The Plight of an Immedicable Planner
A Plan is merely a guided attempt, it is never the final route taken
Everyone who knows me, knows that I plan and organize to nauseating extremes. (Thanks Mom for that trait 
) So it would be of no surprise that this lifestyle shift has been in the making for years. That means that I have had pen to paper and spreadsheets formulating my timeline and budget with such fierce conviction I should truly be awarded a prize.
When it came time to start putting my money where my mouth was and stop talking about it and just do the damn thing already…I booked and paid for my first two months of the airBnB in Cartagena. I knew I loved this city and I knew that I wanted to spend time here, so for my first stop to get my feet wet in this new lifestyle I committed to two months. I booked an apartment in a quiet neighbourhood for the first month, easing into this nomad life and I booked the second month in the heart of the walled city.
I booked both months in September, 2020, that meant that for my second month in Cartagena I booked it 3.5 months early. I confirmed relentlessly that it was imperative that I have internet and they assured me they had fantastic internet. When it came to moving day into the second apartment in the heart of the city, they informed me when I moved in on a Saturday that they were changing their internet providers and they don’t work on weekends or holidays and Monday was a holiday so I wouldn’t have internet until Tuesday. SAY WHAT? Obviously my first question was, why the eff would you wait till the week I move in? You knew I was coming since September. But alas, there was nothing I could do about it at this point. I mean let’s face it, I am a planner so obviously I have a backup plan, a backup backup plan and I secured a 3rd backup plan when I arrived in Colombia.
- Mobile Wifi Hot Spot by Skyroam | $12/day CAD
- Bell International Cell Phone Add-On | $12/day CAD
- Colombia Pay per Use Cell Phone | $70 CAD with local calling and 15GB data just in case
Saturday was fine because I was staying a second night in that fancy hotel anyway…Sunday was a play day so I wasn’t going to be spending too much time in the apartment anyway. So for Monday & Tuesday, I would need to utilize one of my backup plans and/or find a work space in a coffee shop.
Well, Tuesday came around and no one installed the internet. I finally heard from the airBNB host and they said the internet company was a no show. So I asked again, why did you wait till I was moving in? They said that the internet company suggested the upgrade to the service for better internet quality and they trust the internet provider. So, naturally…me being me…and a little fueled by frustration of not getting what I paid for…I said “Tell me how can you trust a company that no-shows for their appointments without any notification?” Come on now…
PS. I also wasn’t staying in the apartment I had actually booked. Because a month before I was scheduled to check in, they informed me there was a problem with the original apartment and if it were ok with me I could stay in a similar apartment in the same building.
Apparently the internet company ended up rescheduling for Thursday. I was flying to Medellin for a weekend get away on Thursday so I told the airBNB guy that I needed him to confirm that it was installed because if it wasn’t when I got back on Sunday night, then I would need to move. This was just simply unacceptable. Also, it was communicated to me that the internet was being installed in the suite next door (which was the original apartment I booked) so once it was installed he would let me know what the password details were.
Thursday I flew to Medellin and no word from the host so I message him. Friday and nothing so I messaged him again. Saturday and nothing so I messaged him again…each message getting more and more direct. I also reached out to airBNB because this was a violation of the contract as I was not receiving the services I was promised. I need to work, I paid for a place with Internet and so I should not have to pay extra daily for my backup plans. Again, just unacceptable. Luckily, airBNB was superb. They were super understanding, extremely responsive and ended up talking me off the ledge. If you have any Scorpios in your life you know they are calm until they are not.
Finally I heard back from the host informing me that the internet was not installed on Thursday and they spent the whole day waiting in MY suite and the company never showed up. WAIT WHAT? No one told me they were going in my suite. WOW, that was a massive massive violation of my privacy. So airBnB confirmed that I would get my unused month refunded (no compensation for my out of pocket expenses though) and I booked a new apartment. This meant that I got home Sunday from Medellin just to pack up and move again on Monday. ugh!
It also was extra pooey because when I booked originally for the entire month, many places give a pretty big discount for booking for an entire month so now I only need a place for 20 days which means I miss out on that discount. Double sigh!
I promise there is light at the end of this tunnel and it is coming soon.
I called my taxi guy (haha), the taxi guy that returned my coat and car key to me at the beginning of my trip when I left it in his car. So obviously, he is on speed dial for me now…I have used him for my ride to and from the airport for my weekend get away, I used him to move to the failed airBnB and again for this move and I will call him for one last journey when I leave Cartagena next week. I will miss Cesar, he was a rock solid good dude. Love that guy! Always super friendly and talkative and always on time. The one time he was 5 minutes late, he messaged me in advance. Did I say that I love that guy?
OK, back to the story. Let’s recap the trifecta of failures. So the first fail was the water outage at the first apartment, the second fail was the internet that wasn’t at the second apartment and the third fail…
My third apartment…I moved in, it was smooth, the internet is the best I have had so far in Cartagena. The location is in an even better location and the apartment is 3 levels with the main living space on the main floor, bedroom and bathroom on the second floor and a rooftop patio with a hot tub. I mean, I am pretty stinking happy about this place. It’s clean, I have outdoor space again, there is a guard at the door and when he isn’t working the building is locked up tight. It’s perfect. So where is the fail? LOL…yeah…They just had hot water installed into the apartment (having hot water isn’t a common thing) and apparently the airBnB host did not know that you can not have a hot shower AND run the A/C at the same time without blowing a breaker. LOL. So I had to go and ask the front desk guard guy what was happening and he had to turn the power back on for me.
At the end of the day, the airBNB host was incredibly generous and offered for me to move into a different apartment on Saturday (tomorrow) so that I didn’t blow the breaker again and he was soooo fast to reply and they had electricians here the next day to figure out what was happening. But I don’t want to move again since I leave next week anyway so I opted to stay in this apartment and I will just make sure that I turn off the A/C before having a hot shower. Which actually isn’t that big of a deal anyway and I rarely have a HOT HOT shower because I far prefer a cold shower anyway.
So the light is with all the mishaps I was able to experience an amazing hotel that I otherwise wouldn’t have had the pleasure. (Oh and by the way, the original airBNB host paid for my Friday night stay at the hotel I forgot to mention that…so that super fancy hotel I stayed in…ya I only had to pay for one night). I also got to utilize Cesar, my taxi guy and make arrangements for his services for Medellin. I also discovered the most quaint coffee house courtyard when I was working in a coffee shop with no internet at home and finally…the brightest light…I have a rooftop patio again.
Funny how things just seem to always fall into place.