Right now I am sitting in the airport in Miami waiting for the next leg of our trip to Newark. I’m sitting in the bar with a nicely chilled glass of Sauvignon Blanc at my fingertips.

Our flight from Cartagena was uneventful. We were on a brand spankin’ new Airbus 320, and I swear it was its maiden flight. Pristine! It had the new air filtration system where fresh air flows from above and below the overhead compartments. The seats were leather and comfortable and when you reclined, the seat bottom slides forward, leaving plenty of room even if the person in front of you reclines their seat as well. A USB port was in the seat back in front of you instead of underneath between the seats along with a cup holder and the video screen. This was coach, folks! And, get this, the plane was only halfway full so we had a whole row to ourselves. How often does happen when flying anywhere these days?

The flight was operated by Avianca airline in co-partnership with United. United could learn by Avianca’s example. They passed out hot towelettes, served us a hot meal (wine was not even extra although it was too early for that) and gave great service. I would fly them again: anywhere, anytime.

I know I have been lax about posting while there. It just never seemed to be the thing to do. There was always walking, eating,  or bobbing in the hotel pool. We filled every minute of each day. Photos have been slim too, I know. I promise you will be begging for mercy once I get home and start sharing some of them with you.

The photo editor on the iPad is not as good as on my computer at home and they are harder to manage. I promise, much more to come.

Last night we sat at the Cafe del Mar and sipped on pina coladas on the old walls of the city and watched the sun go down. It’s “the” thing to do. I’m not sure why it is that we humans are so fascinated with the sunset. Everyone clapped as it set.

We had a great time and never really felt uncomfortable even though English is not very widely spoken. We got by okay but it would have been nice to know a little bit more Spanish. I am going to hit the Rosetta Stone as soon as I get back to get ready for our trip to Mexico in late October.

I have more things to share about our journey, but those are best written about not sitting in an airport bar in Miami.

Sorry I haven’t been to anyone’s blogs to comment, I promise to catch up.

For now it will be nice to be home once again.

Photo: Hotel pool reflections in the early morning

We’ve been busy since our later than planned arrival in Cartagena. Our flight out of Miami was delayed due to nasty thunderstorms. Not that I am complaining that we left late—I would not have wanted to fly in that kind of weather anyway. Then upon our approach to the airport in Cartagena our pilot came on to tell us that the weather was not good on the ground and that we would be circling for a while until the weather cleared. However, if we didn’t get clearance to land in 20 minutes we would have to land somewhere else due to low fuel.  Thankfully, after flying in circles for nearer to 40 minutes, we landed at our correct designation. Everyone clapped when we landed.

On the way from airport our driver was side-swiped by another car and we pulled off so he could get out of the car and shout at the driver of the other car.

Since then things have gone more smoothly. Our small boutique hotel only has eight to ten rooms and our group is occupying them all. Somehow we ended up with the “Presidential Suite” which is lovely. It’s odd though because while our sleeping area is comfortably air-conditioned, our bathroom is not. Our shower is partially exposed to the outside. In this kind of humidity it makes perfect sense but was kind of a shock to walk into a room that felt like a sauna compared to the rest of the room which is kept closed off.

We have eaten well so far. I’ve tried fruits I have never seen before and grilled pulpo (octopus) which was absolutely delicious!! We had dinner the other night at a Peruvian Fusion restaurant. Yum.

We’re getting plenty of exercise walking around, but sweating buckets. It is like walking around in a sauna. I have never taken so many cold showers in my life.

Today we plan to take a taxi up to the old Spanish fort. We need to do that right after breakfast before it starts to really swelter, so I am going to close for now. There is much to tell you but I wanted to at least post something so you wouldn’t think we had gotten ourselves into trouble.

Location:Roman,Cartagena,Colombia

We have reached our destination of Cartagena. Finally. At times it seemed like we would never actually get here.

I am too tired to recap the entire day right now, but suffice it to say that we had some kinks.

We haven’t seen much of Cartagena so far other than the walls of the old city as we passed through them in a tiny opening, but it looks promising and very much reminds us of Nicaragua.

More to come, I promise.

We are off in the morning to Cartagena! 

Dogs are at the kennel and I am about to pack my bags. We have an early morning flight, arriving in Cartagena late afternoon via a change in Miami. It will be exciting to step foot on a whole different continent!

My plans are to blog at least a few times from vacation, so check back! 

Here are a few photos from our food tour of Nolita and NoHo (north of Little Italy and north of SoHo or Houston Street).

NYC's new rental bikes. We didn't see anyone actually riding one that was rented but these bikes collected people sitting on them using them as exercise bikes (just sitting there pedaling away) or using them to sit on while they make a phone call.

Cupcakes! 

 Pizza!

 

 One of our food stops that made us feel like we were back in San Miguel, Mexico!

 

And photos from our trip to the Freedom Tower 9/11 Memorial. 

Driving in!

 

The reflecting pools and fountains are pretty awesome. To think that a very tall building once stood in its place. It's somehow right that they chose to go down instead of building something "up" again.

 

 

Reflected buildings. What is really in the skyline?

 

On our way home we took Lynn to the best view of Manhattan that we know of—a little park in Weehawken.

 

 

As you can tell, the weather cooperated for both city trips although it was very hot and humid on the day we went to the Freedom Tower. We enjoyed her visit so much!