America Del Sur, Continued

So Thursday, after a JFK delay, D2 and Jonathan joined our crew in Bogota.  And their was much rejoicing.  We caught up, and walked the city a bit.

Later in the day, Joey's uncle Ernesto hosted a happy hour for us at the upscale Andino Mall.  Jonathan's uncle Louie was in town -- he's the owner of a business magazine, and has been doing less in Caracas and more in Bogota lately. He joined us -- and of course there were connections -- he grew up with some of Joey's family in Venezuela. We drank, and laughed, and talked of Colombia and the Jewish community.

Afterwards we decamped upstairs to Andres, apparently the most famous Colombian restaurant.  It was festive and delicious -- bands came to our table playing music, and they draped Wifey with a Miss Colombia sash and crown.  We danced and ate and enjoyed all being together.

We walked back to our hotel, and Joey remarked how just 10 years ago, he'd have been reluctant to do that.  Thankfully they seem to have gotten a hold of street crime in Bogota -- never once did I feel afraid.

Friday we Ubered to Downtown, which is the oldest part of the city.  It looked like what I had pictured in my mind -- narrow streets with Colonial era buildings. We visited the Botero Museum, which the very rich artist sponsored.  It held many of his works, as well as famous paintings by Picasso, and Warhol, and Monet.  I'm no art afficianado, but I love Botero -- his sculptures and paintings make me laugh and think .

We then found a way cool restaurant called Madre -- looked like a place from Wynwood -- brick walls and steel roof -- but the brick walls were from the 1600s. A band was playing American music, and we feasted, and a rain and then hail storm began.  We sat for hours -- and the waiter brought a birthday dessert for D2 -- the first of her celebrations.

Friday was the main Joey family event. His grandmother hosted an impressive Shabbat -- 25 people came to her beautiful apartment. His family is so warm and loving -- they immediately made us feel like it was our home, too.

We talked about their college experiences. For some reason, the vast majority of Colombian Jews choose to attend college in Boston: BC, Tufts, Brandeis, Bentley, etc... I asked why -- Joey's cousin Lolo said it was because there were no nonstop flights from Bogota to Boston.

But I also learned that Isaac, Joey's dear cousin, was a graduate of the U. I told him I knew I liked him immediately when we met at the wedding last September -- now I knew why.

After dinner, Ernesto drove us back to the hotel -- and missed a few turns.  He rarely drives -- like most of the family, they have drivers, and it took him a moment to recall how to actually navigate the streets back to our 93 Park hotel.

It struck me how fortunate these people are -- the families are SO close. Siblings and cousins, and aunts and uncles are truly there for each other, and provide the base for their lives.  That just wasn't in the cards for me -- 3/4 of my own nephews and niece are likely out of our lives forever.  Cousins are only to be seen and communicated with on FaceBook -- with the rare exception being two of Wifey's cousins, who we sometimes see.  As Tony S said -- what are ya gonna do?

Saturday we left early for El Dorado International, and the flight to Cartagena -- a short hop of about an hour.

The hotel was a lovely inn -- 7 bedrooms. Turns out, it was a former monastery -- for Carthusian monks -- sworn to silence. We joked that they're rolling in their graves given my family's propensity for talking so much.

D1 and Wifey napped. Jonathan, D2, and I walked to a gorgeous hotel across the street and had ceviche in their restaurant. Joey joined us for a cafecito.

Then we walked the city for a bit -- and toured the Palacio de Inquisition. Turns out the Catholic Church was still going after Jews and other infidels well into the 1800s -- the Palacio was built in 1602, to catch crypto Jews who were sailors coming to the New World.  I truly had no idea -- I always think of the Inquisition as a thing of the 1400s and 1500s.

They displayed some torture machines, and a hanging noose. It occurred to me I had picked the correct century to visit Cartagena -- I posted a photo on FaceBook, and my alert buddy Norman immediately posted Mel Brooks' musical version of the historical event. Great minds...

We made our way, full crew, to a delicious restaurant called Victola.  The prices were comically low -- in Colombia, you really eat at Palm level places for Olive Garden prices.

We returned to the hotel, and Wifey and I crashed. The young folks went to the rooftop terrace with a bottle of Scotch.  The next am would be, as Joey promised, the grand finale...