This weekend we finally made it to the beach, we took a cab to the fishing port which was obviously a very stinky experience, but one worth doing at least once in a lifetime. Then we walked, and walked through some small sand dunes until we arrived to an interesting beach. There the boys and David started playing soccer, and soon a black Mauritanian joined in, then an arab Mauritanian did too. Later on some fisherman started pulling a net out of the sea, and then some Turkish girls passing by joined in, then an arab guy joined in, then my boys and I joined in! It was one of those magical afternoons when things just seem to come together on their own. I am made friends with the Turkish girls and exchanged numbers so we may be seeing each other again!
David did some exploring when he was here a few weeks ago, and it is really paying off. Now he is showing us the ropes so that we know our way around, and what to do around the city. The biggest challenge I have found is the fact that I have to carry Gabriel everywhere we go (stroller is a no no here). Which normally would be ok, but not as challenging if it wasn't for the fact that the streets are filled with sand (and sometimes trash) which makes it very tiring under the harsh sun after a few hours. On the bright side all this exercise is helping me lose some of my post baby weight!
Today we treated ourselves to lobster in this really nice restaurant named la medina. Salomon had been asking to have lobster for a while and he was very pleased with the Mauritanian version. That kid has an extremely sophisticated palate for his age, not always easy to please for sure! The last few weeks have been rough and we anticipate we will have some more in the near future, this is a little fueling session for us all.
Here we are, we made it to Mauritania. It has been a long journey and we are all exhausted and very jet lagged. We will be here for 2 months and I know this is only the beginning of our long adventure. We will just have to take it one day at a time, I will continue with my task of capturing those graceful things, places, people, and moments no matter where we are. And I will do my best to remain grateful of (most if not) everything that life puts in our path. Here are some pictures I took around the guesthouse where we are staying. Till soon!
On our way to Mauritania we made a super short stop in Madrid, then a longer one in Casablanca. We had enough time to meet a friend for lunch and walk a bit around the city. The food of course was delicious, we had the traditional Tagine and mint tea. One of the things that surprised me about this city was their train system, it was so modern and clean (it reminded me of the system in Jerusalem) if only my native city Bogota would have something like this by now!
Finally all the packing is done, all goodbyes have been said, we are now focusing on sharing a few more moments with my dad before our big adventure. I am feeling both excited and nervous, although I gave done this traveling the world thing with the boys before I have not done it with 3 kids one the them being a baby! But I am sure we will adapt. Till then...
The last few days we have been working nonstop on getting ready for our upcoming move. I am so grateful that Lili and my dad are here to help us, there is just now way I could get it done without them it really has been crazy around here. This week we took some time off and ventured to a last dat trip to Wynwood were we ate some Venezuelan arepas, took awesome pics and visited some really cool art galleries. It is safe to say that both kids and grownups had a good time.
