Our Very Colombian Babymoon

babymoon -  vacation taken by a couple that is expecting a baby in order to allow the couple to enjoy a final trip together before the many sleepless nights that usually accompany a newborn baby

Our babymoon began on Saturday. Our bags were packed and Matt had a half day of work, so a driver picked me up and I met him at the job site. From there we headed off to the Decameron Baru, an all inclusive resort that is located on an island right off the coast of Cartagena. We've twice visited the Decameron {here and here} and Matt received a weekend gift certificate as a birthday gift from a contractor he works with. We decided this was the perfect opportunity to fit a little getaway into our very complex schedule.  Matt's assistant called and made the reservation for us, which was fabulous, since it's been quite the process to make reservations in the past.  {booking over the internet doesn't exist, it involves phone calls and then paying the bill in person at a Decameron office to confirm your reservation}
A representative from Decameron called twice to confirm the reservation with Matt's assistant and let us know that the gift card was a three night stay. Our reservation also included Friday night. Since Matt had to work Saturday morning, his assistant explained that we would only be staying Saturday and Sunday.  We were confirmed and invited to come on Friday if our plans changed.

When we checked in Saturday afternoon, we had a slight issue explaining that although our reservation began on Friday, we were checking in Saturday and checking out on Monday. Our reservation was found and our babymoon began.


We spent a late afternoon at the pool, discussing things parents to-be discuss, including what the next 5-10 years may look like for us, while enjoying the opportunity to relax together.



We had a quiet Colombian dinner and ended our evening with a movie.

The next morning we woke for breakfast and made our way to the pool. We relaxed, read, ventured out from under our umbrella for some sun, just for 45 minutes, enjoyed some ice cream, a mocktail for myself and a few cocktails for Matt.


We even managed to pull out the baby name book.  We are fairly certain that we have a name for George, should he be a boy, although there are two other names that remain on the list just in case. Our girl names, which is the one we've struggled with from the beginning, has come down to two possibilities. While we bought the baby name book to specifically help us with the girl name, the two that remain are those that have been on the top of our list from the beginning.


We had a great day together, just the two of us, complete with lots of kicks from our little Georgie.

We packed up from the pool with plans that included a nap before dinner and a walk on the beach to take some pictures.

This is where the babymoon gets very Colombian.

After settling into our room, there was a knock on the door. It was the man from the Decameron who checked us in the previous day. He explained that our reservation was for Friday and Saturday and the hotel was currently sold out, meaning that someone checking in needed our room and we needed to vacate.
Yeah.
Matt explained, quite calmly, that there must be some confusion. Our reservation was through Monday and as he had explained to the man before, it began on Friday but we did not in fact check in until Saturday.
The Decameron man said he was going to call reservations and gather some more information and would return shortly.
My heart sank as I knew this situation probably wasn't going to end in our favor.

Matt and I have a saying about things in Colombia...
50/50
At any time, things have a 50% chance of working out as you expect them to.

You found strawberries at the grocery store last week?
50% chance they are there again.

You paid your cell phone bill at the cell store down the street last month?
50% chance you can pay your cell bill as you did the previous month, or that the store is even there.

You feel pretty comfortable with the process at the airport?
50% chance you will get asked to go to a random line and pay a tax that you've never paid before.

You make reservations at a hotel for a long weekend?
50% chance the reservations works out.

The Decameron man {who spoke limited English} returned with what appeared to be an young American man, who spoke English. He explained that our reservation was through Sunday and since the hotel was sold out we would need to leave. There was some back and forth about the sheer ridiculousness of this situation and how it was confirmed to us twice with the wrong dates. We were instructed to take that up with the company we booked through, which happened to be the Decameron.

Our babymoon had taken an unexpected turn. It was over.

While I was disappointed in how it ended, I can't stay I was devastated. If you have American standards, the Decameron doesn't rank in the 5 star category. But I was frustrated. Frustrated by the Colombian 50/50-ness of it all, frustrated about the story of our babymoon, and frustrated by the lack of customer service in the way the situation was handled. I don't know if I have ever mentioned it, but customer service literally doesn't exist in Colombia.

We were told if we needed help securing transportation, they would be available in the lobby to assist us. Usually when the Decameron provides transportation, it involves a charter bus. Matt stated that he would attempt to secure his own transportation {a driver was scheduled to pick us up at 10 am the following morning} which was a bit of an issue since it was a Sunday evening and there is no night shift on Sundays, meaning there aren't drivers available.  Thankfully we were able to secure a driver and by 5:30, we were vacating the premises with promises to never return.

The story is not in fact over.

We explained our situation to the driver and thanked him profusely for picking us up.  He informed us that it had taken him longer than expected to pick us up because the line for the ferry had been long. He told us that the line on this side of the island was very long as well.  As we drove to the ferry we were shocked when we stopped, no where near the ferry, due to the length of the line.

Two hours later we had made minimal progress. Still in line. In the rain.
Frustrated, but thrilled we weren't on a Decameron charter bus.

Finally we came to a point where the road split and there were many people gathered outside their cars. Our driver went to speak to them and discovered for 15,000 COP we could get on a ferry that was faster.  This was an obvious choice, especially when he told us that if we stayed in the original ferry line, our expected arrival time to the ferry was 11:00 pm.

We made our way to the faster ferry, which we quickly discovered was a private ferry.


The Colombian 50/50 was in my mind. There were about five or six vehicles ahead of us and a few that were behind us. A security guard approached our van and asked our driver if he was transporting tourists and we showed him our Decameron check-out receipt {or kick-out reciept as Matt and I called it}.  Then the driver explained that I was expecting. The security guard peered into the back to confirm my pregnancy.  He walked away and soon another security guard with a flash light came over to the car and shined the light directly on my pregnant belly.  After the flashlight fiasco, the security guards made their way to the front of the line without confirming whether we would be boarding the private ferry.  A few minutes later our driver made his way out of the van to further campaign for our spot.

Around this time I began thinking about how this babymoon had really turned into a representation of what parenting may be like. There are times, like during the beginning of our babymoon, where things seem ideal. You are happy, relaxed, and content. But things don't always go as planned, frustration takes over and your patience is tested.  Flexibility is required, help is often needed, and the unknowns of it all can be downright scary.
It's an adventure, much like this Colombian adventure.
Parts of this adventure are thrilling and others are just hard.
But I also had a feeling of thanks, as I realized how blessed I am to have such an amazing partner to share this incredible adventure with, even when things are hard.
We're in this together.
And let's face it, I need someone to make me laugh when situations get stressful.

While I pondered the lessons learned, our driver returned with news that we were one of the four vehicles allowed to board the last private ferry out.

The reason.

Our Georgie.
Georgie saved the day.

Due to my belly bump, our driver was able to convince the private security to allow us to board the ferry. We paid our 15,000 COP and made our way to Cartagena. We made our way home, praising our driver and awarding him with a handsome tip for his troubles and at 9:00 pm, four and a half hours later, we walked in our apartment and slipped into our pajamas.

We spent our Sunday in babymoon mode, with lots of relaxation and togetherness, and a few laughs about the day before.

The moral of this story:
If you don't want a built-in lesson on your babymoon, don't babymoon in Colombia.