June 21, 2019
Dear Jane,
Once again it has been much too long since last I wrote. In truth, I did not have the inspiration or drive to write these past couple of months so I allowed myself the freedom to take a step back from letter writing. Now however, I have journeyed there and back again ("there" being South America) with my sister, Rachael, and so the time has come once again to pick up the pen. And by "pick up the pen," I do mean, "type on the keyboard." Writing of one's adventures is vitally important so I must continue my mission of chronicling them. I often think of a line you once wrote in a letter to your sister, Cassandra, when I have trouble getting started with letters: "I am not at all in a humor for writing; I must write on till I am." Inspirational as always, Jane.
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| Watching the sunrise! |
Now then, our journey to Cartagena, Colombia began on Sunday, the nineteenth of May in the Year-of-Our-Lord two-thousand and nineteen. To be sure, I was a little anxious to be travelling to a new continent but I agree with your above quotation from Pride & Prejudice, “The distance is nothing when one has a motive.” The first part of our journey consisted of an early flight to Miami, Florida but we were blessed with a smooth flight and an on-time arrival. After we landed we bought some provisions to tide us over until our next flight and made our way to the proper terminal. (These are the mundane details most people leave out when recounting events, but not I, Jane. Not I.) Our connecting flight to Miami was also a particularly good flight; we felt quite fortunate indeed! Unfortunately, however, both Rachael and I became addicted to the game "Bejeweled" and barely looked up from our in-flight entertainment screens the entire time. I confess that mindlessly matching jewels on a touch screen does make the time fly whilst flying!
Our adventure truly began once we arrived at Rafael Núñez International airport in Cartagena and had to quickly learn how to count and handle Colombian pesos. I would like to preface the rest of this letter with the fact that I did quite a lot of research on all-things-Colombia (currency, history, cultural customs, helpful phrases, etc.) so even though we were technically prepared, our first monetary transaction was...humorous. After we successfully used the airport ATM (Automated Teller Machine, Jane...it is a machine in which one withdraws cash from one's personal banking accounts from anywhere in the world; I do not believe we've covered this topic in past letters), I suggested we purchase bottled water in order to get the hang of exchanging pesos in a low-stress situation. Well, we did pretty well, but ended up just kind of handing the cashier what we thought was the right amount of money but then were definitely out a few extra pesos because counting change in another language on the spot is difficult. C'est la vie, Jane. Or rather, “Así es la vida.”
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| Hotel Caribe! |
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| We arrived! |
After we collected ourselves and our pesos, we achieved our next milestone which was obtaining a taxi to transport us to our hotel. Using our limited yet earnest attempt at Spanish, we successfully found a willing driver and made our way to the beautiful Hotel Caribe. We checked in and were soon shown to our lovely room which overlooked a patio/garden area. After settling in, we adorned ourselves with bathing costumes and sunscreen and went down to the scenic swimming pool. It is a lovely slice of paradise, Jane.
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My spirit animal...
a sloth. |
For those who don't know, my sister can lay out in the sun for hours whilst, I, *AHEM* a fair English rose, cannot. (I am not and never shall be a fair English rose, but one can dream, Jane!) After "roughing it" in the sun for as long as I could (which was not long at all), I began my exploration for wildlife as the Hotel Caribe is home to many animals who are able to wander freely about the grounds. I am happy to report that I saw multiple deer, a sloth (my spirit animal) and two parrots. I was most looking forward to seeing a toucan but he or she eluded me for the time being, though Rachael spotted one near the pool whilst I was off exploring...how rude.
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| A beautiful scene... |
After swimming for a spell, we popped over to the dining area to partake in our complimentary and delicious "welcome drinks" before journeying back to our room to ready for dinner. We did take a quick detour before dinner, however, and walked to the beach which was conveniently located right across from our hotel. What a sight! There were scores of local vendors selling their wares, chic speed boats that rushed by a little too close to shore, the warm waves of the Caribbean lapping our feet as we stood on the edge of the sea and a sunset that bathed the tropical evening in a warm, fading light...it was breathtaking, Jane. (That was my attempt to practice some descriptive narrative, by the way.)
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La Diva was
La Delicious. |
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| The ambiance. |
Happily, we soon found a delightful dining establishment quite near our hotel called, La Diva. Yes, gentle readers, it IS an Italian restaurant and I DID indulge in pizza on my first night in Colombia. In my defense, they make excellent "za" (a pet name for pizza, gentle readers) and the ambiance was splendid. What an excellent first day it was, Jane!
Whilst I know it can be tiresome to read about someone else's holiday over the course of multiple letters, I will never-the-less be employing this tactic once more, Jane and gentle readers. I fear that I did not have the attention span to write about multiple days all at once this afternoon. Perhaps this is a sign of aging now that my thirtieth year is firmly underway. Thank you for your patience as I take up my letter writing once again!
TRAVEL TIP FOR GENTLE READERS: When travelling in a foreign country, always try to withdraw money (in the local currency) using an ATM; the exchange rate is infinitely better than going to an exchange counter! Additionally, be sure to travel with debit/credits cards that do not charge you foreign transaction fees.
Yours Faithfully,
Amanda
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