Dates and Itinerary

                            

This photo of Hotel 3 Banderas is courtesy of TripAdvisor

 The dates for the visit set for the fourth week in July. After a train ride to Ft. Lauderdale, I hope to spend the first day in Cartagena, revisiting some of the areas of the Old City. My hotel is not the same one as the last visit. I plan to stay in the Three Banderas hotel which is a little less expensive but still receives mostly good reviews from Trip Advisor. I love the colors and courtyard. But I will miss being on the main street that Don Pedro is on because I could hear the horses going up and down the street at all hours! :)  It is in the same area as the first hotel, Don Pedro. I am hoping that Dora, the tour guide that I met the last time will be able to pick me up from the airport. She contacted me last night and I was so happy to hear from her. If you ever plan to visit, Cartagena, you may want to check her out her services. I am hoping to squeeze in a short tour if possible on the day that I am free.

 

 Dora, the tour guide

http://cartagenatour.com/english.html

According to the itinerary provided by Children International, on day 2, I hope to travel to Barranquilla to meet with Bleidis and Maria. As with all of the kids, the plan is to go out to lunch visit the arcades, and the mall. Hopefully, the arcades will be open when we arrive. We had to wait awhile the last time in Barranquilla. I am also hoping that we may be able to drive by the school that the girls attend. After this, I will need to take the Inventour van (the one shown in the Old City video below) to Santa Marta and spend the night there. It supposed to be a lovely place :) and then in the morning, I hope to meet with Andrea Carolina and Leonardo at the CI center. I also hope to see their homes. Then I will take the van back to Cartagena which is about two hours away, I think, and visit Yiseth and Nelson on Thursday. I am hoping that I will finally meet their mom who just returned from Venezuela. These two children have lived with their grandmother most of their lives. I am also hoping that their little sister, Melanie, can join us on the visit. So this is the plan for now!! :)