Off to the Zoo!

Another post from Mack's visit with our group sponsor child Paola:

July Visit, Part 14 - Off to the Zoo!

As we were wrapping up our home visit and preparing to head for the zoo, Mike and I received some startling news: Rosa told Marcela that she needed to be back home by 2pm! It was already 11am, and it would take nearly an hour to get to Zoologica Guadalahara, so we hurried everyone into the truck.

Since the three English-speaking CI reps were riding in the bed of the truck, Mike and I were on our own when it came to communication during the long drive. Mike sat in the front next to Fernando, and I was in the short back seat next to Rosa, Maria, Tomasa, and their 14-year-old cousin, who was also coming along with us. Paola sat on my lap.

We dropped Alfredo back at the community center, then sped off to the zoo. On the way in, I had asked Marcela if she wasn't getting tired of seeing the zoo, as that was probably where most sponsors wanted to take their kids. She told me that she had only been on two zoo trips before ours - one accompanied by Barbara (who is, also, one of Poala's 13 sponsors) who she remembered well and spoke highly of.

When we arrived at the park, I read the signs and learned that there were several different attraction packages available. The tickets we had purchased at the previous day's expo were for a combination of the zoo + the aquarium - but did not include the safari ride, which disappointed me. However, considering we would have only slightly over an hour to tour the place, not going on the safari was okay.

At the gate, I was three adult tickets short, as I had not been expecting Elsa, Fernando, or Akela. I didn't mind paying for everyone, except it was a shame that we would be inside the zoo for such a short time on our full-price tickets!