Saturday, July 4, 2009

Beaches, Sunsets and a Farewell to Spain



We have reached the beautiful Costa de la Luz and the end of our journey. Twenty one days has traveled by quickly. The students are ready to eat hamburgers and taco bell. I will be satisfied with a good Lupe Tortilla fajita...beef. I have not had beef in three weeks. Lots of ham. Lots of ham...one day I accidentally selected a pastry (it looked so good) that had sugar and little chunks on top. Silly me, I thought those chunks were pecans...but no they were little pieces of ham. So ham may not be on my list right away.

The other thing that I will be excited to see is a regular toilet. I have been flush challenged on this trip as I try and figure out do I push, pull, or step on it. And this is of course is AFTER I have found the flusher mechanism. 

I am signing off this blog for now. Tomorrow we will return to the beautiful beach one more time.  We will have one last photo class, one last dinner and pack.  We will not have one last full night of rest because we have to get up to leave for the airport at 3 am. 

We have an extremely tough connection flight to make in Paris.  We have one hour from the time we land until the time we take off. We have to change terminals and go through a security check and do this with 18 people.  If you see a picure of Paris on this blog you will know we didn't make it.  Otherwise I will see you all soon.

1 comment:

  1. Looking forward to having you safe and sound in Houston and hear all the great details. That is after you get some rest! Hugs, Diana

    ReplyDelete

Sunset on the Amazon

Sunset on the Amazon
We had some of the most spectacular sunsets. Our cabanas over looked Piranha Laguna. From our open air lodge you could see the most beautiful close to the day.

National Geographic Ecuador Group

National Geographic Ecuador Group
We gathered with Massimo (front and center) for a group shot before he had to leave us and return to Italy. We are all back in Houston now and have made many wonderful memories.

White water tubing

White water tubing
In freezing cold river water, our group loaded onto two tube rafts for an adventure ride. Lots of gasping for breath as the cold water hit the body, lots of screams as your tube raft headed into the rapids, and lots of smiles from everyone.

Watching and waiting for Hummingbirds

Watching and waiting for Hummingbirds
Biologist, Nicki, names some of the birds that we are trying to photograph.

TARABITA

TARABITA
Day four started with a ride across the canopy in the tarabita.

Bug Hunting Hikes

Bug Hunting Hikes
In the evenings, when it is not pouring down rain, we hunt along the road for nocturnal critters. It is quite entertaining to see the students excitedly looking under leaves and rocks. I would have to say that Callie and Madeleine Ham won the most critters found award for our time in Mindo.

Making Chocolate

Making Chocolate
As one drops the cocoa beans into the press the other pushes down and out come delicious chocolate. We had bananas, kiwis, apples, and pineapple to dip. We even had left overs....wish I knew where that tub of chocolate was.