Family Time and Freddy

Forgive my recent silence. Since you last heard from me, my parents and sister arrived for a 2-week visit! They brought my cat, Freddy, who is here to stay. I posted this picture of all four travelers at the Santiago airport on Facebook:

Of the 14 comments it received, nine were cat-related. One epitomizes the reason I haven't been blogging: "Family time & FREDDY!!"

The fam is still here, but I figured I'd better share at least some of what we've done or your finger would get tired of scrolling through my next post!

Christmas lights by the monument on their first night here. 

We went to the City Hall display, too but opted not to wait in line for an up close view. 

La Aurora cigar factory tour. 

Pit stop #1 on the way to the beach resort where we'd ring in the New Year: La Isabela. The next photo's caption explains its significance. 

"On this plot of the Americas, the admiral Christopher Columbus built, in the year of His grace 1493, LA ISABELA, the first city in the New World."

My mom, dad, and sister near the foundations of the house Columbus himself occupied. 

Pit stop #2: Teleférico de Puerto Plata, the only cable car in the Caribbean. 

The view exiting the station at the top...

...and looking out over the city and coastline. 

There was more to explore than I expected, although the "lagoon" was anticlimactic after the walk to get there. 

My burro & I outside a diorama of a traditional campesino hut. 

What goes up must come down. 

I don't have many pictures from the next five days, because the majority of them were spent doing this :)

My sister relaxing in one of the pools.

Views from our many walks along the beach...

Pit stop #1 on our way back to Santiago: Brugal rum factory. 

Pit stop #2: Parque La Puntilla (near the Fortaleza San Felipe). 

A German passenger plane crashed off the coast there in 1996. Only 68 of the 189 passengers' bodies were ever recovered; the 121 whose final resting place is the sea are listed on this monolith. 

There's more where that came from, and we haven't even left for Santo Domingo yet (that's on the agenda for tomorrow, after homemade cinnamon rolls and church at Licey). 

For those of you who are wondering, Freddy is adjusting just fine. He's acting - and shedding - like his normal self and making it abundantly clear that he wishes my house had windowsills. 

Until next time, blessings!