(continued) So I call CG and we start off with the usual, how are you, hows the family, then she does something unexpected, she tells me she has to ask me a question but can't come right out and say it. "me da verguenza!"(I'm embarrassed! she would say) so she said, " ok, here goes, one, two three, how did it go with BG?" She was so cute the way she asked, it was the first time that she showed any interest or asked me about another girl. I wasn't going to let her off that easy, so after I stopped laughing I said, do you really want to know and she said yes, so I told her exactly what happened. She said she was glad that I got to meet her and I told her I was too. We chatted a bit more but I was dying to see her, so I asked her if she would come over and she said yes. She came over and we went out to the Plaza Santo Domingo in the centro. A cab ride from El Laguito to the center is about $1.20-$1.50 (2500-3000 pesos).
TIP: Always ask the cabbie how much up front before getting in, "cuanto para el centro" he should say dos mil quinientos or tres mil, any more and say no and wait for the next one.
I once paid a bit more(4000 pesos) because the cab was air conditioned, a rare find. All said, cab rides are super cheap, but if you want to travel like the locals, take a bus for 500-700 pesos(25-35 cents) just ask the guy hanging out the window to the right of the driver if he's going to el centro or wherever you want to go. On the bus, you have to yell out "parada porfavor" or "stop please" for him to stop and let you out.
I guess since I'm the topic of transportation and currency I should mention a few things before continuing with my story. Pedestrians DO NOT have the right of way, cars do. CG kept telling me "cuidado" "careful", because I would walk on the street and not on the sidewalk. Too many people, narrow sidewalks and they move so slow, it was faster to walk on the street but I know I made her nervous at first until I started to do as she said. CG said if a pedestrian gets hit by a car, it's their fault, not the driver. When you cross the streets, cross fast. I was amazed at how people get in front of cars and buses to cross the street and the taxis drive so close to the cars in front of them.
Money I exchanged at a casa de cambio near the Almirante Hotel on ave San Martin, near the Hotel Caribe. The rate was less than the banks but not by much, only a difference of 15 cents on the dollar, and they were open late after the banks closed. I think ATM machines gave me a good rate once but I hate those things, too many people around looking. DO NOT exchange money on the street, unless you want to get cheated or have counterfeit bills passed on to you.
TIP: Get small bills of 10,000 5,000 and 2,000 pesos($5,$2.50, and $1.00) Its good to have a few coins, 1,000 and 500 should be good but what you DO NOT want to do is have too many 20,000 or 50,000 bills because you'll quickly find out that no one has change. If a cab ride costs 3,000 pesos and you give him a 20,000 bill, he'll say "no tienes mas sencillo?" "don't you have anything smaller? It's a lie, they have the bills to make change, they just don't want to, thinking that you'll just leave them the rest, it happens ALL THE TIME, so get lots of 5,000 and 2,000 bills for getting around, 20,000 for dinner or buying things.
Ok, back to my story. We went to the Plaza Santo Domingo, one of the many plazas in the Old City. There are cafes there, people selling stuff and a statue of a fat woman by Botero, the Colombian artist. It was a really nice night, people were out, we got a table and started to talk about everything. Every now and then someone would come up to try and sell something, shine my shoes or take a picture, CG would say "gracias, muy amable" and they would leave. Eventually I took over saying it, and sometimes I would see them coming and I would politely wave them off and they kept on going. We stayed until they started to close up, around 1am, so we hopped in a cab and I took her home. At that time of the night, cabs are waiting for you there so you don't have to walk far. Even though CG lives far from el centro and further from El Laguito, the cab ride was very cheap. Anyone that knows cartagena will know where the SAO is, that's where she lives. Anyway, we get to her house and I walk her to the door, gave her a quick hug and kiss on the cheek and she says she'll call me in the morning.
Tues. I get up early and wait for her to call, which is around 8:30. She tells me she's on her way over, I'm happy. she wants to take me around the Old city. I won't bore you with all the places that we went to, too many to mention. What's important was that CG and I spent a lot of time together and I got to see how she was and likewise she got to see how I was in person, you can see things that are not possible through letters or phone calls. Little things like the way she covers her mouth and her eyes get smaller when she laughs. Everytime I wanted to buy something, she would tell me, "lo podemos consegir mas barato" we can get it cheaper. She would want to take a bus when I preferred a cab. She never asked me for anything, even though I told her if she was hungry or thirsty or whatever to just ask, it was difficult for her to ask. So we spend the whole day and evening together, we go back to my place so I can show her my pictures. She asks about my family, which slowly turns into what I want for my own family, how many kids, what kind of homelife, what I expect from my wife etc and vice versa. After looking and talking, she said she would bring some of her pictures the following day.
Wed we decided to goto the island of Bahru, near the isles de Rosario. We got the tickets at the hotel De Cameron, about $15 for the day, including drinks and food. The boat was docked across from the parque de la marina, left around 9am, it was a about 1.5 hours long, we stayed at the island until about 2:30pm and returned. The island is a private one, so only the people who go on the boat trip are allowed. The beaches were clean, the water the color of emeralds and the people and crew were great. I preferred this to the islas de rosario(on the boat Alcatraz) that we went to the following week. Although the water was nicer at the islas de rosario(IDR), there were some major differences. First, the trip. At Bahru the boat ride was shorter so you had more time to spend on the beach. At IDR the boat trip, along with the stop over at the aquarium took a big chunck out of the time you had on the beach. Also, at Bahru, the people didn't hound you to buy stuff. At IDR, before you set foot on the sand you've got people trying to offer you stuff. WARNING: DO NOT accept anything that is offered to you. They say it is free but soon you'll find out that you're expected to pay for it, just say no. At Bahru, the drinks, including alcohol are included, at IDR you have to pay.
Anyway, we spend another beautiful day talking, swimming, joking around, getting to know one another until it's time to leave. Oh, I forgot, she looks amazing in a bathing suit. On the ride back she falls asleep on my shoulder, I couldn't sleep, all I could do is look and stare at her. She goes home to change and we meet again for drinks at another Plaza in el centro. More of the same, I feel we are becoming closer but I still won't dare try anything, I respect her to much and didn't want to run the risk of ruining what we had. We talk about the next day, which is when I meet the family. We talk about who is going to be there and what to expect. After a few hours I take her home and tell her I'll see her the next day.
The next morning she calls and comes over. We did something really cute that was spontaneous. While walking in El Laguito I noticed signs saying Apts for sale. I asked her how much she thinks they were going for and how big they were. Well she told me it depends on how old the building is, how many rooms, a view of the beach, swimming pool etc, so I said lets be nosey and find out. We started with one and ended up seeing 5 apts, just looking in different buildings but the cool thing was that we went in pretending to be a couple and I got to see a bit of her taste, as far as what she likes in décor, style, how she would decorate, in what she thought was a good size for a place, what she didn't like about the apts, all very revealing and we both had fun pretending. We later ate lunch at waffles and pancakes, a nice place for something light. Then she left because she had to help her mom prepare for the dinner that night. I used that time to go and buy a couple of bottles of wine and aguardiente at the supermarkets (Magali and Olympic). Then I went home to rest, shower, change and got ready to meet the family…. To be continued
steve
