Boyd Bear Tracks

After living in Colombia for so many years, it's kind of surprising that I had never visited Cartagena. It is a city full of history!

We stayed in a nice hotel outside of Cartagena. We didn't get to really see the city at night (which people say is beautiful), but we did have a private beach. That was nice because then we weren't pestered by vendors. Every other beach we went to, we were hounded by people selling: necklaces, bracelets, hair-braiding, massages, coconut juice, etc. I think it was because it is low season so there weren't as many foreigners. They just honed in on the one blond-haired, blue-eyed adult on the beach--Jon!

We visited the big fort in the city. Lucas is peeking out of the turret and watching for pirates! :-) Actually, the city was attacked several times by pirates and just about every country that had a navy (France, Spain, and others). There were several defense battteries built at places where ships could approach the land. They are quite the fortifications! The kids didn't really like exploring the tunnels under the the fort--it was too dark. There were lights, but I think with all the talk about pirates they were afraid that someone was going to jump out at them. At one point we couldn't see if we were at a dead end or not so we had to use the camera flash.

We also took a carriage ride around the walled city. Our horse's name was Pezuña (Hoof). :-) Lucas wanted to ride the horse instead of in the cart. It would have been neat at night because they light candles on the sides of the horse carriage. Maybe next time :-)!

The next day we went on a boat ride to the Islas del Rosario (Rosary island). None of us got seasick, but some people on the boat did. We stopped at Playa Blanca (white beach) for lunch. Amazingly, I ate fish (3 or 4 times actually) and liked it. I guess the freshness of the fish does make a difference!

Eliana and I got our hair braided (yes, we gave in to some of those annoying vendors!). It was fun! Ellie actually sat still the whole time. I think she enjoyed playing in the sand while the lady did her hair.

The first day there, I found a sand dollar (again). Fortuantely, I took a picture right away because one of my little helpers dropped it :-(. So, I still haven't been able to bring home an intact sand dollar. I did find another piece of one on the beach. It must have been a big one (about the size of a small plate). I've only ever found small ones.

The kids loved playing in the pool and swinging in the hammocks. Ellie did trip once in the kiddie pool and from then on she always wanted to hold my hand. At least she didn't refuse to go in the water. Lucas actually began to enjoy playing in the waves--small ones. At first every time a wave would come in he would run back onto the beach, but by the last day he was out in the water.

It was a nice relaxing time and now we're back to work :-). I finally finished all the laundry (it took a whole day) and am now tending to my "little sicky". Ellie isn't feeling too well. She's got an upset tummy and a runny nose. She's pretty miserable :-(. But, she has been sleeping a lot :-)! Hopefully whatever it is will work its way out of her system by the weekend. I think she is feeling a little better than a couple days ago.