Holiday Road

Here most of us are. Minus Thatcher, Brisbynne and Asher's beautiful mug. This was the long trek...5 hours to Santa Marta. No stop for anything, just driving. We did have a very informational conversation with the driver about Colombia. It's funny the different things people can talk about. We found out about the military (like who joins, is there a draft, etc), jobs, farming, President Uribe (how he felt & most people), Venezuela, everything! Did you know that the people of Colombia just voted to extend President Uribe's term. I guess he is finishing his term and the people like him so much that they want him in office for even longer. We learned about what it was like before President Uribe, who he was and what it's like now. I felt like we needed to update Wikipedia after our session. I knew I should have taken notes. Very nice driver, if anyone ever wants to tour Cartagena or needs a ride, this guy is it!

We drove over the Magdalena river and along the Caribbean Coast. I had just been reading online about how the Magdalena River has been flooding. It was caused by the weeks of rain that Colombia was having and left people injured, dead & homeless.

During that drive, we saw quite a bitmore poverty than our previous experience in Colombia. (Like we've has so much, right?) It just sad to see the state in which these people live. I mean I know they make do with what they have but WE HAVE so much and we're still in want of more. We are so blessed to be born in the U.S. I think us as Americans take things for granted and don't appreciate the things that are basically handed to us. We have a great country even with all our "faults". I'm stepping off the soapbox. Not trying to get into politics...:) I think we just need to appreciate the little things.

We didn't arrive to Mendihuaca until almost 9pm on Friday evening. They were still serving dinner and they had it outside between the beach and the pool. I have to say one of the really nice things about Mendihuaca was that is was very peaceful. You know how the tour agencies, hotels, and pictures always show you the beach with no one on it. Kind of like the cruise lines...Jay was so disappointed on our cruise a few years ago. He couldn't believe how may people there were. Everywhere. Anyways, this place is the total opposite of that. Beautiful beaches, we were about a mile away from where the ocean and a river with fresh water. I felt like we might be on Survivor or something. We were so far from Santa Marta (about 37 km) that at times we almost felt like we were being held hostage. I have a few funny stories like that to tell later...

More to come!