Grenada!

As we were planning for the HM, we serendipitously stumbled upon the Petit Bacaye Villa Hotel in Grenada, and were enchanted by the quaint thatched-roof rooms and the proximity to the ocean. We weren't disappointed - by the thatchiness or the beautiful ocean.

Our petit villa
The view from our place

We enjoyed being two of the few Americans/Europeans around, and staying a little ways from the capital and all the bigger resorts.

a church, being reconstructed after damage from a 2004 hurricane (Ivan, I think)

a view of St. George´s, the capital Our fancy dinner at BBs Crabback Restaurant

with the man himself one of several waterfalls on the islanda view from the center of the island Jordan made me dinner -Caribbean rice (topped with craisins) and fried plantains the view from our dinner table the famous Grand Anse Beach
a self-timed photo-the camera was dangling from a branch some of the tropical landscaping at the hotel
the hotel´s tree-top restaurant our cove our kitchen the landscape upon departure

It was a very lovely trip. We loved rustic Grenada - if we go back during tourist season, we´d love to charter a catamaran or get scuba certified and do some diving. But it was the perfect mix of relaxation and adventure.

I've got some catching up to do...

We got internet at our house in Colombia! So without further ado, a few posts about the W, Grenada, and Colombia.

The whole Jackson family came to NC a week early to spend some time at a beach house in Corolla, NC. I don't have too many pictures, but if you want to see how much fun we all had, you can go here or here. The sealing in the Raleigh temple and the reception after were so beautiful and memorable, made even more so by the company of many wonderful family and friends. Our photographer Ivan, an old friend from college, captured the Raliegh temple, and the rest of the day, in the most brilliant glow--we are quite indebted to him for his willingness to fly cross-country and to take pictures that will remind us forever of our beautiful day. We also had so much help from incredible and talented friends - Alisa just knew what to do, Brit added her beautiful touch, Abby, Ruthie, Ev, Marti, Hil (hair & makeup), Gilly & Nance (so many flowers), Steve & Janet (risking their lives for the ribbon tree), Jordan's mom Lisa, Brad & T (food), Curt, Bryan G, Nick T... so many wonderful friends to help and celebrate with.

The Raliegh Temple

If you really want to see all 292 of Ivan's photos from the W, they are available for viewing here, and the password is jjwedding09. If there any photos you like in particular, you can order them through Ivan's website.

It was the perfect day.

Chevre

I'm several weeks behind, as there are no official posts or pictures about the wedding or Grenada or Receptions 1, 2 and 3. But I'm sitting in an internet cafe in Moniquira, Colombia, listening to a collection of my favorite 90s music streaming from speakers (it's like they knew I'd be here at this exact moment) and wanted to write to let you all know I'm alive.

It is absolutely perfect here. We're about 3.5 to 4 hours northeast of Bogota, in a smallish town surrounded by verdant rolling hills. Colombian Spanish is slow enough that I can understand a good portion, but fast enough I that I still struggle to figure out exactly what it is people are saying. I speak a lot of portuguese words by accident, but already feel my vocabulary and confidence expanding after a few days.

We wake up early here (usually a little before six), and then run off to the hospital, two or three blocks away, half a very full breakfast (potato soup, eggs, juice, bread) and then go to a dental office a few minutes away. The dentist winks and tells her patients they are odontoligos, and they go to work. I've learned a lot just watching, and realized that I could probably be a dentist faster than I could be a epidemiologist, but the thought of filling out one more application kind of makes me sick.

We stay there until lunch, head back to the hospital for another full meal, and then a full afternoon of dental work at the hospital with Dr. Liliana Carvalho. She's hands-off most of the time and lets the boys go to town filling cavities and preparing root canals. I'm amazed at their adeptness.

After work, there's another meal at the hosptial. More soup and meat and rice and salad. And then we head back to the house to relax and watch noble John Adams (we borrowed the series from Dad Jackson), and then reading and sleep.

Sorry there aren't any pictures. I'm going to try to figure out how to post from an internet cafe, but we are all doing well and loving it here.

More soon!