Today is the first full day of my trip and my biological clock won't let me sleep past 7:00am, damn... So I'm up early, grab a HOT shower and head down to the agency... The agency is located adjacent to the hotel, Charlie's Place... This is where all of the socials take place... LAI is a family run business, operated by Nelson, Charlie, Lucy and a wonderful staff... Everyone is very friendly, making feel like a member of the family... Charlie's Place also has a restaurant located on the premises so you can get something to eat quickly and easily... You can always run into other LAI members, male & female, at the restaurant... For a little over 2 bucks, you can get an omlete, toast and a cappuccino... LAI is located on the north side of Bogota in a good neighborhood... The north side of town is the more affluent section of town where Zona Rosa is located and all of the up-scale malls... There is a large military base 1 block away so there is always a military presence in the area... This was unsettling the first time I saw armed soldiers patrolling the streets at 3:00am, but soon you become accustomed to their presence... Enough background...
During breakfast, a few gringos wander into the restaurant and we all become better acquainted... One thing I noted was that about half the guys there were in the IT industry, me included... Curious, but not inexplicable... There were guys from all walks of life, various industries and their own reasons for going south... This was the first time that I had met as many men in the pursuit at one time... Not a bad thing as it allows you to gain some perspective from the other guys as to the methods of our collective madness... Actually, it was very interesting to examine the cross-section of men that were in attendance... There were newbies, some who had been to Colombia a few times and some veterans... Meeting these guys was one of the high points of the trip...
There were a few newbies on their first trip south... These were the guys that had the "deer in the headlights" look... lol... These are guys that couldn't get a woman to give them the time of day in the US and now they are living the life... Not that they were ugly trolls, but we all know what the dating "game" is like here in the US... I doubt any of the newbies I met will ever go back to dating AW... Anyway, these guys had smiles on their faces that you couldn't wipe off with a cheese grater... After meeting one beautiful woman after another all day long, making a decision on who to take out that night became perplexing... Gee, what a problem to have...
There were others that had been to LA a few times... These are guys that have been working on their Espanol, knew what they were looking for and were a little more polished... Some had lists of personallity questions they would slip into conversation to try and judge the nature of the ladies... These guys also realized that time is the most precious commodity when in LA... Don't waste too much time on a cita with someone who you have no interest in or you are sure it just won't work... Yeah, it's fun to talk it up with a hot 20 year old, but is it really gonna work??? Not likely... Just move on to the next... I probably fit into this category...
Then there were those that have been at this for years... And I mean YEARS... I guess some guys just can't make up their minds which piece of candy they want from behind the counter or perhaps they just love the thrill of the hunt... Can't say I much blame them though... Who of us does not enjoy being the focus of attention for lot's of beautiful women, all vying for your attention... Ahh, the rock star syndrome... I have no doubt these guys will match one day, I only hope the girls they match with can live up to their expectations, and vice versa...
We all finish breakfast and head into the agency to check our schedules for the day... I had 7 citas scheduled during the day and into the evening... Most of the girls I had selected spoke some or good Ingles, so communications was not a real problem... For those girls that I had a tough time talking to, the agency has 3 PC's setup with internet access & translation software installed to make it a little easier... You can always get someone to translate for you if necessary... Every one of my citas show up on time or call to reschedule, imagine that... Each and every girl I met was very nice, well dressed and seemed genuinely interested in meeting me... Nice change from Cali, where my experience has been many no-shows and disinterest from the girls... In between my citas I hung around the hotel, restaurant and agency where there were always ladies coming and going... There was a steady stream of girls coming into the agency for citas or to sign up with the agency as new members... It seems that LAI had been running some TV ads in Bogota and has gotten some press exposure recently which has caused a surge in new female members... If you see someone you would like to meet, simply introduce yourself... I met many ladies this way before they ever hit the catalogs and website...
I have a nice conversation with one of my citas and ask her to lunch... We grabbed a taxi to Santa Barbara mall, about 5 minutes away... The Santa Barbara mall was built on the ruins of a old hacienda... They were able to maintain some of the architectural features in the entry of the mall from the old hacienda, so you get a mix of the old colonial structure and a new modern mall... The place is huge, laid out a bit like a maze... It was fun wandering around, getting lost and just window shopping... Great place to take a date to walk, talk, grab a coffee and get to know each other... My date and I eat in an open air restaurant, having a great Churassco and Margarittas... Time slips away and I notice that I am late for my next cita... Hey, I was having a good time... We taxi back to the agency and I make arrangements to see this girl again...
My afternoon citas all go well... The only complaint is that the ones later in the afternoon were scheduled 30 minutes apart... So, as soon as I began to develop a rapport with a girl, it was time to move on to the next... This was not a bad thing, I would rather have at least 1 hour between citas... After my last cita I rest up a little for the evenings activities...
There is a party scheduled tonight at Charlie's Place... I would estimate that there was 7 - 8 gringos and probably 25 - 30 ladies... Many existing lady members and many new... The party starts off with introductions of all the people in attendance, followed by drinks and dancing... Everyone has a great time... Nothing will boost the old ego more than dancing with 3 - 4 beautfil girls at one time... Ahh... Life is good... Well, right up until the point where I thought I had dislocated my shoulder... I was dancing with one girl and spun her... As I spun her, I hyper-extended my right shoulder and paid the price... I have had this shoulder worked on before for an old ski injury so I wasn't suprised... The long and the short of it is that I called it a night early to take a handfull of ibuprophen and tylenol, then pack my shoulder in ice... Oh well, tomorrow is another day...
All in all, a very good day...
More Later...
wizard
