Today, I have been trying to contact Hotel don Pedro to see if they have a shuttle which will be able to go to Barraquilla, since I found out that CI is unable to arrange to have the transportation co. of Inventours do it. I think that the shuttle might be a little cheaper. Hopefully I will hear something soon. So much to do!! :)

Portraits of Cartagena

Children International in Cartagena


http://www.children.org/slideshow-PortraitsofCartagena-enews.asp?sid=1A427D5-2E40-4C9B-9D3B-7435A62BEDBB1

Photos of Barranquilla

This photo of Barranquilla is courtesy of TripAdvisor


This photo of Barranquilla is courtesy of TripAdvisor


This photo of Barranquilla is courtesy of TripAdvisor


This photo of Barranquilla is courtesy of TripAdvisor


This photo of Barranquilla is courtesy of TripAdvisor

Updates

With about a month to go, I have a few more things to do:

Take typhoid and yellow fever shots scheduled for the first month in June
Take the second hepatitis dose
Need sunglasses, insect repellant, walking shoes,
Obtain currency from the bank about a week before leaving
Get a collage of Francisco's sponsors
Redo Sonia's flip book (some pages were not clear)
Affirm everything w/ all hotels, the planes, and the train
Call the project offices at least 3 days before arriving in Colombia

The busy streets of Cartagena, taped by Steve H on his visit to see Evelyn, Pancho's sister last May.

Sore but Happy

Today, I received more shots for the trip and now there are one or two more to go, depending on what the doctor says next. So I was able to do both hepatitis in one shot, and also went ahead with the free flu shot. Now it's time for the motrin. Yellow fever is one of the other ones that is iffy because the CDC site lists Cartagena and Barranquilla as cities that are not at elevated levels of yellow fever, but the map showing high levels includes those two cities. Very confusing. I will probably play it safe and get it and the typhoid shot. We'll see.

Lori emailed me with the itinerary today, which was good news!


June 28

8:30 a.m. Pick up the sponsor (from hotel) (Cartagena)
9:30 a.m. Arrive at Sonia's home
11:00 a.m. Pick up Yiseth at her community center and take both children to La Castellana Mall to have fun, get some lunch,and get a few groceries
2:00 p.m. Sonia and her parent will take a bus home
2:30 p.m. Arrive at Yiseth's home
4:00 p.m. Drop sponsor off at her hotel


June 29

8:30 a.m. Pick up the sponsor (from hotel) (Cartagena)
9:30 a.m. Visit Francisco's community center and home
11:00 a.m. Take Francisco and his siblings to the arcade and to lunch at Caribe Plaza
2:00 p.m. Go shopping for a few groceries
3:00 p.m. Arrive at Francisco's home (so 2 visits at Pancho's home :) )
4:00 p.m. Drop sponsor off at her hotel


June 30

8:30 a.m. Sponsor arrives at the main office (Barranquilla)
8:45 a.m. Tour of the main office
9:00 a.m. Tour of community center
9:30 a.m. Visit Bleidys' home
11:00 a.m. Go to the mall
12:00 p.m. Lunch
1:00 p.m. Arcade
2:00 p.m. Grocery shopping
3:00 p.m. Sponsor can get picked up at the mall and taken to her hotel in Cartagena

Lori says that adjustments can be made if needed.


So that sounds like a very busy schedule and it looks like I will get to visit all of the centers except Sonia's. Lori told me that all of the children attend different community centers and I wanted tours of them. This looks good. I will be able to hopefully see some of the sponsored children in the centers receiving benefits and find out how often my children visit their centers. I am hoping that they all take advantage of the dental and other services offered if needed. I know that Yiseth and Pancho have both received nutritional supplements for their malnutrition (Yiseth) and anemia (Pancho) . That is one reason why I wanted to do some groceries for the families.And hopefully I can check back periodically with CI to see how Pancho and Yiseth are doing. Bleidys is very thin but her report says that she is healthy and eating well. Sonia seems to be doing well also.

Updates-Vaccines

This week my goal is to get the rest of the vaccines. This effort has not been easy as the prices for the meds vary among various clinics/departments and I am hearing different things from different people about what is needed. This is also a difficult time to get the meds because it is "mission" season according to the nurses so I will try to go to the walk in clinic in Winston on Thursday. They have evening hours and try to do both hepatitis shots here. Hopefully they can direct me to the best place to get pills for typhoid and yellow fever, because from what I understand, they don't do these!!

After this is taken care of I can concentrate on getting currency for the country which will be need for tips mostly.

Kids at School

My first graders at school have been trying to help Pancho by bringing pennies to school to buy bricks for the room sponsors want to add to his home. The kids are also learning about Pancho, his school, and his country. I hope to take photos of the children donating pennies and completing other activities to show to Pancho on the trip.

Updates-Meds and Pennies for Pancho

Yesterday, I received the tetanus shot which wasn't too bad and I was sure to get plenty of motrin. I also picked up the oral medicine for malaria prevention which looks very interesting. I also heard back from Lori who says that she has asked for new itineraries for the visits with the children. Hopefully, I will hear more soon. More updates is that my first grade class is collecting pennies for a project that has been set up for Francisco (Pancho) and his family to increase the family's living space. So far my little ones have brought in enough pennies to buy around 14 bricks for a new room to be built. This is a great start in addition to donations made by sponsors and friends. I plan to show photos of my kids bringing in and counting pennies to Pancho and his family on the visit.

Vaccinations

Today was a visit to the doctor to see which vaccines are needed for the trip. They recommended a vaccine for tentanus and malaria and advised me to check out the CDC site since they are not able to deliver all vaccines which might be needed.

http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/colombia.htm


New warnings have come out on denge which is on the rise in various countries, Colombia being. Although international travelers have not had many incident reports, preventive measures should be taken, which are the same as those given to prevent malaria.

One preventive measure is to wear loose fitting long sleeves and long pants, but I don't see how I can do the long sleeves in that heat!!!! :)

Updates

Today I finished packing the suitcase that has all of the gifts for the children and their families. Everything fit and there may still be a little more room for a few more flip flops. We'll see. I also want to include 3 or 4 extra inflatable globes for cousins, friends, ect. I am planning to take at least 3 bags maybe 4 if I can swing the fee for one extra bag. I also read that families need washcloths so I may do that when I look for some little soaps. One of my co workers donated small sweet smelling bottles of lotion which I want to give to the (2) mothers/grandmother/aunt and also the two older sisters of Sonia. All that is left now is getting the flip books because I have not yet selected the photos that I want to put into them. They can hold up to 45 photos from what I see. I am ordering them from Snapfish.

Spelling

Please excuse spelling errors before I catch them. Very wiped out some days. Thanks!!

Beautiful Tourist Areas-Cartagena

Poverty in Colombia

Here is a link to to a documentary depicting poverty beyond the walls of the old city in Cartagena. There are three parts.

Gifts

I haven't been able to post photos of the donations that my co worker gave me because I have misplaced my cell phone w/camera :( All that I need to get now are some little soaps and maybe flip flops for Bleidis and her sister, Maria. I have some for Pancho and his siblings. Yiseth recently purchased some with her SNG but Sonia may also need some. I'll see what I can find at the Dollar Stores!

Dora the Explorer

Today I contacted a lady who is known as Dora the Explorer :) and she gives guided tours of Cartagena. I thought that this would be a good way to spend the day that I will not be visiting the children. Here is a description of the tour she sent that I would like to take:



CITY TOUR - PRIVATE

We begin our tour in Manga where we will see great mansions built at the beginning of the XX Century.
We visit the main monuments of the city. We start at the hill of La Popa from where, besides visiting the monastery and the chapel, we will be able to admire a fantastic view of the city. Following we head towards the San Felipe de Barajas Fort, the most important fort built in the whole American continent. We Visit the Fort. Next we walk around the walled area admiring houses and plazas such as Plaza de Santa Teresa, Plaza de Bolivar, Plaza de la Aduana, Plaza de los Coches, full of history and legends. Finally we go to the new city and see all this modern architecture; we see the bay and the forts.

Transportation: air conditioning new van. - Professional English speaking tour guide.

Time: three hours and a half .

Transportation and tour guide is included.


I like the idea of the air conditioned new van :) because I am really concerned about the heat this time of the year in Cartagena. Another sponsor suggested taking a small handheld fan so this is on the list. The tour seems to be reasonably priced and Dora has received very good reviews from other travellers who have been on tours with her. She will also be able to pick me up from the airport and take me to the hotel which will be a relief. I was a little concerned about the taxi situation on the first day!

http://cartagenatour.com/

Photo by TrekEarth

I came across this cute photo of some children in Cartagena. I love it :)