I arrived to Latin Encounters feeling a renewed sense of direction and hope. Yes, time was running out, but I felt like I had hit a gold mine of beautiful women. There were two professional secretaries that I could depend on to make it all work. Besides, I liked the spacious house with four different "living room" type areas that offered some privacy to hold appointments. I was promptly taken upstairs to choose one of two bedrooms available. After I chose one of them, Rosa came in and began scrubbing down the room which looked clean to me when I walked in. It was left squeaky clean which I really appreciated. I got organized and then went downstairs to do a site search, but I was informed that the L.E. site was down.
However, I was offered access to the girls digital photo albums and videos from one of the computers. This was a real blessing, because I got to see every single digital photo taken, not just the best ones posted on the site. It is amazing how cropping a photo will change your perspective on a woman. This search literally took hours and I was exhausted, but pleased when I presented a list of about 10 women to Juliana. 100% of my appointments showed up.
Before giving this list to Juliana, I had Margaret (L.E. owner) sit down next to me and ask if she could help. Margaret's insight was invaluable. Basically, I told her the kind of person I was looking for and we went over the girls I had on my list. I asked Margaret to help me delete any "high-maintenance" girls and she did. Although I was sorry to see some of them go, I knew it was best to do this from the get-go. Margaret also offered some suggestions and I decided to meet about half of the girls she recommended. Juliana promised she'd get working on making the appointments right away. I liked Margaret very much and found her to be dependable and responsable. Since I couldn't pay using my Visa, I promised to pay Margaret using a cash advance on my card. It wasn't until the third day that I paid Margaret anything at all. During these three days, Margaret never mentioned anything about my pament. Margaret was actively involved with my search and kept on checking-in with me to see how things were going. Truth be told, I really liked her and think she is a fabulous person.
Unless you've ever done this, I can't tell you how unbelievable it feels to be going through hundreds of beautiful women profiles and saying "too short", "not enough butt", or "too old (27 years)." Please!!! I would feel lucky to be able to date any one of them in California, but in Cali options were exponentially better, even for an average guy like myself.
I knew there was nothing to do, but wait until tomorrow to begin meeting these girls. So I headed to a place on Avenida Sexta called Studio 54, a favorite place of B. (the girl that dumped me cold), and drank a few beers while feeling sorry for myself. By the way, avoid this place unless you're with an ugly date and you don't want to be able to see her due to the darkness of the place, nor talk to her because the loud wide-screen videos will interfere with any attempt at a conversation.
The next morning I had a great breakfast waiting for me as I came downstairs. Also, there was a good guy from L.A. who had just arrived to Cali for the first time the night before. We instantly hit it off and we became good buddies while down there. As I was having breakfast, I was given a list of four appointments for the day. I was excited. My first appointment was a beautiful 20 year-old, but she had a child that somehow I missed in the profile. My second appointment was a gorgeous 21 year-old named J. who would be "the one", but I didn't know it yet. We had an incredible conversation and everything clicked. There was chemistry...but the next appointment was at 4 PM so we had to say good-bye. My 4 PM appointment was absolutely stunning and as S. walked into the agency, I immediately invited her for something to drink nearby. I came back to the agency at 5:45 PM with S. and was told that my 5 PM appointment L. had been waiting for me for almost an hour. What? What had I been drinking when I chose her? I have no idea. This woman was not only unattractive, but intimidating and rude. Thank God the party was going to start at 6 P.M.
Party? I had been told that there were going to be two parties at the agency on Friday and Saturday night. While I had been with my unattractive date, the agency was filling-up with gorgeous women and a few guys I hadn't met yet. The guys were from Miami, Atlanta, L.A. and England. As I was meeting them, it hit me that these guys were successful, bright and handsome individuals. They were at the agency out of choice, not desperation. I always wondered what a group of guys at an agency would be like. Now I knew, and to be honest, I think they would all be considered to be a "good catch" in the U.S. Anyways, you probably don't care...so back to the gorgeous women.
Have you ever been the only guy sitting in a circle of gorgeous women with sexy outfits? It's not a bad place to be. The party was somewhat awkward, but after a couple of hours the suggestion was made for us to go out to dinner. O.K. so we were to choose one of the girls at the party and invite her to dinner. I asked the gorgeous blonde in the pink mini-skirt outfit and she said yes. Heaven anybody? All in all, 5 couples went out to a restaurant and then we went dancing to a place with a live Spanish Rock band. It was a fun night filled with Vodka, dancing and partying. However, some of the girls had to go home and so a few of us guys walked down Sexta and partied a bit more. The next night, the guys pitched in and bought two cases of beer, but the girls weren't as attractive. Therefore, the guys piled in a taxi and hit Avenida Sexta on our own.
I would go through 9 more dates in three days before realizing that I wanted to spend my last two days getting to know J. better. I asked J. out again and we went for a beer to Chipechape. We talked for almost three hours before she had to go home because as a student she had some class assignments due the following day. I invited her to dinner the next day for what would be my last night in Cali. During this time, she casually asked if I would be interested in meeting her family before going out to dinner. "Sure", I replied.
My last day in Cali was hectic. I had an appointment for a corporal massage at 10 in the morning. Then, I went for a haircut and then made a run with two other guys to a souvenier shop in South Cali. We had lunch with two good-looking girls from the agency at "Tardes Calenas?" Then, we went back to the agency and went to a grocery store nearby called Carulla to stock-up on water, beer, etc. Thanks to a tip from Juliana at the agency, I thought about taking J.'s family a gift. I was told that bringing fruit would be appropriate. This idea sounded good, but it looked like a bad choice when I couldn't even identify half of the fruit at the grocery store. Luckily, I persisted and had a grocery clerk choose an incredible selection of fruit and then put it all together in a platic wrapped basket that looked awesome. I dressed-up for the occasion and felt confident.
Meeting the family was great. Everyone was hospitable and talkative, despite their interest in an incredible game in the Copa Libertadores in which a Cali team was being victorious. What should have been a short visit, lasted well over an hour. At last, J. and I went out for dinner. The atomosphere was crazy on the streets after the Cali team won the game. I asked J. to go back to the agency to talk a bit more. As much as I didn't want the night to come to an end, J. suggested it was time to go and I came to the painful realization that my 20 days in Cali were soon to be over. We called a radio taxi and waited outside the agency for it to arrive. A single kiss accompanied by best wishes was our good-bye. I've called J. several times since I've returned to the U.S. and talking to her is very reassuring that are feelings are mutual and we're not playing games. I plan on returning to Cali in early September to get to know eachother better. I'm at a point in my life where I know what I'm looking for in a woman, and J. comes as close to my ideal life partner as I think is possible. I'd like to marry her and I have a feeling that we will be happily married sometime next year. Time will tell. THE END.
