We´re back, baby

The trip back South was interesting - a tornado in Dallas, a discounted stay at the Baymont Inn and Suites, no confirmation from anyone at American Airlines that our bags would be on the plane to Miami for our early morning flight, one of our bags sitting on the floor at the baggage claim when we arrived in Miami (having been placed on an earlier flight and sitting in the baggage area for a couple hours before we got there), our other bag miraculously but mysteriously showing up on our flight, and a mad dash to the international terminal for an hour and a half turnaround to fly to Cartagena. We made it, though.

I was very impressed with Cartagena, despite a few reservations about travel in a country that has strained relations with the US. The city itself was beautiful: tightly packed colonial buildings crowding cobblestone streets, in turn equally as crowded with people at all hours of the day, an abundance of delicious and inexpensive street food (more on that later), picturesque plazas, and ample sunny weather. Our time there was spent mostly walking around the walled city, checking out some of the old churches, cannons perched atop the high stone walls and views of the Carribean sea. Our one run-in with a pickpocket was thwarted, we each scored a pair of knock-off sunglasses for $2.50 each, and took full advantage of the bakeries that seemed to be on every corner.

I believe we only ate one ¨sit-down¨ meal our entire time there, opting instead for empanadas on the go, fried dough-balls (savory baseball-sized bread dough deep fried and salted), arepas con queso (mashed potato pancakes packed with cheese and grilled on each side until golden brown, slathered in butter), fresh fruit smoothies, and an ample supply of watermelon and mango sold in plastic cups - the price for each ranging from $.25 to $.75, making it possible to be more than sated with $1.50 and a 6-block walk. It was an amazing place, and I wouldn´t hesitate to go back and take in a lot more of both the city and the country.

We headed out last night for a late arrival in Guayaquil, Ecuador (the old stomping ground for one Gissel Ruiz of Deloitte fame), and had arranged to meet Gissel´s father Alfredo and cousin Jennifer for a lift from the airport and a delicious meal of stewed goat, fried plantains, shrimp ceviche and fresh squeezed orange juice. We´ll be here for a few days, and will likely have some more updates and pictures to come.