Thanksgiving in Cartagena

Friday November 17, 2023

Darryl and I live in close proximity to Cartagena's Rafael Nunez International Airport. We love watching the jets take off and land. In this photo you can see our apartment building in the background.

It's a short walk to the end of the runway where we stand when the planes come in over the water to land. Our favorite airliners to watch are the two different KLM jets that fly in daily. One is a boing 777-200 wide body, pictured behind us on it's turn around for take off, and the other is the 787 Dreamliner (my personal favorite).  They are deceptively quiet as they barrel down the runway, and the miracle of watching that enormous machine lift in the air as first it's wings rise then the entire plane, is mesmerizing. Modern aviation is truly a miracle to me.

When we walk towards the northeast we can watch the fishermen cast their nets on the River.

The monument to Catalina de Indias, a young 15 yr. old Mokana Indian girl who was kidnapped in 1509 by Spanish Conquistadors and served as a slave in Santa Domingo, learned the Spanish Language and served as an interpretor for many years. She eventually was able to returned to Cartagena where she died in 1538.

A beautiful view of the ocean and sky from our apartment balcony.

On November 21st Hillary, Jake and the boys left home in Costa Rica for what was supposed to be a short trip to Cartagena. Instead they had ticket changes, delayed flights, missed flights, airport shut downs, etc., so instead of arriving in the afternoon, they arrived at 1:30 a.m. on Wednesday Nov. 22nd. 

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They loved the apartment and Hillary and I went shopping (It's been more like a scavenger hunt trying to find the Turkey, Pumpkin, cranberries, etc.) in the morning for the last of our food items for our Thanksgiving feast, but trust me, it was delicious and traditional.

🦃🦃🦃

Thanksgiving Day

November 23, 2023

I don't have a photo of dinner, but we did get a photo of the pecan pie she made that we put candles in to Celebrate Lalo's birthday! He's 45 now.

We also took some leftovers to new friends we made who haven't had a traditional Thanksgiving Dinner in years.

Yes, they call the Day after Thanksgiving Black Friday in Cartagena too. And we did enjoy the shopping because it's not anything like in the USA.

Grandma and her boys!

Hillary found some dresses she liked.

On Saturday we went to the Oceanrio and I even got to pet the pelican. 

We watched the shark feeding...

and the birds get in on the act..

Darryl looking at the sharks.

And they had Dolphins.

Mama's baby girl.

More sharks.

We took a 45 minute boat ride to get to the island where the Oceanario is located. The last thing you do before heading back to your boat is watch the dolphin show.

It did not disappoint. I love watching dolphins.

Family photo time! 

On our way back to the boat.

I swear that our look-out would have made a great pirate! He was like a rock standing there on this very bumpy ride.

Our boat took us to a beach 25 miles away called Playa Blanca.

Where after a meal of Fish, salad and coconut rice we spent several hours playing in the beautiful and very warm water.

Ezra just contemplating the meaning of life.

Or... maybe not.

I think we all felt like this. 

Gabriel trying to stay awake.

Sunday November 26, 2023

Today after church we went to the Castille de San Philipe, which is an enormous fortress in the middle of the city. We played hide and seek in the tunnels and up and down all the levels. It was a great day.

Darryl had to go to work on Monday, but they rest of us enjoyed a day about town.

First stop was the park to see the sloth and monkeys.

Then a walk into Getsemani to enjoy the local color..... literally. 

A walk up the plaza and a stop by the 3 kings.

Tuesday November 28, 2023

We finally made it into the Old walled City, where we visited the beautiful Cathedral de Santa Catalina de Alejandra.

We walked the top of the wall, stopped in dozens of stores so the boys could buy souvenirs, rested in the plazas, found some great chocolate and had a wonderful day!

The University Library complex (Part of an old convent) was a cool place to rest after a very long walk.

We had a wonderful time having family stay with us. The boys and I painted and played games when we weren't at the pool. I can't wait for them to come back.