Well, it was bound to happen at some point, but this was a little sooner than I had expected . . . the first of my electronic toys has bitten the dust! The gadget in question, my iPhone :(
You may be wondering just how I Iet this unfortunate fate befall my beloved iPhone, so early into the trip, so let me fill you in . . . Siobhán and I arrived a little later and a lot more tired than anticipated in Cartagena, following a somewhat delayed flight from Bogota, meaning by the time we continued on our little adventure we had been passing the time in Bogota airport for nearly seven hours.
Arrival in Cartagena brought us no great respite, for as soon as we left the airport to (surprisingly) be met by the driver from our hotel, we soon discovered that Cartagena was in the grip of tropical storms of truly biblical proportions, with there being several feet of water on the roads we needed to pass and leaving our tired and battered minds pondering whether we had made a completely advisable selection with our choice of first holiday destination.
Such thoughts were soon put aside once we reached the hotel, a converted and extremely beautiful convent, as we swiftly went to bed safe in the knowledge we had to be up in just six hours time to get to the docks, where we would be taken to our first holiday destination proper on Isla del Pirata. The new dawn came without fanfare and whilst overcast and humid, there was nothing to suggest the day ahead would not be the first of many to be treasured. We made it to the docks for our boat on time, following a slight detour towards the airport where our taxi driver seemed to think would be a more suitable destination and awaited our hosts for the next five days.
The boat arrived and we were ushered aboard, rucksacks placed safely into the bow of the boat, we retained our zip on back packs containing our valulables such as passports and camera. No sooner had we boarded the boat than it began to rain (have I mentioned there was little more than a slight awning to cover the unexpecting passengers beneath and as Siobhán and I had carefully selected seats at the front of the boat we were not even afforded the somewhat limited protection this purported to offer).
You may be wondering just how I Iet this unfortunate fate befall my beloved iPhone, so early into the trip, so let me fill you in . . . Siobhán and I arrived a little later and a lot more tired than anticipated in Cartagena, following a somewhat delayed flight from Bogota, meaning by the time we continued on our little adventure we had been passing the time in Bogota airport for nearly seven hours.
Arrival in Cartagena brought us no great respite, for as soon as we left the airport to (surprisingly) be met by the driver from our hotel, we soon discovered that Cartagena was in the grip of tropical storms of truly biblical proportions, with there being several feet of water on the roads we needed to pass and leaving our tired and battered minds pondering whether we had made a completely advisable selection with our choice of first holiday destination.
Such thoughts were soon put aside once we reached the hotel, a converted and extremely beautiful convent, as we swiftly went to bed safe in the knowledge we had to be up in just six hours time to get to the docks, where we would be taken to our first holiday destination proper on Isla del Pirata. The new dawn came without fanfare and whilst overcast and humid, there was nothing to suggest the day ahead would not be the first of many to be treasured. We made it to the docks for our boat on time, following a slight detour towards the airport where our taxi driver seemed to think would be a more suitable destination and awaited our hosts for the next five days.
The boat arrived and we were ushered aboard, rucksacks placed safely into the bow of the boat, we retained our zip on back packs containing our valulables such as passports and camera. No sooner had we boarded the boat than it began to rain (have I mentioned there was little more than a slight awning to cover the unexpecting passengers beneath and as Siobhán and I had carefully selected seats at the front of the boat we were not even afforded the somewhat limited protection this purported to offer).
Whilst more than a light shower, Siobhán and I were still in good spirits, knowng that in only 45 minutes we would be able to disembark and change our damp clothes, spending the remainder of the day at leisure, or so we thought. Approximately two minutes later (and out to sea) we began to appreciate how the roads had become so afflicted and we became caught, with no means of escape in a torrential downpour I am confident has not been experienced since the days of Noah himself.
Lashing and stinging rain beset the unfortunate little boat, in a thankfully calm sea, with those passengers who had maybe felt fortunate to be under the slight cover of the awning feeling no less the rains force than those of us at the front. Siobhán cowered her legs under her backpack, whilst I swiftly placed my wallet in mine and had a crew member place it in the bow in an attempt to preserve its contents. An hour later and we were still in the boat still being rained on (not that it really mattered by this juncture) and were informed we could go no further, less we incur the wrath of the coast guard and it was at this point we were ushered to a nearby island to shelter in an outdoor nightclub.
I will try and cut my little tale short, as I feel I may be failing to hold your interest (although I know how the suffering of another, particularly someone you know, can be a compulsive read). We were in due course informed we would not be able to make the trip to the island that day and eventually returned to our little boat to make back for the docks where (and I appreciate it was a long time coming) I discovered that I had failed to remember that I still had my poor unfortunate iPhone in my pocket, meaning it had undergone a drenching of monumental proportions, from which I am afraid it has failed to recover.
To ensure that I do not end on a sour note, which I feel would make those of my readers whom I used to work with feel far too smug at still sitting in the office, I should point out that in the two days since our return to the hotel of our first night, we have received nothing but glorious sunshine and eaten and drunk like kings, making our drenching little more than an amusing anecdote with which to entertain our friends upon our return and our tans are begining to come along nicely.
Lashing and stinging rain beset the unfortunate little boat, in a thankfully calm sea, with those passengers who had maybe felt fortunate to be under the slight cover of the awning feeling no less the rains force than those of us at the front. Siobhán cowered her legs under her backpack, whilst I swiftly placed my wallet in mine and had a crew member place it in the bow in an attempt to preserve its contents. An hour later and we were still in the boat still being rained on (not that it really mattered by this juncture) and were informed we could go no further, less we incur the wrath of the coast guard and it was at this point we were ushered to a nearby island to shelter in an outdoor nightclub.
I will try and cut my little tale short, as I feel I may be failing to hold your interest (although I know how the suffering of another, particularly someone you know, can be a compulsive read). We were in due course informed we would not be able to make the trip to the island that day and eventually returned to our little boat to make back for the docks where (and I appreciate it was a long time coming) I discovered that I had failed to remember that I still had my poor unfortunate iPhone in my pocket, meaning it had undergone a drenching of monumental proportions, from which I am afraid it has failed to recover.
To ensure that I do not end on a sour note, which I feel would make those of my readers whom I used to work with feel far too smug at still sitting in the office, I should point out that in the two days since our return to the hotel of our first night, we have received nothing but glorious sunshine and eaten and drunk like kings, making our drenching little more than an amusing anecdote with which to entertain our friends upon our return and our tans are begining to come along nicely.
Come Saturday we have booked to go diving back out at the islands, so no doubt the weather will manage to take a turn for the worst by then, but in the mean time try and picture us sun drenched round a perfect pool without a care in the world :)
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8 comments:
You should have stayed in Ireland where it rains gently ALL the time. Happy diving!
Pat
1 electronic gadget down, only another 700 to go! ;-) Glad to hear your enjoying your travels! Anne and Zish
Most be about time you upgraded to 3g iphone anyway. Good to here you guys are having an adventure, we are having a great time here, and have yet to see a drop of rain since we left cork. (Its julian here as helen has ran away to a spar)
Noo - you'll be fine, just connect it to iTunes and download the iDryOut application. I've spoken with Apple tech support and they assure me that it will work. Curiously enough this was right before a fire broke out in building 6 on their campus - I warned them my software was hot...
nice ... some insurance company somewhere will be go bust when your return from your travels with your claim form!
Rav
Hi All,
Siobhán here - Matt failed to mention the other casualty of the storm, my books. Which are drying out nicely in the sunahine - so much for modern technology! Although one of them is now suffering from a rather disturbing case of mould which may prove fatal (as I'm not sure I want it in contact with anything else).
Siobhán.
Matt, now you have the perfect excuse (not that you needed one!)to upgrade to 3G! How was the ice cream sundae? Did you and Siobhan hear about the goat festival that we missed out on whilst in Killarney??? Joe and Rav were distraught and inconsolable!
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