Having purchased a few books to clue me up on the history and culture of the country, my reads about Colombia have done their job of inspiring me to visit this beautiful country aside from taking calculated risks. I hopefully know the places to avoid and things to avoid doing – like splashing cameras and fancy phones around- note to self- avoid if you can’t find your Tesco travel insurance contact details!

I mostly am very excited but this feeling does sometimes get tied up in a knot in my stomach surrounded by butterflies and I get that feeling they call ‘anxiety’. One new revelation that has contributed to the previously mentioned tummy jerker is the fact that a volcano in Ecuador (a neighbouring country to Colombia) has decided to erupt and start spewing ash everywhere.

The Tungurahua volcano in Ecuador has been catagorised as moderate to strong and according to this BBC report shows no signs of slowing down http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-19350390.

Gulp, as I hesitantly phone up my flight company and check whether my flights are going ahead. It doesn’t particularly comfort me when they say they haven’t heard of this volcano before but assure me my flights are fine. But I can safely say that I’d be happy to be stuck in Colombia and perhaps I’m leaving on a jet plane and won’t be too sure when I’ll be back again.

So I suppose in conclusion, so far so good. All my bags aren’t packed and I’m not quite ready to go yet but I’m getting there and my long list of things to do is very slowly being ticked off!

The count down can now begin – 5 days and counting…