Today I will write about the early days together in Cartagena, which were also the 4 days before the wedding. The so awaited day was August the 4th. The 3rd at night, shortly before going to bed, I got a message from the husband. For him it was the 4th already and he was getting ready to travel to Hannover. A long journey ahead: approximately 1 hour by train from Hameln to the airport in Hannover. After a "short" flight from Hannover to Frankfurt, where he would meet his parents, who were traveling on the same flight. Then 10+ hours flight from Frankfurt to Bogota, a 3 hours layover in Bogota and finally the flight to Cartagena. Ugh! A long and exhausting day for him. Although I must say he never complained, I do not know if it was the excitement of seeing his future wife again, after 5 months or what, but seriously, he never complained.
This was all his luggage. I wondered: how does he do to put so many things in such a small suitcase? I have to learn how to travel lighter, it's something I've been saying for a long time now.
This was my luggage + hand bag. I sent the wedding dress and many other boxes with my dad.
After reading the viber messages and exchanging a couple more, I went to sleep. I had to get up very early in the morning, even if my trip wasn't until 11am. Although, comparing to the husband, I had the situation a little easier: 4 hours drive. But I must confess that for some time now, hours previous a "long" road trip, I feel very anxious and start imagining bad stuff could happened, especially if the person driving is a stranger to me. Not cool.
Fortunately everything went well. The driver was very cautious and sometimes a little slow. The arrival time did not matter to me, as long as we arrive safely. And so it was. After arriving at the bus terminal, I took a taxi to the final destination: Hotel Santo Domingo, which became our "temporary house" for 8 days.
I had been and stayed at the "hotel" in June of this year, so I knew what to expect, or at least I so thought. Once there, a person took me to our room and on the way to it, she apologized, and said they had had a problem with the laundry and therefore I would not find towels in the room, but that they would fix the issue the next day in the morning. Luckily I had brought my own towel, because I do not like using hotel towels at all. But the husband was going to need, so that night we had to share the towel.
This was our room for 6 of the 8 days of our stay in Cartagena.
After checking the room out and taking a few things out of my suitcase, I left the house-hotel and went to the German Colombo house to get my German certificate. I was very happy when I saw it. I got a score of 99/100 - "sehr gut". Although I must admit the evaluated level was very basic A1, and I actually reached the B2 level while I lived and studied in Germany; but as the embassy only requires an A1 certificate, that's the test I took at the Goethe Institut. After picking the certificate, I walked up to a Mini Market to buy some personal care things and also some bottles of sparkling water for my German husband, who would be landing in Cartagena around 1am. It was almost 6:30 pm, so I had enough time, before leaving for the airport.
I went back to the house-hotel, I organized some things in the closet and when I was getting ready to take a shower, I got a message from the husband: they have safely landed in Bogotá and that the chips I had asked him to bring me, had exploded inside his backpack. Oops! I went to the bathroom immediately, showered and got ready, but very slowly. Almost at 9pm I went out and tried to find a place where to eat in the historic center, that had me completely enchanted with its narrow streets, colonial architecture, the wind blowing nicely, flower-filled balconies, etc. I felt in love all over again, felt so peaceful, like floating.
Walking along the city streets trying to find to eat. In Cartagena, recently known as the fantastic, you either fall in love or fall in love!
After much walking, trying to kill some more time, I went to a restaurant near one of the main plazas, ate a salad and drank a natural lemonade. Around 11pm I took a cab to the airport. From the historic center of Cartagena, the airport can be reached in less than 30 minutes. Wow, super! I arrived at the airport and as expected, most of the shops were already closed, there was not much to do and the WiFi did not work, so I went to the information desk and asked for a magazine and touristic information about Cartagena.
Uncomfortably sitting for hours at the airport
Seriously, the seats at the airport in Cartagena are super uncomfortable. They look like petite tables, backless an all. The waiting meant nothing but suffering to my back. At the end, I gave up on uncomfortable sitting and since there were not so many people at the airport and I could fit in four of these uncomfortable seats put together, I decided to lay on my back. Only then my back could rest.
Minutes passed. I checked the time, then the arrivals and realized his plane had landed. So, full of excitement, I walked to the exit door and waited. Most passengers came out , except the husband. The minutes passed and I was starting to worry: did he miss his connecting flight? did he have trouble finding his gate? My doubts were dispelled when I suddenly saw the tall, thin, and blond guy, sticking in a crowd. The husband has always said that in Colombia he is a blue dog. The wait was over, the husband was finally in Cartagena, hugs and kisses and more hugs; before taking a taxi towards the house-hotel. August the 4th will always be remembered as a long and exhausting day for both, but in spite of everything, always happy, always smiling, always happy to be together.
