Cartagena – We made it!!

Today was about as long of a day as we have had in Colombia. It started with Traci getting up at 5:30 and the rest of us not long after that. Breakfast was served at 6:30, but there was too much running around for either of the big people to eat. Let me just add here that nobody accomplishes more in as little time as my wife. The kids were sleeping when I went in for a quick shower. By the time I emerged, they were all dressed and ready to go down for breakfast. The kids ate pretty much the same thing as they always eat. However, we have discovered that Maria is a cereal eater. She liked that better than eggs or French toast.

The cab actually arrived a little early, which caused us to rush even more. When we were picked up at the airport over a week ago, Andres from CHI had a van ready for us. This time, however, we had a little car. We still had four giant suitcases, one duffle bag and 5 backpacks – not to mention 5 people that needed rides. In the end, all 5 of us crammed into the back of the cab. Our luggage filled the entire trunk and the front passenger seat. When we rode from the airport to El Refugio, it was dark and we didn’t get to see much. Driving back out to the airport, we noticed that we didn’t miss much. It’s a little more of a depressed area around the airport than where we are staying.

It took a while to get everything checked in but we made it to the gate in plenty of time. The plane left at 9:30 and we arrived in Cartagena at about 11:00. As soon as the plane landed, we noticed that the rain had followed us from Bogota. Actually, it had finished raining but remained overcast for the rest of the day. And if we thought it was humid in Bogota, it is nothing compared to Cartagena. Looks like a few more days of wearing a baseball cap for me. After we collected our luggage, we were shuttled off to the hotel in a tourism van. Our trip kind of took a brief downhill spiral from there. As I kind of explained previously, the hotel we were booked into received some rather poor reviews on the travel web sites – which we only bothered to look at after everything was booked. I tried to change our reservation while in Bogota, but was basically told that the only place it could be changed was in the Avianca office in Cartagena. I was also told that the Avianca office was right around the corner from our hotel.

I recall one of the recent travel reviews I read about this hotel mentioning something about an overpowering urine smell when you walked in. Well, I assumed he was exaggerating, and was totally unprepared for the scent that assaulted my nose. We knew I had to leave right away to see about getting the hotel changed. Traci and the kids settled in the lobby and I quickly left for the Avianca office – which actually turned out to be about a quarter mile away. Once again, I had to take a number and wait while people behind the desks with computers talked on the phone. Skipping some of the gory details, unless we wanted to spend quite a bit more, we were pretty much stuck in this hotel. Every place seemed to be full. It ended up taking me 2 hours to just get this not so helpful information. I figured it would be easier if we just stayed put for now and checked back in the morning to see if anything opened up. Plus, I knew I had a hungry wife and tired kids waiting for me at the hotel.

I arrived to the sight of relief on three little faces. I guess I was gone so long they started to worry. Traci and I discussed our options and, still trying to make a long story short, we decided that there was no way in h_ll we were staying in this hotel. Apparently, while I was gone, Maria needed to use the rest room. According to Traci, a lady from the hotel took them through restrooms on three different floors and they were all so dirty and disgusting that they couldn’t use them. Traci said they looked as though they hdn’t been cleaned in months. Finally, on the third floor, Maria was about the burst. The guide suggested that they just put Maria over the sink and let the water run. An employee from the hotel actually suggesting that someone pee in the sink? That’s the kind of place this was. In the last restroom, the lady had Maria standing on a toilet and hovering to pee. Maria couldn’t go and the poor little trooper ended up holding it until I could get back.

So, after a brief lunch, we went back to the Avianca office and ended up spending the kids’ college money on an upgrade at a Hilton resort here in Cartagena (We also told them Merry Christmas). It was a lot of running around and I skipped a lot of details. We ended up getting into the Hilton at about 3:30. The kids didn’t get naps and we all felt tired and dirty from the experience. It was a relief to get to a nice comfortable place where we wouldn’t have to worry about anything.

We did meet a nice American couple in the Avianca office. Mary and her husband (who joined us late and whose name I forget – if you haven’t figured it out by now, I am bad with names) are from Wisconsin and sailed by themselves to Cartagena from Cuacos (sp?) a little over a week ago. They are retired and told us how they had basically been living on their boat for the last couple weeks. Traci hates my idea of moving into a motor home and just driving around the country after we retire. Maybe this will be more appealing to her. Also, Andres made lots of friends with people waiting in the office. He is such a ham and real lady killer with that smile. There were a couple a young guys in the corner that Andres went over to bother with his sucker and sticky hands. One of them stuck out a fist and Andres gave him knuckles. I got kind of a laugh out of how he automatically knew what to do.

Now, a little bit about the Hilton. First of all, we actually looked at this place online before we made the arrangements to change. We were having lunch at the local Frisby’s (I sure hope we don’t have to go to another Frisby’s while in Colombia, but the kids like it) and I tapped into someone’s WiFi to check it out. In our battle weary condition, seeing those pictures made it easy for us to make up our minds – particularly when we saw the kids play area they had outside.

When we arrived at the Hilton, we were greeted by Marcos, a nice, English speaking gentleman at the desk. My brain was pretty fried from trying to converse in Spanish at Avianca all morning (I thought I did a surprisingly good job, myself), and it was nice to not have to think so much. We ended up with two adjoining rooms on the top floor. The place is clean, modern and looks like, well, a Hilton. Traci and I have a huge bed with a plush comforter and several thick pillows (I think we mentioned how the pillows at El Refugio were so thin there was hardly anything to them). Upon arrival, they also gave each of the kids boxes of some fun little flash cards on counting, addition/subtraction and multiplication.

Andres, who fell asleep in the lobby continued to sleep once we got upstairs. Our room overlooks the pools, beach and water. I’m not exactly sure what body of water I am looking at. Caribbean? Atlantic? I don’t really care at this point. Given that we have two rooms, it is a major switch from the crowded environment of the compound. We also have balconies in each room (which lock from the top so the kids can’t get out without our help). I think it is going to be a nice break in the middle of our stay in Colombia. Despite all of the hassles of the day, I think we are happy we came here.

All during the unpacking, Luke was having fits about getting out to the pool. However, we were delayed a little more by Maria who did not like her bathing suit and didn’t want to wear it. We decided to put her back in her street clothes and let her watch if she didn’t want to swim with the rest of us. As soon as we got settled by the pool, Luke was doing cannon balls and trying out the little water slide. I sat with Maria and could tell she wanted to join in the fun. I also pointed out to Maria that all of the other little girls and women had on similar bathing suits. It didn’t take much more coaxing before we were up in the room getting changed. It kind of dawned on me that maybe Maria had never worn a bathing suit before, much less swam in a pool. It’s not exactly pool weather in Bogota and I didn’t see any indoor pools or Holidomes in Ubate. Back at the pool, Maria and I went down the water slide together as what may have been her first baptism into a swimming pool. She absolutely loved it. There was a ledge on the other side of the pool where she could stand. However, she tried running, fell and got a face full of water that had her coughing and gasping for air. That had her a little scared and me firmly convinced that this was her first trip to a pool. She pretty much latched onto me after that and we bounced around the pool a bit. They turned off the water slide about 15 minutes after we got in. So we will have to wait until tomorrow to try that again.

Andres, on the other hand, took to the water like a little fish. He would hop off the edge and into Traci’s arms with no fear. He and Traci paddled around together while Luke circled the four of us doing his best tricks for the kids.

And Luke kind of made a new friend at the pool whose name also happens to be Luke. Evidently, Luke II lives on an island in the U.K. I didn’t quite get the name of it but he said it was a “dreadful” 36 hours getting to Caragena. He has a cousin or uncle getting married next week in the old part of town. Luke II is probably about 11 or 12 years old (Luke I is only going to turn 8 this June), but you can’t be too choosy when looking for other English peaking friends to swim and play with while in Caragena. I expect that we will see more of Luke II while we are here.

It starts getting dark early here, so we had a pretty quick swim. It was refreshing and felt good to wash the grime of downtown Bogota off our bodies. We quickly got dressed again and hearing down for dinner here in the hotel. We have a meal package here that includes breakfast every day and either lunch or dinner at one of the restaurants. Again, making a long story short (I already think our blogs are way too long), we can eat pretty much what we want within reason. We ended up with Traci eating spaghetti, Luke having a sliced up hot dog and French fries and me, Maria and Andres eating pizzas. I have a feeling that the weight I lost in Bogota may be found in Cartagena. The food was good and everyone got desert too. They were also setting up for tomorrow’s breakfast buffet and one of the gentlemen explained all of the things that they had. It was huge and they seem to have everything covered from fresh fruit to made to order omelets. I could tell this fella was pretty proud of the spread they put on for breakfast.

One of the gentlemen here asked where we were from and when I mentioned Kansas City, he said, “Ah, Kansas City Royals!” I’ve probably told three people here that today and gotten the same reaction. It is also followed by their asking if I know Orlando Cabrera and Edgar Renteria because they both grew up in or around Catagena. Apparently, the people in these parts really enjoy their baseball (actually, our baseball). Somewhat ironically, I am watching the Tigers play the Angels right now on one of the English speaking sports channels. Renteria went 0-3, but the other Cabrera (Edgar, not from Colombia) hit a 2-run homer. I’ll have to tuck that nugget of information away for some more small talk tomorrow. (Mom & Dad, we got to watch the end of the Cubs game on ESPN Espanol earlier).

Maria and Andres have been in bed for a couple hours now and I don’t quite know if this is going to work out. The kids’ room basically has two twin beds in it pushed together. Luke is supposed to sleep in one and M&A in the other. I have a chair pushed up again the side where Maria is sleeping so that if she rolls out, she will roll into a chair. Well, I have already been in there about 3-4 times to reposition the kids. Twice now, Andres has basically had his head where his feet should be. And Maria is now almost fully sleeping in the chair. Tomorrow we might call about a crib for Andres. I know he hates it, but Traci and I will feel better. Also, we are going to have to get a roll cage for Maria’s bed when we get home. I don’t know that I have ever heard of a kid moving around so much in their sleep. No wonder she needs a nap in the afternoons. She gets a work out in her sleep.

I guess that is about it. We made it here safe and sound – after a few trials. We drove past the old, historic part of the city and I am extremely anxious to get back out there. Otherwise, I am just looking forward to a few days of pool, beach and having more fun with the kids. People at the Hilton have been extremely nice to us and although we may be eating ramen noodles and bread sandwiches for a while when we return, I think it was a good call. We are no longer tripping over one another and we have lots of new things and places to explore. And as I look out my window right now I can see lights all along the shore line. It’s kind of pretty. I think one area is a refinery, but it still looks nice at night.


The kids stuffed into the cab on the wait to the Bogota airport.


Maria and I waiting for take off. there were a coupld of moments when he kind of started to cry on the plane. First was when you could kind of feel the plane starting to decend. Next was right before we landed. I have no idea what that was about. Otherwise, she was a good traveler and it gives me hope for the long flight back to the States.


Andres and Traci flying to Cartagena. Andes had a couple of moments, but i think we may have figured out some ways to keep him under control.


For example, a juice box seems to cure everything.


And when things are really bad . . .


Big Brother Luke is always there for to tickle his stomach and get a laugh.


A weary crew arrives in Cartagena. Little did they know, the real work was just about to begin.



Poor Andres fell asleep on the ride to downtown Cartagena (which is only about 10 minutes) while holding his ticket stub.


View from our room. In the center of the pool area you can see the water slide we went down. The beat is actually in the upper right. the sand here is kind of dark and Cartagena is not really know for good beaches. The kid play area is in the center just beyond the pool. it looked a little wet out there. I'm not too cure how much we will get out there, but it got a lot of curious looks from the kids.


Luke was just itching to get into that pool. The skies were like this the whole day today but it wasn't too bad. However, the humidity was killer. My couple of trips between the hotel and the Aviance office with a 40 pound backpack and a sleepy kid in my arms (second trip) had me looking frazzled and dripping with sweat.


This shaky picture was taken by Luke. He's usually much better. This is after the swim as it started getting dark (probably pretty close to 6:30 p.m.) As you can from the kids big smiles, a lot of fun was had and I would expect a busy day tomorrow. I wore my Bass Pro hat today which pretty much tells everyone I am from the States. Short of wearing an American flag on my head, I don't know how I could say it any plainer.