Saturday morning I woke up early and made myself some breakfast. I had to settle for a ham and cheese sandwich as all of the breakfast food I bought was gone by now. Luckily I still had plenty of OJ, (and vodka). I read a few chapters of the book I brought on this trip, “Scarecrow†by Mathew Reilly. It is a good read if you like fast paced action stories.
At 8:30 I walked to the internet café to check me messages and count the minutes until 9 when I would call Lila for our day trip. I was as anxious as a school kid to see her again.
The internet café I had been using was not open. On weekdays it opens at 8:30 but I learned it opens later on Saturdays. There is a smaller internet place across the street from the Perla Casino, so I walked the additional 100 ft and found it was open. Some people criticize me for checking e-mail for work while on vacation, but I find it to be a great convenience. I can return from a trip already caught up on the issues and in more than one case, I have been able to help solve problems from a distance.
However today there were no issues to solve. I waited until 9am and then made the call to Lila. I got a recorded message from the phone service. I tried again a few minutes later and got the same message. After four or five failed attempts I made the assumption her phone was turned off. Perhaps her special friend did not want her to spend Saturday on a day trip with me?
Feeling disappointed I walked slowly back towards my apartment without a plan for my last day in Cartagena. There was little traffic at 9:15 on a Saturday morning, so I took notice when a moto-taxi passed me with a pretty girl on the back. I was surprised to see it stop a block ahead of me and even more surprised to see who got off the back of the bike.
It was Luisa, the girl I had dinner with on Thursday night. She was looking great in her little blue and white beach outfit. She walked towards me and without saying a word I could tell what she was thinking. With her hands on her perfect hips she smiled and said “Holaâ€. With a look that said, why didn’t you call me yesterday?
We walked together to a little café and had a good cup of coffee. I told her about the previous day at the Volcano with Stephanie and my dinner with Lila. She knew I was in Cartagena to meet more than one person and I saw no point in lying to her. Luisa told me she was on her way to the beach to meet some friends and invited me to come along. I explained I had plans for the day with Lila at the volcano, but she did not answer my calls. Luisa suggested I try Lila one more time and if she still did not answer, go with Luisa and her friends to the beach. I agreed.
Looks like it will be a beach day.
I was not too eager to visit the local beach near Laguito. It reminds me of the Jersey shore. I really wanted to see Playa Blanca, since in two trips to Cartagena I have come close, but never have made it there. My first trip we went to Coco Lisa and on Wednesday we wound up at point Baru. I learned from Lorenzo at the government office on Thursday the pirate boats stay away from the primary tourist spots to avoid contact with the coast guard.
Luisa was up for anything, so after returning to my apartment to change, we packed a few towels for a beach day. I put my camera and wallet in her handbag for safe keeping. I was hoping to get to the marina in time to catch one of the public boats. We hailed the first taxi we saw and asked him to take us to the marina.
When the driver asked where we wanted to go I told him Playa Blanca. He told me he knew a captain who could take us there cheap. I laughed and told him our story from Wednesday. I only wanted to get to the marina; I would make plans from there. When we arrived at the marina we were stormed with vendors. All of the public boats and tourists had left an hour earlier and we were the only targets in sight.
So I started telling people I was looking for Captain Lorenzo. That seemed to keep most of them at bay. We walked into the fenced security area and talked to a lady about a ride to Playa Blanca. She informed me all of the public boats leave between 8:30 and 9 and suggested we come back the next day. That was not a good plan because the next day I would be flying home.
Just then I heard someone shouting my name and it was Lorenzo, standing outside the fence. He came into the secure area and I told him what we were looking for. Another captain was running his boat today, but he offered to set us up with an honest captain for the ride to the beach. So I was finally going to Playa Blanca. I did not enough cash on me for the boat, but he said no problem, he would come to my apartment later in the day for the money.
The Captain of the boat we went on was named Miguel. It was a much larger boat than the one we had on Wednesday, but by no means a luxury ride. We had lots of space, but spent most of the time sitting close together. Luisa is a very affectionate girl and I think it made her happy when I was willing to change my plans and take her to the beach. She was also eager to go to the clear water of Playa Blanca as a better alternative than the beach in Laguito.
After about 40 minutes we arrived at Playa Blanca. There were several other tourists there, but no other Americans. As we arrived at the beach it was like a repeat of the marina, with many, many vendors to greet us as we stepped off the boat. Miguel helped us find a shaded cabana and he chased most of the vendors away. I took a few pictures and then Miguel took one of Luisa sitting on my lap. Another vacation highlight!
The water is so clear there it is difficult to tell how deep it is. I was surprised to see how quickly the bottom dropped off. I loved the warm clear water but Luisa got nervous when it got a little deep for her. However it was fun having her hold onto me in the water to avoid going under. It made me feel like a teenager again.
We returned to the beach and asked Miguel to suggest a place for lunch. He quickly found someone to make us a typical meal of fried fish and rice. While we waited for lunch to be prepared several vendors came by and I bought souvenirs for friends back home. Luisa was not interested in anything at first, but I insisted. She finally selected a stone carving of a Toucan. She asked the stone carver to put my name on it. At first I thought, no way, these are probably made in a factory somewhere, but right in front of us he had my name engraved in less than five minutes at no extra charge. He told me it takes him about a day to make a small figurine. I felt a little guilty only paying $10 for it, but he was happy to have sold it.
While we ate lunch many other vendors approached us, but we were not buying. Luisa was very attentive and considerate, warning me not to use the ice they provided for my soda. She told me it would make me very sick. That brought back memories of a trip to the Dominican Republic.
After lunch we spent some more time in the water where we met a nice man from Argentina. He could not stop staring at Luisa, which sort of vindicated me. I could not keep my eyes off her either. I learned she has two children, aged 14 and 9. She has lived in Cartagena all her life. Most of her family lives in Cartagena as well, but she has relatives as far away as Bogota.
We then relaxed on the beach where she helped me apply suntan lotion. As I said previously, she was a very considerate person. A persistent massage girl finally got the answer she wanted and Luisa agreed to a massage on the beach. I was hesitant at first, but after the young girl finished with Luisa, she started working on me. To be honest it was a very relaxing 30 minute massage. While the young girl was working on my calves, Luisa sat down on my back and started working on my shoulders. She whispered in my ears that she gives a better massage.
At about 3pm we headed back to Cartagena. I told the captain to take his time to make it a more relaxing ride. It took a little longer to get back, but my rear end thanked him for it. Luisa and I went back to my apartment where we each took a shower. She then asked me if I was interested in a real massage. I have never been one to turn down a good rub, and she was very good.
She told me she had to leave at 5pm to pick up her children, but promised to write to me. We exchanged e-mail addressed and she gave me a warm kiss. I was very happy the day had turned out the way it did.
I called Lila again and she answered on the first ring. She kept apologizing for the phone in the morning and asked what I did to fill my day. I told her about the trip to the beach and she seemed happy I did not have to be alone all day. Lila told me she had plans for the evening, but asked me to stay in contact. In retrospect I do not really know why I called her because I too had plans for Saturday evening.
Yerly, EP’s girl, had a friend visiting on Saturday. The previous day we had talked about all going to dinner together our last night. The friend’s name was Bladies, but I quickly nicknamed her Blade. She was very attractive and petite, but not at all shy. She spoke pretty good English and became out interpreter. Actually she was a lot of fun. We hung out at EP’s apartment for about an hour and had a few drinks before heading into town for something to eat.
We really had no definite plans for our last night other than to relax. Blade suggested EP and I chose where to go since it was our last night. She had a good handle on how to treat people. We strolled through the old city and came upon plaza Santo Domingo again. EP took several photos and it was then I realized my camera was still in Luisa’s handbag. I would miss the photos I took, but the camera would be easy to replace.
In the plaza many street performers were entertaining the crowd. One guy had a small electricity generator and people paid him to see how long they could hold onto two contacts while he wound the generator. There were singers to serenade you at your table and a guy who did amazing hat tricks. We watched several dance troupes and then took a table with the prettiest waitress I could find. The women of Colombia are beautiful so it did not take much time to find a table. I was surprised at how the waitresses for the various restaurants were expected to work the tourists to get them to eat at their restaurant.
We ordered two appetizer platters and watched the entertainers. I really enjoyed the conversation as Blades kept insisting we all speak Spanish. We had a lot of fun stumbling through our conversation. At one point we had the girls try to speak English. It was just as entertaining.
After dinner we walked around a little more and found the perimeter wall of the city. The four of us walked on top of the wall for a short distance where you got a good view of the ocean beyond the old city. We were heading towards some music and decided to check out Café La Mar, but it was getting late, we had just eaten and they were charging a cover to get in. I talked to EP and we decided to go back to the apartments.
I had a change of heart during the taxi ride back and had the taxi driver drop me off at the Perla casino. Just as I was sitting down to play blackjack Luisa tapped me on the shoulder. She smiled and handed me my camera. I said no, it is a gift. I then suggested she follow me back to my apartment where I gave her the cables and charger. She was very appreciative.
I put her in a taxi at about midnight and then decided to call one other person I met on my first trip to Cartagena. She answered immediately but was a little pissed off when she learned I had been in Cartagena for a few days and waited until my last night to call her. We talked for a few minutes and she said she was at a disco called Mr. Bebidas with some friends. I thought, what the hell, I can sleep tomorrow, so I hailed a taxi for a ride to the disco.
At Mr. Bebidas it took me a few minutes to find Marcela. When I did, she greeted me with a big hug. She introduced me to a few of her friends and one of them bought me a drink. I do not remember his name. It was fun hanging out with them. Marcela was still a little bent about me waiting until my last night to call her, but I explained the week and how I had a desire to make several new friends. When I told her my vacation would not have been complete without seeing her again, she was OK.
We danced a little and I bought a round of drinks for her friends. It was too loud in the bar to have a real conversation and it became obvious the party was going to last until the wee hours, so at about 2am I said goodnight.
The next morning I met EP at the street level at 7am as planned and we went with the two girls, Yerly and Blade, to the airport. I was a little nervous because out bags did not fit in the trunk of the taxi very well. We drove from the apartment buildings to the airport with our bags hanging out the back of the trunk. But they were still there when we arrived.
Yerly and Blade hung out with EP for a while at the airport. It was nice to have company back to the airport, but then it was off to security and back to reality.
In summary this turned out to be a great vacation. My mission was a little different than EP as I was looking to meet new people, but am not looking for a long term relationship at this time. I had the good fortune to meet five new girls and see two others I had met on my previous trip. In addition I learned more about their culture, saw Playa Blanca and got to witness weekend nightlife in the old city.
Although the first day and a half did not go as planned, I don’t look back at the trip to point Baru as a bad part of the trip. There were some disappointments, but to be fair Luis and Jovanny helped me get around the first day. They just need to learn how to keep their distance and not to be so obvious. It was Mike and captain Lorenzo who got ripped off. Mark will have to settle up between his employee and his business partner when he gets to Cartagena later this week.
I plan to return to Colombia sometime next year and would like to explore another region of the country. Of course it is difficult to forget about Lila and Luisa. They are both very special. After I returned Louisa sent me a few photos by e-mail. Surprisingly she did not send photos of the other girls I met. LOL
I hope you enjoyed reading this post as much as I enjoyed writing it. Some details were left out in the name of discretion, but the places I went, events that transpired and people I met are factual to the best of my recollection.
