My Colombian Bride, My Beautiful Latin Bride

As we departed the plane and went through customs, I looked around to see if I could find Claudia. After I gathered my luggage and stepped out into the area where relatives can wait, I saw Claudia and her cousin, Anna. My first impression was, "God, she is more beautiful in person than she is in the photos I have seen." I immediatly felt that this was the woman for me.S

I had decided that for my security, it would probably be best to stay at a prominent and well know hotel. For that reason, I chose the Hotel el Prada, a grand hotel where many government dignataries stay when they visit Barranquilla. Since Sabanilla, Claudia's home town, is fifteen miles outside of Barranquilla, I decided to get an extra room at the Hotel el Prado for Claudia and Anna. That way, we could spend the maximum amount of time together.

For the next five days, Claudia and Anna were my tour guides of Barranquilla. We visited the Barranquilla Zoo and a museum, the Museo Romantico. We also visited a crocadile farm. We ate seafood at a couple of the local resteraunts. We also visited a department store where I bought Claudia and myself a few things. I also had the opportunity to meet Claudia's family one day.

We took a taxi to Sabanilla where I met Claudia's mother, sisters, cousins, and neices and nephews. Many of the kids had never met an American man before, so all eyes were on me. We took photos and then had lunch. Since Claudia was the only one that spoke English, my conversation was limited. Claudia would tell me what the others were asking and we would all laugh. It was an enjoyable afternoon but when it was time to leave, I was ready to go. We had plans to go to a parade that evening.

There is a , around the same time as our Mardi Gra. However, preparations begin long before the actual carnaval. There was a parade scheduled that evening and Claudia thought I might enjoy going to it. There were men and women in colorful costumes dancing in the streets. Claudia tried to explain the meaning of the different costumes in the parade and the traditions of the carnaval. After that parade ended, we took a taxi to another location for a different parade.Claudia explained to me that we were going to the Gay Carnaval parade next.

There were also many colorful costumes at the gay parade, but it was hard to tell which were men and which were women. We had rented some chairs from the locals and had a spot close to the street. The locals were yelling words to the characters in the parade that I didn't understand. Claudia and Anna attempted to teach me the words and before long, I was yelling too. I've never had so much fun in my life, as everyone was laughing and having a great time. All the local people seemed quite friendly to me.

I am happy to report that my trip to Barranquilla was a complete success. Claudia and I had a great time together, even better than I had hoped for. I didn't want to leave at the end of my stay. Thankfully I had many photos of Claudia to take with me. As I was sitting in the plane on the way back to Miami thinking of Claudia, I was already planning in my mind, my next visit to Colombia.