I'm always up for a road trip, but I never dreamed of one quite like this. Tracey, Ruben, and I had time to kill before our next legal process. Mario, a friend of our attorney, is a college kid, that speaks and teachs english to teenagers. He is a great kid himself. He tagged along to make sure we made it to Cartagena without any problems. He helped us purchase our tickets at the bus station, and asked the attendant if the road was fixed and all "smooth". Of course, the driver said very smooth... We took off with 5 other people in basically a mini van packed in like sardines. The trip started smooth, but once we were out of Monteria, the fun and games began. The road turned into something we would only drive on going hunting in the back country, Or should I say it was like riding a bull for 5 hrs versus 8 seconds. I don't think I have ever hit that many pot holes in one outing. Along the way, the locals would point to the holes with a stick, and have their hands out for a tip for their help. We passed several military check points along the trip. We stopped and the police carried sometimes pistols, sometimes machine guns. Mario said this was for our safety, but we were not feeling all that safe. Our driver tried to make up time by serpantining in and out of traffic. At times we had vehicles coming at us on both sides of the road. It was very entertaining, that is if we were on the side watching somebody else go through it. We entered Cartagena on time and the rain was pooring sooo much you couldn't see the road or the pot holes for that matter. We peeled ourselves out of the van and I was sooo greatful we made it, that I raised my arms up in celebration (see pic). Don't get me wrong, we are not in America anymore and you need to embrace Colombia in all aspects. The people here are very kind hearted and appreciative Mario couldn't believe how nice and generous we have been to him as well. He didn't care if we paid him, he just wanted to be around english speaking people and learn more. We told him that he would love Montana, and we might have to work on getting him over. He told us that we should think about getting a nanny from Colombia to come up and help with the kids and help Ruben learn spanish as well as english. I think that would be ok, except, they don't know that my mother is going to stay with us for a period of time as well. We are staying at the Hotel Hilton in Cartagena on a tip from a previous family (thanks Jenson's). It is very nice and right on the Carribean sea. It also has hot water and a tub, so we left the rubber duck back in Monteria for our return on Wednesday. Time to get Ruben in bed, so will report more later.
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