Dancing in the Heat to the Beat that makes your Clothing Clammy!

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For the many friends worried about us being kidnapped, don´t worry! We are not being held hostage! We landed Friday morning in Cartagena as planned, checked into our hotel in Bocagrande and got some breakfast. I had forgotten about all the different kinds of exotic juices they have in central and south america and Colombia is no different. My new favorite is mora (blackberry). That morning, I had mora con leche, kind of like a blackberry milkshake. There is also mora ice cream and juice. Yummy! Next, we hit the beach. Bocagrande is like a third world Miami Beach. Take the highrise hotels and condos and mix in local beach vendors selling everything from jewelry, paintings, drinks, chairs you can rent and they´ll ´protect´your stuff while you swim ... We were immediately accosted by a man shucking these pitiful little oysters for us to try. While I was sidetracked by the oyster man, another lady started braiding my hair. She was halfway through one braid before I even realized what she was doing! Another woman was trying to give Tony a massage! 30,000 pesos later, we extracted ourselves from the predicament and continued our stroll on the beach. The water was warm and it felt good to swim as it is very hot and humid here. Then, the best vender came along ... the ladies that carry bowls on their heads with fresh fruit (papaya, mango, watermelon, banana, pinapple, etc.) and they will cut a plate of fresh fruit for you right there on the beach. Only 5,000 pesos! (a little over $2.50 USD). Oh, heaven!
We stayed the weekend in Bocagrande shopping. You learn alot about people when you travel with them. I now know that Tony likes to shop. Alot. And, he is very particular about what he wants to buy. We went from store to store to find the perfect linen shirts and pants. Then, he needed shoes. And a belt of course. Not that I´m complaining. He looked quite dapper after putting it all together. He fits right into the caribbian scene.
We stayed at a fabulous little place called Hotel da Pietra where we both fell in love with the little pet monkey named Pili. Now, I want one. We also spent some time on the Pietra´s rooftop garden in their hammocks relaxing before our week of spanish immersion school began.
The best part of the weekend was Saturday night when we finally made it into the old city to do some salsa dancing, our primary reason for visiting Colombia. We found a local club playing salsa music and settled in on the balconey. At first, we just watched the locals. The salsa is very simple compared to our LA style. When we started dancing, Tony kept us (me) pretty reserved. It got really hot and as the title of my blog suggests, our cloths got quite damp (soaked may be more accurate). So we decided to stroll around the central part of the city. We came across a wedding party that had blocked off one entire city block. They had rented a salsa band that was playing on a stage. We decided to just dance right there in the street behind the stage! Ahhh, much better! There was a nice breeze and we had the street to ourselves! We continued to walk and came across yet another wedding party that was taking place on top of the wall (Cartagena is surrounded by an old fort wall and yes it is wide enough to party on in many places). Again, we decided to just dance in the street as people and cabs stopped to watch! Que divertida!
The next day we packed up and moved ourselves into the walled city to be near the school. Our new hotel, Las Plazas de los Palmas, provided a ridiculously huge room big enough to sleep six people. Tony wants to have a salsa party in the room. It is that big! The vaulted ceiling is at least 25 feet high. And, there is a bidet in the bathroom. OK, now I am going to digress a bit to tell you more about what I have learned about Tony. But I will come back to the bidet.
What I didn´t realize about Tony is that he has another girlfriend. And, he brought her on this trip. I call her Mora because she is like a Blackberry but she isn´t fruity. She´s a PDA. And, when Tony isn´t interacting with me, or watching an episode of CSI (there always one of the many CSI´s on some station here in Cartagena), he is attending to Mora. He actually wakes up at 6am to rendezvous with Mora. He tries to be quiet about it. But, I know what he´s up to. Alas, Mora has what I don´t, 24x7 internet access (where there is wi fi available, and it is available almost everywhere here). Anyway, for some reason, Mora annoys me. But, getting back to the bidet, I have to confess she did come in handy. I decided that as a world traveler, I needed to actually have a bidet experience. So, Tony consulted Mora, and she very quickly came back with very explicit instructions. I am proud to say I can die in peace now as I have used a bidet!
On Monday, we began our spanish classes. I was a little late as I had been very sick the night before. I should mention something nice about Tony here. He was very sweet to me during the at least 100 times I got up to go to the bathroom during the night. He even humored me when I insisted around 2am in the morning that I was dying and he would need to take me to the hospital in the morning. But, morning came. I was still alive. So, I went to class instead.
My teacher, Ricardo, is very nice and patient with me. We talked alot today about Bush. He asked my opinion. I told him I thought Bush was reckless. He said most North Americans that come through the school feel the same way (if this is true, how did Bush get re-elected?). He also said because of the free trade Bush has opened up with Colombia, most Colombians like Bush. Life has been better with their (Colombian) president and Bush. Enough of the politics. My instructor and I have also been reviewing alot of the past tenses I was started to learn last year in Ecuador. Today, he said I know them and we will start with the subjunctive. I´m a little afraid of the subjunctive. Don´t know if I´m really ready to go there ....
But, speaking of spanish, I´m suprised at how much of it came back. It´s a little wierd doing all the translating for me and Tony. But, we are getting by just fine. The only problem I really had so far was mistakenly ordering a ghastly meal of liver.
For the most part, we´ve been strolling around Cartagena. It´s a vibrant Colonial city. Tony is appreciating the architecture. We are both a little obsessed with the elaborate wooden doorways. Tony insists we could make money publishing a book on the doors of Cartagena. Tony is getting some grand ideas about how we could run an all inclusive resort that includes spanish lessons, horseback riding, jeep tours, mountain biking, and salsa lessons. We took the salsa lesson at the school and went on a tour of the City´s libraries today. I like the libraries. They all have AC. Our salsa instructor/tour guide, Mija (sp?) is very sweet, friendly and chatty. I like talking to her. She speaks very clearly and simply and I can understand almost everything she says!
It is ifun having a travel partner again. So far, Tony and I are getting along splendidly! However, I´ve noticed I rarely get called ´senorita´. When I´m with Tony, it is stictly ´senora´. The local boys stay away, too. But, I´d rather be with Tony anyway. He´s the best dressed salsa dancer around!
OK, I must go and try and win back Tony from the keys of Mora .... I will write more once we land in Cali, the Salsa Capital of South America!

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Photos

Pili
Our newest friend, Pili, relaxing in her hammock.

Tony, Hammock, Cuba Libre
.... and, of course, Mora is nearby. No hay nada mejor que esto! (It doesn´t get better than this!)

The Walled City
This is the clock tower entrance to the walled city

Comments

[mercury]

Good to read and see
Thanks again for a good job and you know it would be a good way to make a living traveling and writing and shooting your picts.... life is funny and you never know.... have a great time and we will see you when you get back.... Merc

[Carolyn]

Fun!
Sounds like a shopping, bidet using, salsa dancing good time. Can't wait to hear about Cali!