Don’t fall off your chairs, we don’t want you to think that
we barricaded ourselves in the house for all of 2017, we did not. We just sort of took a break from blogging. Overall,
2017 was another amazing year of travel and adventures; please reference the
2017 Christmas card for exact details. Jump
to random fall weekend in 2017 . . . We were bored, so do you do when you are
bored? Yes! You call up niece Abbey in Clarion, PA and
see if she wants to grab dinner. After a
delicious meal with great conversation the topic of Spring Break came up. Jen
popped the question and Abbey said yes. There
may or may not have been a rose involved, but, the rest is history!
With the world being our oyster
our destination of choice was Colombia (not Columbia Township, Ohio and no not
Columbia, South Carolina – The latter was so last year – Love you Lisa &
Jesse!) Colombia, South America!
In standard Jenny'n'Mark fashion we couldn’t start this
trip with a simple ride to the airport.
The weekend before, our Colombian adventure started in New Buffalo,
Michigan, for our annual winter weekend away with Beth & Andy. Mark hitched a ride to Chicago with the
Appleton contingent, where he kept tabs on 3 conferences on 2 different
continents while Jen was back home. The
following Friday, Abbey drove to Casa Jenny’n’Mark from Clarion where the
ladies tackled final packing needs, then headed to the airport where Mark was
in the departures section of Hopkins waiting.
When the ladies arrived Mark put his Chicago bags in the back
of the car and promptly parked the car while the ladies checked bags and got
through security. Everyone met up on a
hunt for an afternoon snack followed by a stop in the United Lounge. And we were off! Two layovers later (we’ll spare you the doldrums)
and we arrived in fabulous Cartagena, Colombia!
Much to our surprise we found Mark’s name on a sign at the
airport! Then we were kidnapped by a cartel and held for ransom… Just kidding!
After ironing out our transportation situation we were home free with our
rental car. First stop was a grocery store to get a much needed snack and some goodies
for the week. We would be calling Playa
Manglares (aka Olga’s House) on Isla Baru, home for the first few days.
Olga and her staff made us feel welcome from the start! Shortly
after our arrival we were given fresh mojitos.
We arrived with some time before dinner, so we explored the grounds and chose
3 hammocks on the beach to relax and enjoy our fresh mojitos. Dinner was served in an outdoor dining room
overlooking the mangroves and water with soft lighting for added ambiance. We feasted on steamed vegetables with pasta
and a fabulous fresh garlic hummus.
Dessert offerings included a variety of ice cream flavors. The warmth, hospitality and good food provided
a wonderful first impression of Colombia!
Mark, Jenny & Abbey
Beach at Playa Manglares