We return to your regularly scheduled Everyday.

 "Travel is the only thing you can buy that makes you richer." I don't know this quote's origin, but I do know no truer words were ever spoken. My week in Cartagena with Ryan and the Civitellos will be with me for always.

I hardly know how else to begin this post. Do I mention the many hiccups we experienced just getting there? (Once we knew Ryan and Nick would be unable to make it to Quito in the time we had, we decided just days before departure that Nadine and I would fly to Quito as planned, spend the day, and then meet them in Colombia. This was not an easy decision on my part, as it cut into our already short time with our fellas. And of course there were the delays Ryan and Nick had dealt with on the road with tricky border crossings and bike repairs, and were now dealing with while the Colombian aduana held their bikes hostage. Every day a question of where they will be and when, and how it would match up with mine and Nadine's plan to meet them. Stay tuned...)

Quito is beautiful! Nadine and I spent most of our day at the Ciudad Mitad del Mundo. The monument is impressive, the multi-storied museum interactive and educational and the views are breathtaking! (The cuy* was delicious, and they serve the perfect cup of coffee.) *Bingo hit!

From there, our driver, Orley, took us into the city to see the Basilica del Voto Nacional. Legend has it that the completion of this awesome structure will occur shortly before the end of the world, so they just keep working on it. (I refrained from following Ryan's instructions to nab a brick during our visit.) 

Art is EVERYwhere in Quito!
If it's not painted on every
imaginable surface, it's laid out
in the splendor of the natural
surroundings.

This is Orley, our personal driver
for the day. So patient with our
limited Spanish!

          

We had time to walk the narrow, hilly, winding streets of Quito in search of an open market before making our way to the airport. All in all a lovely day full of beautiful sights and and anticipation of our final desitination, so... on to Cartagena!

(Did I mention hiccups? Nadine and I had separate flight plans to Cartagena from Quito. I flew through Bogota-their airport is huge!- on Avianca; nice flights, great crews, very great price. Nadine flew through Panama where she ended up staying the night due to electrical issues on the plane. Another delay.)

I arrived at the Cartagena airport Monday night around 11 and was greeted there by the very sweetest of sights:

Guess who just forgot ALL about
the weeks apart and the stresses
 and worry of planning and delays and...

Nadine arrived Tuesday morning. Ryan's and Nick's first priority was to get insurance for the bikes (have they mentioned yet the troubles they had with that last week? I'll let them tell the tale.) We went with them in lieu of being stuck in the apartment for an indeterminate amount of time. Got in and out of the office in under twenty minutes, so we're off to a good start! Nick and Nadine went off in search of a market while Ryan and I explored Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas. What an awesome structure! There's a (recommended, though kinda lengthy) video you can get in out of the sun to watch, telling you all about the history of why and how the place was built. Gorgeous views from all sides; Winding, surprisingly breezy tunnels where the soldiers bunked you can't imagine having to traverse while wearing 60+ lbs of armor; History embedded in every stone. It is beautiful.

Ryan, being Ryan and amazing, struck up a conversation with a sweet lady who asked him to take her picture. I still don't know everything they talked about, but apparently he's funny in multiple languages.

We had a week in Cartagena, so we did everything we could. We wandered the streets of Old Town, saw monkeys and a baby sloth in the park, visited Convento de la Popa, ate delicious local fare, rode the bikes to Volcan de Lodo el Totumo ( see: Gloriously Gooey). We walked the beach that was just fifty yards behind our apartment. Friday night we were lucky enough to catch the terrific Circus de Terror. Such great talent! Two hours of really solid entertainment.

Did I mention the bike rides? Easily my favorite part of the week. After the mud and a meal of the most delicious fish I've ever eaten, Ryan took me along the trek he had ridden solo just the week before. A three hour bombardment of beauty I can't begin to describe. (I've had to apologize to Ryan for begging for more photos of everything he sees. I know now, firsthand, that there's only so much you can take in! And a camera will never truly capture the depth of color and texture.) Saturday, we rode south and a little west in search of Playa de Blanca. Google Maps showed it reasonably easy to reach. It is not. Of course, I'm with Ryan. Between the two of us, I can't think of any place on or off the map we don't want to try our hand at, so we go anyway. A couple of local men tried to get us to leave the bike for one of their smaller ones, and to take a boat around the tricky part. Not us! So, they lead us down the...beach. The 'road' is a beach. A narrow strip of rutted, soft sand. There is a nice, wide, stone-based road being built right alongside our path, but it's unfinished and not open to traffic. (I've been promised a return trip in ten years to check it out. *grin/wink*) We make it, after much self-propulsion- in the blazing heat- by Ryan, to the end of the peninsula, to the charming little town of Baru, which happens to be the hometown of one of our guides. The town is small and colorful, the locals friendly. Ryan talks with them while I walk around snapping shots. Getting there was a workout, getting back was an adventure! Check this out, especially around minute mark 9:55:

https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipO-rvt_O_3c1zxKCp2_HXj_Vpy9_lWUEAQe3IxE/photo/AF1QipNMDIoPWFmos5HimBvAEfeKumBRKWxOghVzgQOh

Let me tell you, there is no one in the world I'd rather be on a ride with. Eye-witnessing how skilled and deft Ryan is in such extreme conditions has actually made me less nervous about the roads he and Nick have yet to face.  

Saturday night meant a special dinner out at a lovely place just blocks from us. I don't remember the meal, just the company. A top-notch adventure in itself! Sunday was departure time. My original plans had me leaving Monday, but that meant delaying the boys another day, so I took a standby position for the flight Nadine was taking. I didn't get a seat. So, back to the apartment, where I book a 9:45 flight for Monday morning. Cartagena to Miami to Charlotte, NC to KC. My ears still haven't quite recovered. And now I'm home, back to the everydayness of things. Friends are rife with questions about the trip; "What did you see?" "What did you do?" "Where are they now?" ... My only question is "Where do we go next?!"

And now, a montage of highlights. Some because I like the picture, some because I especially like the memory, some because I think Ryan is pretty dreamy.