Hit the Wall & One More Salsa!!

CLICK HERE: TODAY'S PHOTO ALBUM

Nowhere to go, no one to meet, and nothing to buy. What shall we do today?  Never did make it out of the room last night. Way too tired. Decided to walk the wall after all. But first, we had some business to do with Comcast.

I realize this is not related to Colombian travel but this is so outrageous I have to share. During the last storm, the Comcast cable got blown down from the pole across the street. That was six days ago. Our friend Diana has been trying to get them to repair the cable. We have even tried from here when our wifi was OK. The cable is still down. Geoff was able to have a text chat with them this morning. They said they would repair it today. But they have been saying that for the last week. They would gladly refund us $5 for our trouble. HA!! I quickly calculated that we pay $5.50 per day x 6 days is $33,  plus $5.50 for everyday more that it does not get fixed. "Ok, we'll refund you $25".  Are you kidding me??##!@@. A multi-billion dollar corporation is haggling over pennies. Stuck to our guns and they finally gave in to the $33 refund. I am sure it will get fixed today otherwise it might cost them another $5.50!  Totally outrageous. Enough ranting.

Moving on..had some breakfast and got out while it was still relatively cool. Took some local pictures along the way to the wall. More graffiti shots. As it happened, we were lucky to hop on at the beginning of the wall.  There are lots of ramps and stairs to get on and off along the way. We made our way around and ran into a woman from New York at the Cafe del Mar. Walked with her for a bit and then parted when we got to the Old City.  Geoff and I walked as far as the port -- there is a small section of wall on the other side, but we opted to get off where we were. Met this very nice man setting up for a wedding tonight. Talked with him a bit - I commented that his English was very good. He told us that he is a baseball player (pitcher) and was signed with the Houston Astros for a while. He got released and is working in Cartagena - originally from Venezula. He has 6 months more on his work permit. I told him to try out for the Red Sox. We said chao and wished him luck. I hope we see his name one day.

It is early Sunday, so the Old City was relatively quiet. Passed the monastery -- they were singing Hey Jude in spanish.  The cruise ship people were all lined up in their horse drawn carriages. Other than that not too many people. Stopped in to get water. Some of these stores are just nuts. While we were in one the other day, they broke out into what is relatively an "Attention K-Mart shoppers" announcement and then salsa music. Well, of course, I started to dance and they came by and gave us some candy. Had no idea what that was about.

Got back hot and sweaty.  Time for lunch at the pool. We have gotten into quite a routine

here. I'm going to miss it, especially going back to 30 degree weather. Brrrrrrr.  Lazed around for most of the afternoon.  Could not pass up a last massage - this one came with a mini facial. These gals are all so good and they all have different styles.  Plus it is so cheap. I had total of 4 hour massages and they all added up to about what one and half hours back home. Going to miss that as well. Geoff got the 15 minute freebie.  Talked with a young couple from Chicago. There are a lot of young couples here. Mostly they want nothing to do with us. The girls pose around the pool in their thongs and the guys take their pictures. Honestly, the girls don't even want to get wet -- which is ridiculous because it feels like its 100 degrees and humid. It is quite the show.

Time to get ready for La Vitrola. Decided to splurge and called a taxi. Got there right on

time. Told the security at the door that we have a reservation under Jose Fox. Ok - he opened the little door and we slipped through. At first they seated in the side room where you could see the musicians. Wrong. Asked our pal for a table by the music - no problemo. We got a much better table. We were one of the first people there so no problem moving us. It also afforded us a great vantage point to see everyone coming in. Geoff mentioned that he was told to wear long pants here. Apparently, men have to wear pants but women don't have to wear much of anything. Boy did we see some outfits. This is the place to see and be seen! Some tourists, some locals, and some shady businessmen.

That was all fun. And, I have to say the service was very good. The food however, left much to be desired. The highlight of my meal was the lichee martini - absolutely delicious! But the calamari was like rubber and although the rest of the food was edible, it was no big deal -- especially at those prices. The music was also a bit of let down. The old guys were ok but so low key -- maybe it picks up later. We didn't stick around the find out.


Looked around for our guy to slip him the tip, but he was nowhere to be found. Ducked out the door and went across the street to talk to the musicians who were on break. Geoff had noticed the old guy had a unique 8 string guitar. As we were talking to them, our pal appeared. Geoff handed him the tip and told him their calamari was overcooked. Don't think he cared much. What racket.


We leisurely strolled back through the Old City. Fidel's was jumping so we jumped right in!! A very cool guy in cycling gear welcomed us to join in the fun. Had a blast. Started out in the front of the room but eventually moved to the back where there was more action. Some guy was passing around shots of whiskey - to lubricate the joints I suspect. That one salsa lesson paid off for me - I danced with some of the guys. Geoff did his thing (not quite sure what that is) and was having a good time. They all got a big kick out of watching the two old gringos shake it up! We got lots of applause. Meanwhile, the rest of the tourists are outside this tiny place gawking. 


Left Fidel's and walked down to Havana. It was still over an hour before the band would start at 11:30. We didn't know if we could hold that long so we walked down to the plaza where all the hostel kids hang out drinking in the street. Had enough of that. Decided that we didn't want to wait up for Havana, so it was back to the hotel. 

What a wonderful evening we had for our last night. Took a dip in the pool to cool off before going down to bed...


Next time... Adios Colombia