I returned on Monday from another weekend in Cartagena with Maria. We had already decided that we wanted to be husband and wife and at this point it was just a matter of making it formal. Outside of just being together, that was one of the things I'd planned for this trip. I had a ring in my pocket. As usual we had a wonderful time together, although this trip we didn't really do much of anything in the way of sightseeing, etc. I'd rented the AFA apartment for the weekend and to be honest, we hung around there most of the weekend. Anyway here's what happened.
I arrived on Friday at 5P and she met me at the airport. Because she was going to be moving back to Bogotá, she had already resigned from her job as a vet, Thursday was her last day to work. So she was free to come down to the airport to meet me. She had mentioned that two of her lady friends would be with her because they wanted to meet me but turns out they couldn't make it so Maria was there alone. I'd wanted to meet her friends, these were long time acquaintances of hers and I think it’s important to have their imprimatur. One was the owner of the company where Maria worked and the other was one of her co-workers. No problem, we’ve resolved to return to Cartagena someday, so I’d have another opportunity. I’ve never had problems at the airport in Cartagena, but this time for some reason the lock on my bag was jammed and I couldn’t open it. The man with the gun was getting a little impatient and asked to see the suitcase so of course I quickly obliged. He took a pen from his pocket and in a split second was inside. I laughed, thinking, "It’s that easy?" So if you have a zip up bag with plastic zipper, the lock is useless. But maybe you knew this already. I never put valuables in my suitcase anyway but still it was an eye opener. That’s how I had to open and close the thing from there on out because I never got the damn lock unjammed. (Note to myself: Buy a suitcase with built-in lock and metal zipper. Not bullet-proof, but at least it will take more than a writing utensil to open!) Maria was lookin’ like home cookin’ as usual and we jumped into each others arms for long embrace and kiss. We grabbed a taxi to the apt to drop my stuff off. I was a little disappointed with the place. When we walked in, I heard a hissing sound and noticed water in the kitchen floor. The water supply to the icemaker was leaking very badly. The porter did the best he could but could not figure out how to turn off the water. He finally went downstairs to call Raphael, the AFA guy, to come out to fix it. When he left I reached behind the frig and turned off the valve. I figured we could live w/o the icemaker for sure, but the constant leaking would be a problem. For those who’ve never been, the floors in these places are tile and there is usually a couple of drains in the kitchen so it’s not a big problem, just inconvenient if you want to work in the kitchen. And I planned to do so. The rest of the place was OK as far as it goes, new washing machine, well stocked kitchen, the frig was one of the nicest I’ve seen in Cartagena, TV, boombox, nice balcony w/view. The bedrooms are a little hard to take though. Think: trailer park. The building, the Caribe Real, is very nice and I’ve seen and stayed in much nicer apts there. So be warned those who might be thinking of renting this one. We went down the street to Maria’s place to get her things. She’d be leaving Cartagena on Monday morning at the same time as me, and had already packed her stuff and sent most of it on to Bogotá. She only had a suitcase left. We said a sad goodbye to her landlady, a very nice woman from whom we’d rented a place once before. She’d been very good to Maria during her time in Cartagena and I knew Maria would miss her. When we got back to the apt, Raphael was there with another guy working on the water leak. Raphael is a nice guy, speaks English fairly well. I’m sure the AFA operation is a good one, they were always very professional with me, and I’m only suggesting that nicer apts are available there. I’ve seen them. After the guys left, Maria said that she had something for me and she pulled out of her suitcase a wonderful hammock. I’d been admiring hammocks on my last trip and we’d had a wonderful time one afternoon on my last trip at the restaurant la Muelle lounging around in one. This thing is the real deal, heavy duty, high quality, made in the Monteria region and authentic. She’d had a friend buy it and send it to Cartagena. We went down that evening to eat at the Club de Pesca, a very nice restaurant adjacent to the yacht club. Open air and about as romantic as it gets. I’d decided that is where I was going to ask her to marry me. We had a nice meal with a bottle of wine, but the place was very noisy and busy that night and it started raining very hard after we had finished our meal. At this time it is raining a lot in Cartagena and the restaurants are fully prepared. The Club had canopies out over the deck so getting wet wasn’t a problem. But still it was not the romantic picture I had in mind so I decided to wait until we returned to the apt. I did just that later in the evening and of course she said yes. She loves the ring, has since had it sized to fit in Bogotá and is wearing it proudly every day. And daanng it looks good on her.
Saturday morning we went for breakfast at a little café just down the street and then we went out shopping for a bit. I had promised I’d make her breakfast on Sunday so I needed all the makings. We also stopped at a hardware store to buy some rope with which to hang the hammock. After returning to the apt I quickly got the hammock in place on the balcony and we lay in that thing all afternoon. Damn that was nice. Later that evening we went back to Quebracho, a great Argentinean restaurant where we’d eaten during our first weekend together. After walking around the Old City for a bit, we headed out past the airport to club where she’d been told we could salsa. El Teso is the name I think. She’d never been there, but a co-worker told her it was a great place to go. WRONG!!! It looked tame enough, as a matter of fact there were tables with candles set up out on the beach several hundred feet in either direction in front of the club. On the surface this looked pretty hip and romantic. But the driver told us that the place was "muy malo y peligroso". And no one could tell us if in fact they played salsa. So we decided to go to Mr. Babilla’s instead. Good move, it turns out. It's familiar, we’ve been there before. The music is mostly dance remix and I have a much easier time with it than salsa at this point. And Maria likes it very much also. We had an absolutely wonderful time dancing and joking around. She complimented me on my dancing, telling me that I had improved a great deal since the last time we went. That was cool, I was taking the lead while we danced whereas the first time it was her all the way. One word of warning to those who might be interested in going. It gets VERY loud in the place as the evening wears on. We bugged out about 1AM because I simply couldn’t deal with the volume. Now, it’s a great place don’t get me wrong. All the things you’ve heard about the girls dancing alone, on tables, the bar, and everywhere else for that matter, goes in spades here. But be prepared for some serious decibels.
The next morning I cooked a big breakfast for us and we went out again to buy some cheese and yams for Maria to take home to Bogotá the next day. She was planning to make a soup for her family and the particular kind of cheese used is best when bought in Cartagena. That afternoon was spent lounging around again. For dinner we hit la Muelle and again watched the sunset from a hammock on the second floor of the restaurant. As a bonus there was a group having a party and several of the men played and sang ballenato. So we had a very good live band in the background while we dined. Very cool. Afterward, we walked down the beach barefooted and waded in the water at the edge. Even though it was getting dark, the beach was still loaded with people, most sitting around in groups, singing, dancing, etc. Again, WAY COOL. Then off to the Old City. We wanted to go to the Parque de Bolivar one last time before we left. It is a VERY romantic place at night. Or hell, during the day too. But especially at night. While there, we encountered a group of young kids who had put together a dance routine/show for those in the park. They were very good and very cute. Afterward, they passed a hat and of course we obliged. If you’re in Cartagena, the park is a must see. At night it's beautiful, and very safe. There are always policemen and soldiers roaming the streets. The Old City is Cartagena’s bread and butter so they are not about to allow BS to ruin the tourist trade. After the park, we walked over to the Plaza de Santo Domingo for a coffee at the Café Milano. Another must see place guys. Several restaurants all set up tables in the plaza, entertainers, just a wonderful place for a meal or coffee. While you are there, be sure to buy roses for your lady. There is a woman who works the place, I’ve seen her there every time, she’s very sweet and two roses are only 5.000. Of course, you can haggle but she won’t take less than 4.000. However, on this night one of the cutest little girls I've seen in Colombia, I think a relative of the lady, came up to our table to sell me roses. At first, I played the haggle game with her but in the end she turned out to be a better bargainer than me! She was just so cute; she talked to us for about 10 minutes, asked about us, if we were engaged, complimented Maria on her clothes and beauty, etc. She earned that 5.000 so I forked it over gladly. Shortly, it started raining and we split for the apt.
Another nice breakfast on Monday morning, then we headed out to the airport. It was great; we were together until the last minute! So we are now officially engaged and couldn’t be happier. We’re gathering all the docs we need to start the K-1 process. It’s taken a while because Maria had to have her ex send her their divorce decree from Bucaramanga. She received it a couple of days before I arrived in Cartagena and is now having the translation done in Bogotá. I’m heading to Bogotá at the end of the month to meet her family and I’ll bring all her stuff back with me. We’re having Gary Bala do this for us. I simply don’t have the time and I don’t want any missteps to cause delay. I think realistically we are looking at February or March for her arrival.
JR
