Viv got try out some weaving and some pottery.
They also went to the fossil museum where they got to make their own "fossils" and learn about the region's prehistoric flora and fauna.
It was hard for her to be away from home for a whole week, but I think it's a really great experience for her and will be one of the things she remembers most about our time in Colombia.
Having Viv gone was good for Elena's independence as well. I helped her cook up her first batch of scrambled eggs.
Of course, that wasn't enough for our growing monkey, and she had to follow it up with cheerios on the balcony.
Valentine's Day was pretty low key. Jeff was out of town again, but I had my girls for hugs and kisses. Vivian even bought me a rose, as did my head of department.
Elena dressed in full Valentine's Day glory.
That Friday was the 100th day of school, and a jeans day with a decades theme to help the kids practice counting by 10s. We were best equipped for 50s sock hop attire.
Elena loves the Wreck It Ralph movies, so she's also constructed a "car" of her own to race with.
She got some belated birthday presents, since the box from the Goerss grandparents had adventures on its way here.
The biggest hit was a little bird that tweets back what you say to it.
Vivi has a new Spanish tutor who has a very interactive approach. For her food and cooking vocabulary, they put on a "cooking show" about making blueberry muffins. It was really cute.
The second week of March was the Secondary camp week, and I got to go along as a chaperone. We were travelling north west from Bogotá in the direction of Medellin. We left quite early, but then had a nice stop for snack/breakfast.
We drove a few more hours until we got to Honda, a town on the Magdelena River. The first order of business was lunch. They offered us water in little bags. My friend told me to just bite off the corner, but she neglected to tell me to suck out some of the water once I did, so this happened.
It was actually quite refreshing, since Honda is at lower altitude and it was hot and humid. We had a group of about 60 kids with 6 teachers and 6 staff from the Zambo company that organized the trip. We split the group in half, and my group's first stop was at the Rio Magdelena Museum. The river runs from the Andes down to the Caribbean coast, and it was a major trading route. In fact, the first U.S. embassy was in Honda. The museum had a combination of historical artifacts and river based folklore.
Outside the museum, we got to admire the river itself.
The second activity was a guided tour of the city. The buildings were quite colorful.
With both activities completed, we got back on the bus and headed to our first hotel, Hotel Brisas La Gaviota. After a full day, it was great to pull up to this beautiful hotel. It had really cool outdoor areas with several little ponds for fishing.
The common areas were also nicely decorated.
The three female teachers split a room, which would end up being the height of luxury for our stay, including a bathroom with hot water!
There were all kinds of interesting birds on the grounds, including flamingos.
They also had a nice pool which was everyone's first stop.
The dinner area was a bit of a walk away, but it was a nice big space.
We established a table for the six teachers. It was a good group of people, and we could enjoy each other's company and keep an eye on the kids. By the time we went to bed that night, it felt like we'd been on the trip for at least two days rather than one.
The next morning we were back on the bus and on our way to Rio Claro. We were staying at an eco resort in the natural reserve. The place itself was built into the landscape with a bridge leading into the foliage and rocks along the back of the dining area.
The room was our least luxurious, no windows, and the walls didn't go all the way up, so we could hear all the kids in their rooms.
The activities were great though. We cycled through rafting, caving, and ziplining over the course of two days. I had twisted my ankle at school before we left, so I skipped the caving, and did the ziplining/river twice. I took a lot of fun pictures, but most of them have students in them, so I'm not going to put them in the blog.
On the second night, we stayed in a nicer hotel, still no a/c or hot water, but walls, window screens and fans! The kids really liked it because there was a big playground/field area, and they had time to hang out. My friends and I found some hammocks, so we enjoyed ourselves too.
The next morning we started driving back east with a couple fun stops along the way. First, we stopped for some yummy burgers.
Once we were all fueled up, we got on the bus, went a little farther, and then got in canoes to go visit an island. It was a really cool environment, with lots of birds. I got a few pictures.
Then it was back on the bus and back to the first hotel. We all took hot showers and relaxed. The next day got off to a leisurely start, and we took our time getting back to Bogotá. It was great to be home, but I'm so glad I took the camp trip. I got to see and do things I probably would never have done otherwise.
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