Information about Cucuta

We thought we would give some information about Cucuta for those interested and some adoptive parents that are soon to travel. First of all, if your child is from Cucuta, you are in luck. They say it will only take 2-3 weeks tops.
Our baby is from Pampolona. We were not aware that we would be traveling 2 hours up the mountain to get her. Pampolona is wonderful. The town is right out of a story book. Everything is cleaner than you can imagine. The buildings are beautifull. However, the drive is scary and dangerous. We were going head on with trucks and passing on curves of the mountain. The roads have potholes everywhere. Everyone drives like this. We passed a police officer along the way. The baby was sick on the way home. It made for a messy ride. We felt so bad for her. Justin says its like the worst roller coaster you have ever been on. It lasts for 2 hours. So, bring motion sickness meds. Also, bring gum. I had a hard to equalizing the pressure in my ears. It lasted for a couple of days after.
We were told that we may have to go back to Pampolona 2 more times. Our interpreter said she would drive us next time. She drives nice and slow. We love it. As soon as we got the baby we were almost T-boned by a Big Mack truck. It was about 1 foot from my door. We thought that was it for us. Our attorney ran a stop sign. Everyone was honking and yelling.
Justin went to the store, Exito, yesterday. I took his sunglasses off of him and put him on the clock. He had 1 hour before I did something. And when I say something, that just means I don't have a clue what to do. There is a police station right across the street. He was fine. Exito has everything in it you would need. It is like a Walmart. Things are a little pricer. Definetly bring your own stroller.
If you are adopting from Cucuta, you will most likely be staying in Hotel Bolivar. This is a great hotel. See previous blogs for some pics. The staff has been very nice. Make sure you bring your computer or dictionary to translate because the last time you speak English to someone other than your spouse is in Bogota. The hotel has a crib for the baby, blow dryer, no iron, refrigerator (small), and hangers. The TV has many channels in english, but no dvd player. There is a service to wash your clothes. You can't wash them yourself; I hope my clothes didn't shrink. I will let you know if they do. You don't need detergent unless you are washing things out by hand. There is a spa area at the hotel. You can get your nails done and massages.
There are malls close by. They are nicer than the states. You won't recognize the stores mostly. There is an HP store here which was cool. Tons of electronic stores. I don't know the people here afford the stuff in these stores. This such a poor town, yet there are many high end stores downtown and in the malls.
Souvnier shopping can be done downtown. We lucked out with a traveling flee market type deal. A little less expensive than the other stores. I was disappointed with the selection with just downtown. This is definelty not a tourist area.
Items we can't live without our you should bring: Computer, Skype- http://www.skype.com/ (this is a must). , blow up bathtub (hotel Bolivar doesn't have a bath tub), blow up toys, medicine, KETCHUP (they have great fries, but the ketchup is nasty), stroller
Money- you only need an Atm card. There are banks everywhere. Exito has an ATM inside. We all walked over there today. Just watch crossing the road. Don't take the stroller. You will not have time to push across the road. It is only a 5 minute walk from the hotel. There was great ice cream inside (a little side note).
Places to eat. The restaurant serves free breakfast. Lunch and dinner are about 25 dollars per meal. We like going to Pollo de Tropical around the corner from hotel. We ate for 6 dollars not including our bottle water. That was for both of us. There is a pizza place next to that. We will try that tomorrow. The servers there were very nice as well.
Today I saw a man stealing some fruit from the store. He had a little pouch under his shirt that he just sliped it in. We also saw a school bus filled with children. There were two girls hanging out where the door is with the door open. There are people walking EVERYWHERE. Cars do not wait for you to get out of the way. That's for sure. When the roads are bad (on the way to Pampolona) there is typically a guy yelling "Give me $ and I will fix the road."
The people here can't own farms or livestock unless they give 50% to the Guerillas. So most people just have 1 cow on a short leash on the side of the road. The mountains here are beautiful!
This is all I can think of now. If you have any other questions about anything here, just ask and I will try to answer.