Trip Summary
The names of the women have been changed.
Thursday - I arrive in Cartagena, check-in at my apartment, eat dinner, and spend the next 6 hours puking my guts out. I can’t keep water or Pepto Bismol down, and by morning I’m dehydrated, dizzy and disoriented. The apartment manager next door was an absolute angel. She took me to the hospital and babysat me while I got several bags of fluid and some medicine injected into my veins. (Aside: I got the credit card bill for the treatment a few days ago – it cost a grand total of $21.15! And the hospital, at Boca Grande, is the best in town. Many Cartagenians can’t afford to go there.)
Friday – After I got back from the hospital I spent the rest of the day resting. Fortunately, I didn’t have any dates scheduled. Actually, Gloria had set up a date for Thursday evening with Roberta, but Roberta wanted me to call her first. She didn’t want to go out that night, and asked me to call her on Monday. Well, by Monday I had dinner dates lined up for the rest of the trip, so I never met her. Too bad, based on her photos, she’s a very attractive woman.
Saturday – Saturday morning I called Magdalena, Gloria’s assistant, and that afternoon we got busy. I went through all the profiles in the Latin Destination books, and selected 7 women. Magdalena got on the phone, and she was very good. Very persuasive. She got one woman who hadn’t gone out on an agency date in 2 years to agree to meet me, and the only rejection was from a woman who was engaged. Saturday afternoon I got a call from Alice, who was referred to me by Gloria. We went to dinner at the Hilton. No fireworks, but a nice visit.
Sunday – At 1:00 I met Caryn, an architect, at Da Pietro, a very nice Italian restaurant in Boca Grande. Very good restaurant. I enjoyed Caryn immensely. While she wasn’t the most beautiful woman around, she was very sexy. And a fascinating conversationalist. She had been kidnapped twice by FARC while working for the government. Sunday evening I met Evelyn, a psychologist, in a plaza in the Old City. Evelyn was 45 minutes late and told me she wanted to meet me in front of a church in the plaza so she could look me over first. We had a great time, both wanted to see each other again, and scheduled a date for Wednesday afternoon.
Monday Morning – I went to “A Foreign Affair” to browse their profile books. I was with a friend who was waiting on me, and so was in a hurry, but it still took me 2 hours to flip through the books. They must have a couple of thousand women. I gave them a list of about 20, and they went to work to fill the four time slots I had left on my schedule.
Monday Afternoon – At 3:00 PM, I had a date to eat ice cream with Shelly, a tall, very attractive mulata, 24 years old, who’s finishing up her degree in systems engineering. She took me on a tour of the Old City afterwards, and she seemed to know everybody. There was a little, but not a lot of mutual chemistry, and she’s an evangelical Christian who takes her religion very seriously. As a result, I haven’t followed up with her, even though I’m tempted.
Monday Evening – After 5:00 PM, it was back to “A Foreign Affair” to see who they had lined up for me, and Alex was still doing some calling. They had managed to schedule a date for me at 3:00 PM the next day with Irene, my #1 choice. And Janice, my date for the evening was there. Janice is 31, a systems engineer. I couldn’t understand her. She used a lot of slang and spoke rapidly and didn’t seem to be able to slow down when I asked her to. This was the only dud date on my trip. After about 30 minutes I was dying to leave, but the date lasted 3 hours. I was glad to get back to the apartment.
Tuesday Afternoon - I was supposed to meet Noshow, a very attractive woman, but a little young (19). She never showed, and I was a little annoyed, because I was standing in front of the Atlantic Casino for an hour, waiting. I wondered if she pulled an “Evelyn” (psychologist who met me in front of church). Maybe she came, looked me over and decided to head on down the road. So, anyway, after an hour I walked across the street to “A Foreign Affair.” It was still two hours before my date with Irene, but I wanted to see if they’d made any more progress with my list. Well, Rafael told me Irene was sick and cancelled. He did manage to schedule dates with Carley and Lela, two other women at the top of my list. He asked me if he could find a replacement for Irene. After wasting 3 hours with Janice, waiting on a street corner for an hour for Noshow, and finally having Irene, my number one pick cancel, I wasn’t dispose to schedule another date, so I told him no.
Tuesday Evening - Well, sometimes reality is different from perception, and in reality Rafael and Alex had really come through for me. My date Tuesday evening was with Carley. She was fantastic. About 5’7”, a professional, very attractive, good values, not pretentious, and we have similar interests. We ate at a pizza place near AFA, and at the end of the date, when I tried to give her money for a taxi, she got mad at me. Good sign.
Wednesday Afternoon – Lunch date was with Lela, a very attractive 19 year old nursing student. Very nice and fun to be around. I suspect the age difference is too great though. I’ll probably see her again next time I go to Cartagena. I was scheduled to see Evelyn, the psychologist, at 5:00 PM, but she was a no show. She called me later and said she was waiting for a phone call from me, but the evening before I specifically told her I wasn’t going to call because I wouldn’t be in the apartment. Evelyn is nice, but unreliable.
Wednesday Evening – I saw Carley again. We had a great dinner at La Vitrola in the Old City. We’ve been talking by phone and will definitely see each other again.
Thursday Morning – Onto Barranquilla and the Shakira concert. But that’s another story.
