The Letter

Dearest Carla,

Hola nuesta amor!  How are you?  We miss you so much!  We have been pretty busy, and our trip has been amazing, along with one extra special souvenir.  We are exploring and seeing many new things and we want to tell you all about it!

We have been learning lots of new Spanish phrases and slang.  Our hotel is in a great location, we are within walking distance from "el centro", the center of the city.  Everyday we walk there and buy fresh fruit and flowers.  Many people sit in the streets and sell CD's and jewelry.  Many people seem to be on their own schedule and are very busy, but some people love to discuss religion and politics with anyone that is interested.  They are especially interested in the views and beliefs of foreigners to find out what they think.

It is quite evident that Catholicism is the prominent religion here. It is very interesting to see how much it influences their culture and daily lives.  While on a tour of city, we learned many things from our tour guide, including that there are four languages spoken here caused by the development of the country throughout history.  We also learned that there was a time period when the country was governed by a dictatorship.  I can't imagine having my life so controlled by the government!  Another interesting historical fact that he told us is that there were several battles in the early 1800's that had a great impact on the country. One random fact that he told us is that the country is ranked third in the world for the number of monuments with world historical value.

The other night, we went to the most interesting event!  It was a music and dance show.  Not just any ordinary music and dance show, however.  We had never seen anything like this, and I can't wait to show you the pictures.  Since the dance originated in the country, people from all over the world come to learn it from the experts.  At the performance we were served the best wine, "sangria", along with olives, "tortilla", and some amazing fish dish.  (FYI: The city holds the claim to fame for having the second largest fish market in the world, behind Tokyo.)  Oh, we can't forget the dessert, it was the best part!  "Flan", it was delicious.  It is kind of like pudding, but better!

The weather has been nice.  It is usually somewhat cool in the morning, but it normally gets hot in the afternoon.  We have been able to spend the days touring the cities, because it hasn't rained once since we've been here.  And you know how your mother hates rain!  Since my favorite activity is hiking through the mountains, we have plans to spend a few days outside the city exploring and camping in the mountains.  The country is surrounded by water on two sides, so we also hope to make it to the beach for a dip in the familiar Atlantic Ocean.  It will be refreshing after all the hot weather!

Oh, we almost forgot to tell you about our trip to the art museum.  It was quite interesting and very educational as well.  It was exciting to see such famous paintings up close.  Dad's favorite was Goya, who is actually from here, but mine was Frida Kahlo, whose painting are more modern.

Well honey, we are having a great time, but we miss you lots.  We can't wait to see you and we will be home soon!

Hugs and Kisses,
Mom and Dad