Bolivia! Part One- Miami/Fort Lauderdale (12/25-12/28)

After 21 years, I returned to Santa Cruz, Bolivia to visit my host family and this time I took along my husband, 9 1/2 year old and 7 year old.  Preparation for the trip began with research, travel clinic appointments, and phone appointments with infectious disease doctors.  4 yellow fever and 3 typhoid vaccines later, we started packing our bags to leave on Christmas day.  We had been thinking about a return trip for several years, but the sheer distance, travel time, and flight costs kept us from the trip until now.  On Christmas morning, we ubered to LAX and flew to Miami for a three day visit before continuing on to Santa Cruz.  We landed Christmas night about 8 pm, picked up our rental car and drove over to find some Cuban food for Christmas dinner.  Then we headed up to Fort Lauderdale and checked into the Riverside hotel on Las Olas, directly across from Derek's old apartment on the New River.  South Florida felt just how I remembered it, warm and sultry in the evening. Our room had a wonderful east-facing balcony and we could watch the yachts and water taxi maneuvering in and out on the New River.  The next morning we headed out to find some coffee and pastry and ended up at a delicious Italian bakery across from the hotel.  A colleague of Derek's met us and brought chocolate oranges for the kids (big hit!). After breakfast we decided to go on the water taxi.  So many memories and wonderful sights. We got off beachside and wandered down to the beach to watch some kite surfers for a bit, then returned on the water taxi.  For dinner that night, we met up with a big group of Derek's friends and some former colleagues at an Italian place and then went back to the Italian bakery for gelato.  We ended up hanging out at the hotel patio for a bit and then went to bed.  Thursday morning we hit the bakery again, this time with another friend of Derek's. Then we drove down to Miami and walked around the UM campus with the kids.  After that, we had lunch at Derek's favorite Thai place in Miami, Bangkok City.  The owner recognized him when we went in. So fun.  Then we drove back up to Fort Lauderdale and went swimming at the hotel pool before meeting another friend of Derek's and his family for dinner at a fun restaurant on Las Olas.   Friday we checked out of the hotel and met my buddy Megan and her son at Jaxson's ice cream in Hollywood and then went to play at a park before heading to the airport for our overnight flight to Bolivia.