So much going on since I got back from vacation. It was certainly nice having about 5 weeks of travel time, but it's time to get back to work and fast!
We are expanding. Seems like we are constantly expanding, but that's a good thing, especially in this economy. We have decided to double the size of our toddler room. Things took about 1.5 years to really get rolling in that room, but we are starting this coming year with 12 toddlers! Amazing to think that only a year or so ago we had 4.
Middle School is also growing. We have hired three part-time teachers who are going to be absolutely awesome! We had an official meet and greet this past Thursday and everyone came away with very positive feedback. We even recruited a new 7th grader student to the class that very night. This class will also be small at first, but I anticipate the class doubling in size by next year.
New Spanish teacher, new art teacher, and 76 students to start the year! In our first year we began with only 42 students and now in our third year we're up to 76 to start. We should hit 100 by next year if all goes well.
We are also undergoing accreditation this fall. This is extremely important and something we have been working towards since we opened. The report is completed and we are all awaiting the visit. I'll keep you all posted!
Spread Your Wings!
05 August 2012
09 July 2012
02 July 2012
Home again, home again!
Yesterday morning at 6 am we took the boat from Isabela Island to Santa Cruz Island. Colby was the only passenger to puke (twice). So all in all it was a much better trip. But we were all wiped out! Here's our day:
Wake in Isabela, 5 am
Water taxi to bigger boat
Boat to Santa Cruz
Pick-up truck taxis to the ferry between Santa Cruz and Baltra (this was 30 minutes of high-speed driving through the mountains--I think this trip actually made the bulk of us sicker than the boat ride.)
Ferry from Santa Cruz to Baltra (one student fell in the water because she got too close for a last-minute picture of a pelican)
Ferry to bus (they nearly left five of us, including Liam, Livya, and me behind!)
Bus to airport
Airplane to Quito
Bus to the hotel
Arrive 6 pm
So we were all exhausted and went looking for the quickest place to grab a bite. The hotel clerk mentioned three places, one of which was a Colombian steakhouse, which we immediately settled on. Too exhausted to budge, Liam stayed back and watched Cody Banks in Spanish.
We invited a UM student along with us and all had a great time! Brought food home to Liam, stopped and bought some pastries for breakfast, and got Livya some gelato.
Woke up at 3 am this morning to hop on a 4 am bus to the airport. That really left us all hurting! We all had headaches either because of the altitude or maybe the MSF the steakhouse used. Regardless, it was a welcomed relief to finally get on the plane home.
But after that we had an uneventful flight back to Miami.
We all miss the Galapagos—it was a amazing adventure, one that we definitely hope to go on next year! I'll post more pictures as soon as I've had a chance to download them.
Spread your wings!
Wake in Isabela, 5 am
Water taxi to bigger boat
Boat to Santa Cruz
Pick-up truck taxis to the ferry between Santa Cruz and Baltra (this was 30 minutes of high-speed driving through the mountains--I think this trip actually made the bulk of us sicker than the boat ride.)
Ferry from Santa Cruz to Baltra (one student fell in the water because she got too close for a last-minute picture of a pelican)
Ferry to bus (they nearly left five of us, including Liam, Livya, and me behind!)
Bus to airport
Airplane to Quito
Bus to the hotel
Arrive 6 pm
So we were all exhausted and went looking for the quickest place to grab a bite. The hotel clerk mentioned three places, one of which was a Colombian steakhouse, which we immediately settled on. Too exhausted to budge, Liam stayed back and watched Cody Banks in Spanish.
We invited a UM student along with us and all had a great time! Brought food home to Liam, stopped and bought some pastries for breakfast, and got Livya some gelato.
Woke up at 3 am this morning to hop on a 4 am bus to the airport. That really left us all hurting! We all had headaches either because of the altitude or maybe the MSF the steakhouse used. Regardless, it was a welcomed relief to finally get on the plane home.
But after that we had an uneventful flight back to Miami.
We all miss the Galapagos—it was a amazing adventure, one that we definitely hope to go on next year! I'll post more pictures as soon as I've had a chance to download them.
Spread your wings!
29 June 2012
Day 11, updates and more pictures
Two more days before another treacherous boat ride back to the Baltra (Galapagos) airport. The last trip, 8 days ago had half our group puking up their breakfasts. Hopefully the trip back will be less eventful. Thanks to Geeta Rajpal for the anti-nasauea meds--they really helped me. I'm thinking of selling them for $30 a pop on the way back. ;)
Liam has decided that he wants to move here (the beach on Isabela specifically). Livy has made a lifelong friend and has invited her to come spend a month with us in the spring. Can't ask for anything more. And now for some pictures from our daily life the past two weeks.
Liam has decided that he wants to move here (the beach on Isabela specifically). Livy has made a lifelong friend and has invited her to come spend a month with us in the spring. Can't ask for anything more. And now for some pictures from our daily life the past two weeks.
Liam eating a sandwiche de pollo y huevos por desayuno
Jamon y caso y huevos
Our favorite breakfast place—they even advertise that they have a coffee maker!
This is definitely not a breakfast-eating cultural.
There are a couple of pastry/cake shops and basically one restaurant. This is the best!
This is where we've been snorkeling nearly everyday. In the background you can see the Isla de Tortuga, a U-shaped volcanic island about 20 minutes away by boat.
The cruise ships hit the coast in the last two days. Yesterday there were three and today there are five.
Bird tracks in the sand.
Just thought these were cool patterns in the sand near a little inlet at low tide.
I have no idea what this is, but the next few pictures are close-ups.
I'm trying to find a book to identify them.
Close-up shot of the same thing.
This is the largest of the groupings.
There seem to be little plant-like things sticking out of this bunch.
This is the prettiest of all the pictures of these strange plants/animals.
28 June 2012
Day 10—snorkeling with rays
Today we went snorkeling for the second time at Concha de Perla on the island of Isabela. Today the water was quite cold—apparently you can never predict the temperatures because of the various current that move through this area. Regardless Liam and I jumped in and snorkeled for about an hour. Besides all the beautiful fish, one of the first things we saw was a huge ray (at least huge to us)—it was probably 3 feet in diameter. Here are a couple of pictures:
The dark grey spot in the upper righthand corner is the ray. Swam just feet away from us.
And here is the same dark, shadowy figure as it swam away.
Just to bring you up to date—haven't had a hot shower in 10 days and we're eating is pescado o pollo y arroz, papas fritas, y verduras, two meals a day. But life is fabulous. Last night we had cameron, which was a welcome change. Our Spanish is horribly broken, but we've mostly been able to make ourselves understood. Unfortunately I don't know how to decline Spanish verbs which is goofy so the first thing I'm going to do when I get home is to buy a book so I can learn. Then I'll be prepared for next year's excursion!
Spread your manta wings!
27 June 2012
Day 9, Sierra Negra Volcano Hike
Today we sent 21 people 11 miles up the side of the Sierra Negra volcano on the island of Isabela in the Galapagos. It was a killer hike, but we saw the second largest volcanic caldera in the world!
We could see 6 miles around the caldera where there are lava fields all around. It was absolutely spectacular. This was a lush, plush rainforest atmosphere. A little further up the path the whole climate changed as we approached the volcanic field where "new" mountains only five years old have formed. This place looked like we were on Mars—totally barren with the exception of a few cacti spread here and there. Even the birds and butterflies stayed away from this region.
We left on the hike at 7:30 am, took a chiva (bus) up the side of the mountain for about 45 minutes then hiked from about 9 am until about 4 pm stopping all the way to take pictures. We had lunch at approximately the halfway point and then had to hike the whole way back down again.
I have never considered myself old, but boy were knees aching after this experience! Our feet hurt, our backs hurt, and I think we'll likely go to bed at about 8 pm today. :)
And now for some awesome (in every sense of the word) pictures!
We could see 6 miles around the caldera where there are lava fields all around. It was absolutely spectacular. This was a lush, plush rainforest atmosphere. A little further up the path the whole climate changed as we approached the volcanic field where "new" mountains only five years old have formed. This place looked like we were on Mars—totally barren with the exception of a few cacti spread here and there. Even the birds and butterflies stayed away from this region.
We left on the hike at 7:30 am, took a chiva (bus) up the side of the mountain for about 45 minutes then hiked from about 9 am until about 4 pm stopping all the way to take pictures. We had lunch at approximately the halfway point and then had to hike the whole way back down again.
I have never considered myself old, but boy were knees aching after this experience! Our feet hurt, our backs hurt, and I think we'll likely go to bed at about 8 pm today. :)
And now for some awesome (in every sense of the word) pictures!
"frozen" lava flow
lava tube
Far away little volcano
Very cool little spider web catching the morning dew
Caldera
Fog coming in
26 June 2012
Day 8, Reality Check
So we are in the Galapagos to teach a course for the University of Miami on acoustic ecology—recording and preserving the sounds around us. These may be nature sounds, human sounds, and anything in between. There are 17 students with us, 4 profs, and our 2 kids. There are 4-5 assignments each student must complete before the end of the second week when we go back to Miami. Although we see them about 14 hours each day, today was a day for individual meetings and check ins to see how everything is progressing.
Reality check: Galapagos is definitely not for everyone. Santa Cruz Island was pretty touristy with lots of shops and restaurants, window AC units in the hotels, hot water and internet everywhere. Isabela Island, however, is a completely different case. We didn't have hot water for 3 days, no AC—only fans, and a limited number of restaurants and opportunities to shop. There are very few cars and trucks here, and most people walk or ride bikes everywhere. Open air chivos (busses) or water taxis are the method of transportation between islands. Please don't misread this as a negative. It is what it is. We weren't expecting a vacation trip to some tropical island, but rather we hoped to enjoy the opportunity to visit a culture that has remain largely unchanged in probably 50 years. It's been a fascinating to get a peek into another culture so different from ours.
We have recorded hours and hours of sounds around the four islands we've visited. The college students are now all gathering sounds as well. Tomorrow we head out on a 10-mile hike up the side of a volcano. Livya will remain behind and visit a local elementary school with Dominica (a little girl age 6 whom she met this week). Liam will hoof it with the rest of us. Should be awesome as we will pass through 4 different climate zones and many soil textures. We're hoping to gather sounds from the footsteps passing over various materials to see what it sounds like.
Spread your wings!
Reality check: Galapagos is definitely not for everyone. Santa Cruz Island was pretty touristy with lots of shops and restaurants, window AC units in the hotels, hot water and internet everywhere. Isabela Island, however, is a completely different case. We didn't have hot water for 3 days, no AC—only fans, and a limited number of restaurants and opportunities to shop. There are very few cars and trucks here, and most people walk or ride bikes everywhere. Open air chivos (busses) or water taxis are the method of transportation between islands. Please don't misread this as a negative. It is what it is. We weren't expecting a vacation trip to some tropical island, but rather we hoped to enjoy the opportunity to visit a culture that has remain largely unchanged in probably 50 years. It's been a fascinating to get a peek into another culture so different from ours.
We have recorded hours and hours of sounds around the four islands we've visited. The college students are now all gathering sounds as well. Tomorrow we head out on a 10-mile hike up the side of a volcano. Livya will remain behind and visit a local elementary school with Dominica (a little girl age 6 whom she met this week). Liam will hoof it with the rest of us. Should be awesome as we will pass through 4 different climate zones and many soil textures. We're hoping to gather sounds from the footsteps passing over various materials to see what it sounds like.
Spread your wings!
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