Hell's Gate .......

New Zealand, as a country is located on the “Ring of Fire” where the earth is always in a state of upheaval. This is no more evident than in Rotorua on New Zealand's volcanic plateau where geothermal activity is pronounced including erupting hot water, steaming fumaroles, mud pools and hot geothermal springs.

THE BEAST

Hells Gate Geothermal Park is set in 50 acres with a large variety of thermal features. Walk past steaming fumeroles and hot pools of boiling MUD so violent they are unnerving. Follow the footsteps of ancient Maori Warriors through the swirling clouds of steam, past the hot pool where the Maori Princess “Hurutini” lost her life, see the violent geothermal activity of the Inferno and the Kakahi Falls, the largest hot waterfall in the Southern Hemisphere.  Here, warriors would bathe in the sulphurous waters to  heal their wounds after battle and remove the “tapu” (sacredness) of war.

Hell's gate is where we head tomorrow after a day at a local school and journey to the northern part of the island.....


My school visit was not quite what I had in mind, but when in Rome ....Auckland Grammar is an all boy's school that covers grades 6-12. It is lovely and the school is built right on the side of Mt Eden. On the Rugby field are huge lava columns and the grass covers the lava flow. I met with two very knowledgeable teachers on the subject of volcanoes , but alas, they were not too keen on me seeing some classes or meeting some of the students. Of course I was seriously the only female around. After that we went up to the northern part of the North Island and visited the coast and the Southern Alps. We saw 800 and 600 year old Kurai trees and ate at a small café that was amazing. Tons of sheep and that was hard not to stop and pet them.....

Back in Auckland for the evening and supper ..... quick night's sleep and now off to Hell's Gate for some more culture and thermal experiences..... maybe a quick dip in a hot spring. Weather will be a bit dicey today.... cold and rainy ... but thermal areas are warmer  so maybe we will be ok...

Climbing a volcano is not easy.... leaving the volcanic " stuff " that is everywhere is harder......

Rangitoto volcano is the island.................a short 30 minute ferry ride and you are dropped off at the base of the mountain. There is a small building with 4 toilets and a sign that tells you a bit about the island and after that all you see is trees, birds, lava fields , spectacular views, panting people, high pathways and guiding signs. The steps are made for people taller than 5'3" and the angle of ascent is deceiving : starting you out gently as you start your climb and then forcing you to continue at almost vertical levels. Did people give up? Did they stop at the fabulous photo opportunities and say that they had climbed the mountain? They must have , because by the time we got to the crater rim, the amount of people had been cut by at least 75%.

Were they dumb? Well , you know we each have to do what is the best for us.. I think that they missed out. But, I was one that  was a panter, sweater and almost giver-up. It was a hard climb. Of course my hiking decided that we could make the 60 minute climb in 35 , so we were really moving. Nathan is not one to follow conventionality and he didn't think that we needed that whole hour.

In hind sight, he was right. We made it and it was amazing. Not as open anymore as the crater might once have been , but 2400 years of growing vegetation will do that to a mountain. We stayed crater side for about 30 minutes and then headed to the lava caves. That was a walk down a path that was covered in protruding pieces of lava with twisting bends and steep climbing. But it was worth it as well. There was nothing that wasn't doing on Rangitoto!! I am sadden at the people that were only there to take a few photos or walk along the shore. I wanted to bring back all sorts of pieces of the lava..............but my conscience and that of Nathan's stopped me. It was ultimately harder to do than the climb.

Our descent was supposed to take 60 minutes as well ( based on the guide sign.). It was not going to take anywhere near that long, I mean we cut the ascent in half ... did we honestly think the descent would take long? Back at the ferry in about the same time it took to go, we have a little more time to explore the shore. There was a colony of people living on the island until about 50 years ago. They had acquired the land and built homes, rather nice cottages with exquisite views. The government came along and took over the island and told the folks that they had to leave. They were given 20 years to relocate. In that time, the ruling was challenged, since they had purchased the land, how could they be kicked off it? So, sovereignty was granted to extend to the children. As each family died out, the cottages were no longer in habited. I am not sure who is maintaining them because they are not falling down and decaying.

Our time has come to an end on the island of Rangitoto and we head back to the ferry. We will have about 2 hours once we get back to get cleaned up and then walk up Queen's Street to the theater. Todays production of a " Good Soul in Szechuan" starts at 4 and since we don't really know the theater or the rules , we need to be there a bit early. The play is unknown to me , but sometimes that is a good thing.

What a thought provoking story it turned out to be. The whole idea was that the Gods were looking for a good soul to validate the continuation of humans on Earth. They are led to a prostitute in Szechuan and are so impressed with her humanitarian ideas that they decide to help her get a tobacco shop. The rest of the story is the trials and tribulations of her life over the next 10 or so years. And the moral is : How do you be a good soul with the drive and need to help others when all it does is bring you trouble and then bad things happen to you?


Since the show was early , we didn't grab supper before it and so we needed to eat and fast. Not much food on the mountain and not much between coming " home" and the show. Where did we eat? There was a great place called , appropriately enough , " Taste of China". The food was incredible and the fact that we were the only Europeans in the place wasn't a deterrent at  all.  But now, I have to think about sleep and the new adventure at a local school tomorrow !

Two appropriate thoughts in closing :

He aha te mea nui o te ao?
He tangata! He tangata! He tangata!

What is the most important thing in the world?
It is people! It is people! It is people!

and

Whāia te iti kahurangi
Ki te tūohu koe, me he maunga teitei

Pursue excellence – should you stumble, let it be to a lofty mountain

Rangitoto in legend...............

A wee preview of the Rangitoto Volcano.... 

About 600 years ago, Māori watched from nearby Motutapu Island as Rangitoto rose from the sea in a series of fiery volcanic explosions.Māori have a long association with Rangitoto, but did not live there because of the arid, rocky terrain. The island was used as a lookout over the Hauraki Gulf in times of war and as a parrot reserve/rahui-kaka. Ancient burial caves served as a resting place for bones brought from neighbouring Motutapu. Māori know the island as ‘Te Rangi i totongia a Tamatekapua’ – the day the blood of Tamatekapua was shed. Tamatekapua, chief of the Arawa canoe that arrived around 1350, fought a major battle with Tainui at Islington Bay and lost.


According to Tama-te-kapua’s descendants, the Ngati Tai, Rangitoto came into being as the result of a legendary domestic dispute on the North Shore.
A giant couple lived with their slave on a mountain that stood where Lake Pupuke is today. The couple became so engrossed in a blazing row that they let their household fire go out. When they noticed, they cursed the fire goddess Mahuika, who called on Mataoho, the local god associated with volcanoes, to teach them a lesson. He obliged by destroying their home with the explosive eruption of Lake Pupuke, and imprisoning the couple and their slave in the triple peak of a new mountain out to sea – Rangitoto.

or

In ancient times a tribe of giants lived on the coast between the heads of Manuka (Manukau) and the Kaipara heads, in some of their ………. of boasting some said that they could do feats of strength that the others could not do, as these people by their power could obtain by cultivation and fishing and ………. and rat catching obtain enough for their daily wants and have time to spare, they amused themselves with games in one of these games of throwing stones from hill to hill, and in casting big rocks, from place to place one of them said he could carry a certain hill pointing to one that stood like a sugar loaf on the north of the Karekare creek, which hill was composed of rock and stood near to the cliffs on the coast, he was dared by his companions to do it, he at once went to the hill and taking hold of it drew it up as a farmer would pull up a turnip and carried it across the mountain range of the Titirangi and coming out above the creek at Henderson Mill he came on and across the Waitemata River at Takapuna he deposited the hill between Takapuna and the Motutapu School, which hill being put there has ever since remained as Rangi-toto. The hole out of which the hill was taken is pointed out at Karekare creek to this day and is called the "Uruhanga-o-Rangitoto". 

or

One night a husband and wife argued and cursed the fire deity Mahuika. She complained to Mataoho, the deity of earthquakes and eruptions, who sent an eruption to destroy the couple’s mountain home. It was swallowed up by the earth and became Lake Pupuke on Auckland’s North Shore, and Rangitoto rose out of the sea. When mist surrounds Rangitoto, it is the tears of the couple as they weep over their lost home.


stories courtesy of the archives at Wellington
 

Ko Rotorua mīharo .Na ka maha tētehi waiariki ( Rotorua was amazing . So many geothermal vents)...............

Off we go at an earlier time than when we went to the Waitomo caves because we are under the impression that there are areas that you can drive and see thermal vents and mud pots and that kind of cool stuff. But, misconceptions get you in trouble sometimes and so we found out. I was grateful to Lori or the heads up on the driving skills of the Kiwis, especially on the roads outside of the city centres; but I was also pleasantly surprised to find that there were no super crazies and the roads were all set up to protect us with rails if we were on ridges and such. The roads are particularly  narrow and that in itself sometimes is a wee scary.

We enter the rolling hills that are just the weathered away areas of volcano and get into the steeper sided hills with huge monolithic pieces of granite sticking out and reaching to the sky. The views are spectacular every direction you turn, but , remember I told you that the roads are narrow and so the opportunity to pull over and take a photo is non existent. We didn't eat  before we left and our petrol is getting on the short side , so in Huntly we stop at gas station that has a ( you guessed it ) coffee and pie shop next to it. This shop, Shands claims to have been in business since 1914. well, I have never had a pie and they make lattes , so I am game.

The boys get egg, cheese and bacon pies and I got what I thought was a steak and cheese pie. Alas, there was no cheese and I really didn't like the consistency of the " gravy" that held all the steak together. The crust was really good, but I guess I am just not a pie person.

Once in Rotorua, the best thing to do is check at the visitor's centre to get the lay of the land. So, apparently, you have to tour everything. Now by tour , I don't mean : me going and checking things out myself. They are all guided etc. Ok, let me check out a few places for some legends books and think about how to do this.

I didn't find many story books but I found a geothermal tour book and a coffee shop, so we will check them both out. It seems that there is a great driving network to see the geothermal sights and so that is what we are considering. Most include Lake Rotorua   : here's your history.

The lake was formed from the crater of a large volcano in the Taupo Volacon Zone . Its last major eruption was about 240,000 years ago. After the eruption, the magma chamber  underneath the volcano collapsed. The circular depression left behind is the Rotorua Caldera, which is the site of the lake. Lake Rotorua is the second largest lake  in the North island by surface area, and covers 79.8 km²  With a mean depth of only 10 metres it is considerably smaller than nearby Lake Tarawera n terms of volume of water. It is located in the Bay of Plenty region.

As we are getting ready to leave and I am focused on the difference between Vegemite and a local version, Nathan spotted a tiny brochure that says Maori experience: bring this and receive a discount. Now, we had already discussed that we were ok with not seeing another show , since we saw a pretty good one at the museum, but we are so close to the living village ; what will it hurt to ask?

To get into the thermally active and living village, it will be $30.00 but we can roam around to our heart's content and see the show. Good bargain.... so we buy our tickets and head into the arch welcoming us......Whakarewarewa  certainly lives up to its name. the smell of sulfur an the drip of spray in the air is everywhere. Tuhourangi Ngati Wahiao people have lived here for generations and we are literally walking the streets of their village and among their homes. That is a little disconcerting as you almost feel intrusive at times,  so that is always on our minds . I was amazing however and the cultural show was very energetic. We ALL sang and danced and learned very quickly that this girl could not be a Polynesian dancer unless it was a comedy show.  Our visit to Rotorua ended at the lake and the quiet, mellow feeling of just looking out over the water, watching black swans and remembering the legend we had just heard.

Tutanekai lived on Mokoia Island, Lake Rotorua, where of an evening he and his friend Tiki used to play – the one on a “horn”, the other on a “pipe”. The sound of this music could be heard across Lake Rotorua at Owhata and it charmed the beautiful and noble-born Hinemoa who lived there. When Tutanekai visited the mainland with his people, he met Hinemoa and they fell in love. The young man had perforce to return to his village, but the lovers arranged that every night he would play and that Hinemoa would follow the sound of his music to join him.
Tutanekai kept up a nightly serenade but Hinemoa's people, suspecting something was afoot, had hidden all the canoes. The maiden, however, was not to be deterred and, selecting six large, dry, empty gourds as floats, she decided to swim to the island. Guided by the strains of her loved one's music, Hinemoa safely reached the other shore and landed near a hot spring, Waikimihia, in which she warmed and refreshed herself – the pool is on Mokoia Island to this day. Just at that moment Tutanekai sent his servant for water. This man disturbed the girl who, pretending to be a man, spoke in a gruff voice and, when she learnt his errand, begged for a drink from the calabash which she smashed as soon as she had had her fill. The servant then went back and reported to Tutanekai what had happened. He was ordered back again and again, each time with the same result, until all the calabashes were broken. The now irate young man himself went down to the pool and to his joy discovered Hinemoa. Like all good stories, the legend has a conventional ending – they lived happily ever after.

Once back in Auckland, we decide to enter a different cultural world and as we ate dinner, we joined the crowd watching the Rugby team as it went for an international record 18 consecutive wins. The opponent was the Aussie Wallabys and they  were not about to let that happen. Final score 12-12 and the streak was ended.............. but a good time was had by all ; I mean it wasn't a loss .... right? Tomorrow we take the ferry to Rangitoto - Te Rangi-i-totongia-a-Tama-te-kapua  and climb it. By the way, for those that are interested. The volcanoes here are shield volcanoes and I will be adding them and their stories to my repertoire this year! Off to bed so I will be ready for the climb....

Me tōku aroha tino nui
(With all my love)

Pai te ata ki oku hoa

An exciting day , although not as out and about as we have been in the past few days. We will meet Phoebe, my cultural ambassador and head off to the museum to see some cultural things. But first, we take to the streets of Auckland to see what else we haven't seen. Breakfast first at the Federal and Wolfe - amazing muesli and yoghurt with a wee bit of rhubarb saucy jammie stuff. It was sooooo good. Add in a latte and my breakfast was just right , hit the spot perfectly. Nathan and Steve had different things but equally as yummy looking. Steve's omelet looked like a giant egg pizza and Nathan's meal had Egyptian cheese and chorizo with soft boiled eggs and some great grain toast.

Breakfast finished and we head to Auckland University to check out the sights and also try to find some All Whites gear. It is very very easy to find All Blacks , but not so much the All Whites. Now before anyone thinks I am completely racist..............the All Whites is the National Soccer team and the All Blacks is the national Rugby team and the names come from the fact the they use either white or black in the name , with the exception of the women's rugby team which is the Silver Fern's.

So, back to what I was saying... we stopped into this one sports place called " The Champions" and when I asked for All Whites gear, the gentlemen in the shop rather laughed at me. Not impolitely , but still. I was glad when they took the time to explain that soccer is #3 on the list of sports adored in NZ. Now when I say #3, that sounds great , right? Well , not really as there are only 4 majorly followed sports and the 4th is just getting started. Soccer is behind Rugby and Cricket and only in front of basketball.

The Uni ( short for university) is in the middle of town , but edged by a lovely park. It looks progressive and inviting. Nathan did find the Law School without looking...... is this a sign?

The bookstore on the other hand was elusive and we needed to search it out more when we got back to the hotel. It is nice on one hand not to have access to the internet , but hard also when you are coordinating meetings with people. Luckily we found a coffee shop ( surprise? ) called Remedy Coffee and I was able to access the internet. Good thing as Phoebe had contacted us and given us a time of 12:40 is to meet to head to the museum. Finish our coffee , locate the team shirts we were hunting , run across a DD and head back to the hotel.

Everything successfully accomplished and we are now simply waiting for Phoebe....... and here she comes; and off we go to the Auckland museum and some Maori cultural exhibits.......

Let it Snow, let it snow......

Off we go today to visit Waitomo caves and the glow worms. Now you need to understand that I have been to caves a lot.. I love caves so I am not really sure that I want to spend the time going to more caves, but off we go. It is a clear, yes I said clear , but chilly day and the traffic is not so bad headed out of town. But, holey moley ! going into town , now that is a totally different story. The traffic back up makes Charlotte look like only a few cars travel on I77 or I 85. Sitting in the back seat allows me to take lots of pictures and it is about 20 minutes or so into the trip that I see my first rainbow of the day: A total that ultimately reached 15 over some of the most fabulous landscape I have ever seen. It is best to describe it as Ireland green covering the rolling ( sometimes not so rolling - straight up ) hillsides of a volcano field.

Steve is getting hungry and to be truthful , we all are. I especially am missing that early morning coffee jolt that you can only get from a great cup of espresso...... coming up on a turn - about , we spy a wee small café called Lola's. Lola's looks perfect! Small , local and very inviting as the clouds have rolled back in and it is starting to drizzle.

My breakfast , in fact all of our breakfasts were yoghurt with honey drizzled on it , fruit and home made muesli.  This is sort of like granola only much more delicate and full of dried fruit. Top that off with a latte and my breakfast was just right! We enjoyed the quiet sit and just watched  the cars and the local people.... About 30 or so minutes later, it is time to continue the trek to the caves and surrounding area.

The moisture falling from the sky has changed. Well, Nathan did say that the temperature was dropping. DROPPING? It is not rain anymore..... it is spitting snow!! SNOW ladies and gentlemen and children of all ages.......that does not bode well for the journey.

Off we head! and about 90 minutes or so later we arrive at Blackwater Rafting. I have been in contact with them for about two months and trying to set up the cave experience. Leo, that's the guy in charge, said that there were no issues and that we should be able to get any type of your when we get there...it is off season, you know. Well, duh! I found out yesterday when it started snowing.! Our guide Meeka was the best guide ever in the history of guides. She was funny and knowledgeable.  

The first cave was Ruakuri Cave. Meeka told us that the Maori name means two dogs and that the story goes like this. There were several Maori that had been watching the cave so that they could use it, but they wanted to make sure that it was unoccupied. Over a few days they watched two wild dogs coming and going and finally trapped them , cooked and ate them The cave was now empty and became the tribe's. The tribe used the cave over the men's lives and when they died  , they buried them in  the cave to honor the men who had discovered it. The cave had been called Ruakuri since that was how it was discovered , by watching two dogs. When it was discovered again in the early 20th Century, the entrance that was found was the burial site. Because it was a sacred place, it wasn' t a great way into the cave and so other entrances were searched out. To this day , the final count of entrances is eight and when you leave the cave , you pass close to the original entrance where you can stop and pay your respects , if you so chose.

Our next cave is supposed to be Aranui Cave at 1 pm and then the glow worm cave. But we have quite a bit of time in between and only about .5km distance , so best thing to do is see if there is any way to see the glow worms earlier than planned. SUCCESS!!! come right on in..  It is an awesome cave and it is interesting to hear the same general descriptions told by two different people..... Although Stephen is a full Maori and has great tales to tell ... like the cave is owned by his family and has been for generations and that the family is huge, he is not the best speaker in the world. But again, we were spoiled by Meeka!  We tour the cave and start to get a wee nervous about the time . Haven't made it to the worms yet......

practice climbing the volcano..................

Day 2 of actually being in Auckland dawned with a beautiful sunrise and about 9 hours of sleep , which isn't bad all things considered. Rather than eat at the hotel , we headed out into the city in search of : you guessed correctly! Local , fair trade , home grown coffee!! As we found out later , there are coffee shops on every corner , but not knowing this we grabbed the first one we saw and fed our bodies the life giving fluid. Wandering around the city started with a trek to the Sky Tower to go WAY WAY above the city. We actually bought the all day tickets and will go back and look at the city and harbor at night. I am not a big fan of heights , but the view really was awe inspiring and I saw so many volcanoes....... Auckland is sitting in a volcano field of about 42 volcanoes. Most are really old and so really weathered. The Mount Eden near the All Black's stadium Eden Park , hasn't erupted in about 1500 years . However, the rather large volcano , Rangitoto (Maori for bloody sky ) has erupted within the past 600 years. They are anticipating eruptions from Rangitoto will continue since it is only dormant! That is what we will be climbing on Saturday and I am pretty excited. the name came from the fact that the last time it erupted, the sky turned red with ash that was spewed and the people all had to flee or die.

How do I know all this you ask? Well a great and kind man named Vincent was the guide on the 51st floor of the tower and he is part Maori. When I told him that my goal was to gather stories to put with the science , he was very excited to share. He said that most people don't care about that type of thing anymore. Well, I do!!

From the sky tower, we went in search of local theatrical culture and found an underground theater group performing , The Good Soul of Szechuan. We are theater goers on Sunday evening!!!

Picture taking, tooth brush hunting and  walking about makes people thirsty and so of course we hunted  up coffee.........Baa Baa Black Sheep espresso met our needs. As we ducked in and out of rain showers ( like they literally last two minutes but pop up about every 30 mins or so) , we determined that we would go to Devonport and off we went to get ferry tickets. Not too shabby - round trip for $11.00................. beautiful ride around the harbor and off we go into town. But, umm on the way we pass the beach. Now most of you know that I cannot resist sand and adding sand to my collection . This had the added benefit of wee pieces of volcanic material , so I had to stop and gather. You knew I could not resist. Steve and Nathan were very patient and that was nice of them and I was most appreciative. Devonport is a very small place and then add  to it the fact that we are in late winter/early spring and it was rather quiet. As we wandered around the streets, we got closer and closer to the island's volcano ...... yes they are everywhere!! Headed up the hill , Nathan spots a theater advertising the Rocky Horror Picture Show and we go in to inquire about it............ so now we will go to the show on Friday night.............A Kiwi presentation and I am looking forward to it! Nathan has never been and apparently Steve likes it......

The theater manager was very gracious in giving us directions to Mount Victoria................. she told us how to climb the way the locals do and although we considered it , it was a bit muddy and so we elected to take the road. I have never roamed about in an extinct ( at least that is what we were told ) volcano's caldera or looked over the edge to the valley below. I must say that it was rather unnerving , basically just dropped off to nothing. We " toured " around the crater and then headed down because we could see off in the distance a wall of rain headed our way......sorry to say we didn't make it and the rain , rain , rain came down, down . down and we got wet. So what do you do when you get wet? Stop into the theater and buy tickets for Friday night for the Rocky Horror Picture Show..........


So what is available to do at 3am? Finish the blog you started the night before. We have events scheduled for our days , or at least tentatively scheduled and now for some of our nights. It makes for long days but that is quite all right with me. After getting back to the hotel and experiencing a little down and recharging time ( not only me but all our electronics ) we elect to have supper at the Shakespeare . I honestly have never had a plate of food as enormous as I was served here. A lamb burger that was the size of my head, but it was so flavorful! Good thing we walked over the city today and are headed back to the tower to see the city in the night. It is beautiful , but somehow the night enhances my dislike for heights and I am super uncomfortable. Felt ever so much better after my feet hit the ground. A pleasant rain-free stroll back to the hotel and we are ready for Rugby game highlights and falling asleep................

I have found a small wool shop just down the road from me that sells possum fur ( yes that is the appropriate spelling in NZ and the fur on the critter here feels like mink!!! ) Guess I will bring some home.... a wee reminder of NZ...

Good morning starshine!

It is Day 2 of the journey of a lifetime............. actually I think it is really day 3 but I am avoiding counting the travel time since it really is excruciatingly long! We made it to Tahiti and were greeted by traditional singing and dancing as we entered. I of course headed immediately for coffee and when we went to sit down and enjoy it, I found that I had wandered outside of the actual building and was now sitting amongst statues and palm trees with the sun rising and a gentle breeze blowing. Are you kidding me? I could live this life easily and not really worry too much about anything . Sure, but honestly, I would miss the kids and all the crazy things that happen at school.

Flight time is in about 40 minutes,  but as the sun comes up, I can see the most incredible mountains across on one of the outlying islands that make up Tahiti. But there is this really huge plane in the way of what would be the photo op of a life time. Can't move the plane, but maybe I can move me? Can't go on the tarmac; can't go past the ropes for the gate.. there must be a way... I ask the gate attendant if when we walk out to the plane , there would be enough time to stop and take a few shots. This creates quite a stir and they want to know what the shots are for etc etc etc.....I tell them it is to show my students in class and all of a sudden, I am now being escorted out onto the tarmac and told I can take all the photos I would like. I am thinking ," How cool is this?" Steve of course has no idea where I am and is a bit concerned when he sees me out near the planes.

Loading time!!! So this is a huge jumbo jet and we load about 30 people. We can sit anywhere we want .....I move to the windows and get a better look at the island as we leave - photos are beautiful ...getting settled back in for a 5 hour leg ... the last leg ( I seem to say that a lot lately! )...

We are here!!! Auckland , New Zealand!! What a gorgeous place from the air.... it is so green! OH MAN!! Those volcanoes are just indescribable !!!  Customs and luggage pick up are a breeze. We check in with Hertz ; car ready : check and then decide that the best plan of action is to wait for Nathan because that way we can just add him as a driver from the start. Besides, people watching at an airport is pretty funny..... 2 hours later Nathan has arrived, car is picked up, it is raining again and we are off to the hotel. The adventure has officially started!!!
 

a winter's tale begins..................

I can honestly say that it has been a trip that will be a memory for a lifetime. But where to begin the tale? Do I start with the rainy day in Charlotte and the US AIR flight that was 5 hours to LA with no food or entertainment? or do I start with all the lattes I have finished off in the past 36 hours to try to stay awake? They have been awesome and delicious but believe it or not I am not craving one at the moment. Yes! I actually said that I do not want a latte at the moment...............now you all understand that this is me speaking and we all know that this sentiment will most likely last a grand total of time that is not even measurable..............

Ok so to pick up with the story. We have arrived at LAX and it is about 12 midnight. Ok so at that point I do want a latte and I am a wee bit hungry. Latte and strawberry almond scone scored and eaten.... didn't make much of a dent in the hunger , but it will have to do. We decide it is a good time to check on the gate and times and discover that the American Airline reservation that I thought I had is actually an Air Tahiti reservation and it is in the international terminal for LAX. This is not a problem though  and we wander on to the Tom Bradley International Terminal . Interestingly enough, it is like walking into a whole world of foreign visitors and there were relatively few folks that had the definite US citizen look. LOL !! We did though.............. Our flight to LA was so-so but the flight to Tahiti started by walking onto a plane that was brightly colored and full of flowered patterns and pictures. The flight attendants all had on brightly colored outfits and the food was nonstop. I did opt to sleep though because the time was starting to catch up on me and I knew that I had a long way to still travel.

Well that was refreshing and as I awake I am sure that I have slept most of the trip..... unfortunately, I have only slept about 4 hours and that is nowhere near long enough.....The flight is full and so no sleeping across rows for me! Pick a movie: Lilo & Stitch....looks ok and so the marathon sessions start; would really rather catch up on Longmire , but no wifi puts an end to that.

What happened once we got to Tahiti? Tune in tomorrow folks.................it will surprise you. Well maybe not all of you because you know me so well.....


 

Home is where the heart is.......

By now , you are aware I am sure that I did in fact make it home ; did survive the misadventures in the Argentinian Super International Airport and am now telling the tale............. 

Morning dawns early for those that want to sleep and so it did for me as well...........several cups of café con leche later I am ready to head out to the gate and am praying that this flight is still on track for an on time departure. Scared , but knowing it is necessary, I look at the departure board and ... Whoo Hoo!!!! it is here, ready to depart on time and loading in 10 minutes. Can this be true?

Fast forward twenty minutes - no it wasn't true... we are still here and waiting and did I mention that my connection in Miami had 54 minutes between arrival and departure.....  What was that? loading the flight for Miami? alrighty..... here we go.  Settled in , I get ready to get caught up on movies and sleep , because Heaven knows I do not need bread, cookies, pastries or dulche de leche EVER again ....We go through the obligatory flight safety presentation and once we reach a cruising level that is stable, the movies will be available, right? What do you mean we have no selection and we have to wait until after breakfast? Are you kidding? Ok ... bring on the food...... frozen  containers of Greek yogurt, granola bars, bread, and of course - you guessed: dulche de leche!! Yea!!!! Is there fruit or juice? Mr. Flight attendant , sir..... I feel like some small British kid in a Dickens story: could I have a bit of fruit? No fruit, only what is on the trays...... this is going to be a long ride I can already tell.

Breakfast cleared and the movie time is on!! One movie choice....Thor and it is in Spanish. I fiddle with the option button an switch to channel 2 like the instructions said : If you would like to hear this video in English , switch to channel 2.....  umm.... Spanish. Well, maybe I hit the wrong button.... try again, Spanish........  This is not looking good: both audio channels are in Spanish. I call the Sr. Flight attendant over and ask in my best English/Spanish could they please turn on the English on channel 2 and he says: It is turned on , you have it on the wrong channel. Well , please , sir..... by all means .fix it!! But alas he cannot and says he will go change it. 45 minutes later I get the word that this movie isn't in English. Now, I am thinking: movie was made in the USA , how can it NOT be in English. I let it go and am promised that the second movie will be programmed for English. OK So must be nap time...... off to sleep I go and wake up a full 2 hours later, right in time for : you guessed it ! Lunch!!  More carbs...... sleep through lunch is probably the best plan and that is what I do.

Second movie starts : Noah ... good movie , looking forward to watching it again....... in Spanish? Umm what happened to programming?  I call the lovely folks back and am told that they have reported that the machine is broken.... so sorry................Argh. Mute the video and watch the action is best option here.... plan how to get through customs quickly enough to make my flight to Atlanta.....

5 hours later we are on the ground in Miami and I am pulling an OJ Simpson sprint to customs and then to the new gate for departure. Remember that I have only had carry on this whole time to avoid the issues with checked luggage ...... so I am thinking no sweat I am back in the states and we are good to go!!!...

At my gate with 5 minutes to spare and am feeling pretty good right about now!!! My zone is called and as I proceed to the door, I am stopped and told that the flight is very full and the overhead compartments are very small and I will need to check my bag through to Charlotte. But I really don't want to sir, really..... gah... fine....claim check in hand I start the last of my flights home..... the last two flights home. That really does sound nice and as much as I enjoyed the international group and the interactions and learned a ton....... there is no place like home....

Land in Atlanta, change gates..... last flight!! Delay? seriously? because?..... international flight that is our plane is late ? what a surprise........   luckily we are only on the ground 30 minutes more that we should be and my delay in getting home from Argentina doesn't extend any more that 10hrs late.... not too bad. Better than my companions that chose to leave on the 8:30pm flight....

Good flying and safe journeys, fellows..........

The plane leaves as the sun is setting over Atlanta.... I look down and say farewell to a beautiful and am ready to welcome an even more beautiful city into my view.... in 45 minutes .......Charlotte , NC

Welcome home. Steve is waiting in the cell phone lot because the construction is brutal and I have told him I will send a text when I get my bag....  20 minutes later he texts me to find out if I have my bag... still waiting..... Finally!!! and off I go..........

My Jeep! My state ( hot and humid , but mine ) and Steve..... all looking pretty good right about now....It is 10:30pm and to be very honest I should have been hungry and thirsty but I wanted to get home more than I cared about that.........

30 minutes away from my house, my shower, my bed........sleep   .............

I saw so many amazing things: the opera house in Buenos Aires with a children's choir performing, street performers; Evita's home and her tomb, La Boca with Tango dancers and crochet bombed trees, World cup fans on an epic scale, whales and friends and new global projects........ wealth and poverty.... more carbs and caramel than should ever be allowed; a local school that was amazing; more things than I can possibly remember at this moment. But that is the point of a blog........... the sharing, the excitement and the remembering . For those of you that follow me... I feel so grateful that you care to do so.. I hope this has been fun for you too...............  I will continue the journey in August to Kiwi land and over the year as I try to find funding to take some of my students to the iEARN International Summit in Brasil in the summer of 2015............   Adios , amigos Y amigas... 

It is amazing how quickly travel things that go wrong , become great blog stories

So .... where was I ..... The fact that the airport looked like a tomb should have been an pretty good indicator that there were no more flights leaving , but we were still all living in the glow that comes from being around and experiencing fabulous global educators that care about their students , their world and connecting us to them....so we ignored the warning signs. Finally , we dragged ourselves to find some gate attendants and were greeted with a rather rude , " What are you still doing here? You were  supposed to have been told that the flight was cancelled and relocated to a hotel."  Alas, we weren't and ow the games were to begin. Chris needed to get to Martha's Vineyard, Youssaf toNYC and I was headed to Charlotte. According to the woman in charge, the flights were leaving until the following evening. Now maybe if circumstances had been different, I might have opted for the , " stay in Buenos Aires in a hotel on the airline for one more day option" , but I was getting sick and really needed to get home.....

So began the job of finding the way home:
Options were as follows:
1. Wait until 8:30 on Monday evening - get home on Tuesday
2. Go through Uraguay then Cancun then Dallas then Miami then Atlanta then Charlotte ...... great miles but are you kidding me?
3. Flight through Miami to Atlanta to JFK to Charlotte

So the obvious question is why are you not offering me the Miami - Atlanta - Charlotte option? Well Ladies and Gentlemen, just in case you didn't know - Delta doesn't fly to Charlotte. So all of those flights that you and I have taken on Delta, well they just never happened ( according to Aerolineas Argentinas ). Picture the scenario: it is midnight ( we are supposed to be an hour into our flight ) , we haven't been told it was cancelled until the following evening, there appears to be now way to get home and I am getting sick ( courtesy of  my room mate). All in all , each of those pieces taken separately might not be so bad , but put them all together and I am a bit grumpy......

Chris and Youssaf opt for the hotel since they will take the Monday evening flight. I say to this lady - I know Delta flies through Charlotte , so here's what we book : Miami to Atlanta to Charlotte.... ok?   Ok she says and manages to get that taken care of. Now where to sleep...... I tell her that to go to a hotel for 2 hours sleep and risk missing the flight is dumb so how about putting me up in the Sky Team lounge.....

Holy Moley! It took an act of Congress, but mission accomplished, vouchers acquired for food and all three boarding passes in hand. Good thing because after I sit down to grab some coffee and food I take a look and I have a whole 54 minutes to deplane, go through customs and get to my new gate......doable? Well only time will tell.... now off for a few ZZZ's in the lounge before heading for the plane......  

So at what point were you going to tell us the flight was cancelled?

Over the past several days, it has been business as usual , you know in the sense that all conferences go about their business.... sessions lead to sessions and then you have a coffee break and then more sessions...

At last on Thursday, the time came for my presentation with Katherine on surviving the first year as a iEARNER. It was done in a panel style presentation with 7 other groups doing the same thing..... 6 minutes long and no more. When the slide changed, you better shift what you were talking about and get on with the program. Katherine did a fabulous job with the powerpoint and we received accolades about how the presentation captured the essence of what really happens during that learning period.

Once that was finished, then the evening and the cultural gala loomed. I had gotten some of the silliest head antenna things for our USA showing, that I could find. But... we still have no " act" to represent the USA and we are running out of practice time. And..... half  the people have no idea we are even trying to do anything... Be that as it may, we went to the gala and watched all the countries in their garb doing their " act" and we just resolved that our participation would be like most times when we didn't participate..... The Argentinian staff wouldn't let that go though and started playing the old USA standbye : YMCA ....

aw come on, you know it is ... don't even try to tell me differently..............I must say that it did go rather  well and the crowd in the ball room got into it very quickly!! so.... we were a success and the talk immediately started about what to do next year.... that made me chuckle because next year is a LONG time away and not likely to be remembered until right before the event again.

The singing, dancing , picture taking and trading commenced...... I must say that my favorite thing all night was giving one of the Iranian girls my absolutely fabulous red , sequined, star studded  hat...... she started to smile that smile that warms your heart and then got all excited and was laughing and wearing the hat ( which she wouldn't leave alone ) She wouldn't let the others take a picture with it on claiming it was hers.... which is true and she deserved it. They did a youth summit workshop ( the one I want to take some students to next year ) and their presentation was very well done. I finally got their principal ( she is titled the Manager ) to agree to let them come visit LHS.... and she shook a binding handshake....

Friday was really mellow......... some sessions, some closing remarks and a very long walk along the beach to sit and listen to the whales for one last time. They were so close and there was so  very many of them.......... we couldn't keep straight for trying to turn our heads every time one breeched............


Gala celebration was grand, and the dancing was fierce.... it seems that once tango music comes on , everyone becomes and experienced tango dancer. Actually there were some folks that were just amazingly graceful and a pure joy to watch. Since most people were leaving on the 5:30 shuttle bus, the party didn't last as long as it could have.... but it was fun while it lasted.

You know, you really don't get to see the worst parts of people usually while you are gathered for an event like this.... but it took a lot for me to keep my composure in my room this week. I am a very neat traveler and think that certain protocol is necessary especially when you are sharing a room........like don't stay up all night packing and keep others awake just because you don't see the point in going to bed ; or don't leave toothpaste all over the sink or not flush the toilet...... but I think I could have lived with all of the thoughtless things until I went and checked out this morning. It should have been simple,  expected it to be simple.... was it simple?  I mean what could possibly make it hard .... what really?  I took my keys to the front desk and waited patiently for my receipt....I wasn't given my receipt... nope it was two charges to the room I was give. I looked at them and asked what they would like me to do with them..... I was told I needed to pay them............ Say what? I think not !! I didn't charge anything...... what exactly were the charges for , please? Oh wait!!!! Umm that isn't me signature... it is my roommate's.....  I am not paying her bill , thank you very much. I did feel badly for the desk lady, I mean I know she was only doing her job, but it wasn't me....  My room mate left on the 5: 30 shuttle I said and I asked if my room mate had checked out,  why they hadn't allsgiven her the bill.............they said she hadn't checked out and they would give it to het when she came down to check out!! I told them again that she was gone and the bill was not mine.............


So now you are saying the day cannot get worse , right? I mean it just can't right? The 30 minute trip to the airport in Trelew was uneventful...... we arrived and got checked in ( with some minor sqirmishes about charges and weight overages)  and headed to get some coffee and watch the Argentina game. Now guys, believe me when I say that I like soccer.....but our flight  was delayed for 1 hour so that everyone could finish watching the game....Game over ! Argentina wins! Life can start again.   Flight relatively uneventful until about two hours before getting to Buenos Aires and then the weather was so horrible that we bounced around like in a jumpy thing....Landing was possibly to be diverted as the weather was just so so bad....but we made it and then the real adventure began. Finally found our way to the transfer bus and got the heck out of the wee tiny domestic airport and into the big daddy airport... you know, the one that is international, that can send people to other countries... so I am not really sure what happened this night...........

We went through security, again... first part A ok..... second part with the little people behind the glass and the pictures and finger prints, still ok..... third part : you know this one - the ex-ray , put your stuff up , clean your pockets out part..... So I took my jacket  off, put the slate in the tub, passport and bag on counter...... walk through the scanner and they wave me over ...... and where is it that you are going? New York USA I say.... second and third person ask me ...and where is it you are going? Sighing I say New York USA........ come here........is this your bag? Yes it is..... open it please..... ok................anything I can find for you, or move for you? Of course not........tear the bag apart in side for what? Beats the crap out of me..............I have no earthly idea because the little man seemed confused............. zipped it up and away we went.............  But, at this point they should have told us our flight was cancelled and gotten us to our hotel.............. it is now 8pm and we are roaming the halls of the airport searching for a place to put our weary butts down while they are deciding our gate............ should have been a sign...... the fact that soon there were no people in the airport should have been a sign..............and yet we were not in on the sign............

You expect me to do what when the USA World Cup game is on........

Day 2 of our conference and it has been like any other conference except that sometimes you find yourself in a conversation with someone who forgets that you speak English and a wee bit of French and you have to get the deer in the head lights or the constipation has struck look that is the universal sign for : What the heck is going on......

So let's see... I have learned so much that my head is most likely to explode and that would be rather unfortunate because should that happen, I will leak out all that valuable info and have to start all over again. I have learned that as bad as we think that Lincolnton High School has it , we could be ever so much worse and so I should be grateful for small favors. I am constantly amazed by the caliber of teacher that iEARN attracts and really hope aspire to be like them before I grow up.

So enough of that .... what have I done in the past two days?  Yesterday was really rather normal : sessions and the  Adobe Youth Voices Premier! What fabulous videos put together by students around the world... I am definitely kicking some AYV kids butts when I get back. We have to get going because I know that LHS AVY can produce equally as high quality as any I saw last night. Today we had sessions in the morning but before they started I managed to go for a walk on the beach and listen to the whales. They are just hanging out near shore playing and chilling. Wish that iPhone cameras could zoom  in far enough to get them looking anything other than a black streak in the picture. At any rate, I wandered for a bit and picked up shells and sea glass and took some cool sunrise pictures with a different technique..... not as good as with a camera not on a phone, but not too bad either.

As we finished the first session , we wandered out into the lobby and were over come with the odor of smoke and pretty soon saw billowing black clouds outside the windows...... I started to panic a wee bit, but my brain kept saying , hmm calm down.....that smells like burning tires not burning hotel. Sure enough , we were embroiled (excuse the pun) in a political protest and the protesters were right outside the hotel with a really large banner , tribal drums beating out a constant beat and a huge pile of burning tires. The sky was absolutely black and the smoke was just suffocating. You know that the smart thing would be to stay inside and away from these folks that were protesting the firing of a worker at the hotel and the overall poor working conditions. Now you know what I mean, avoid this right? But you see we had planned an excursion ( just a 2 mile hike up the beach and into town ) to go grab some lunch and soak up the atmosphere during the Argentina game. I mean , we are here , let's do this....... so this means out we go and down past the protesters we head. Successfully navigating through the smoke and yelling , we  head off and find an out of the way local place to eat. We figured the normal time for a game would match about how long we would eat. Do you  think that the Argentinians could do this quickly? Heck no! So we waited and watched and waited and watched and finally, sometime after three - game over .... we can leave! Now when I say leave, understand that this will not be a quick process. There is a parade of cars , all decked out with team colors, flags, people .. you name it ..being led through town by a police escort and honking their horns and playing music! People are hanging out of windows and all of the businesses are closed.... fire crackers are going off .... children are laughing and running around with flags draped over their bodies and old women and men are crying! I can only imagine  how excited we will all be to win our game this afternoon.

Leisurely walking on the beach to avoid the traffic, we are just hypnotized by the pod of whales that are so close we could swim to them ( I mean if the water wasn't 40 degrees). They are spyhopping and rolling and just having a grand time. It is such a calming feeling to hear them and the waves .

Back at the hotel , the others are waiting anxiously for us, afraid we will miss the opening seconds of the game. As we all gather and the game begins, we settled into our seats - you know what I mean ... sort of work your butt around until the spot is just right, right? Game on!!!!! Call for sessions to start!! Say what? you mean now? But you delayed for Argentina's game....come on............arggggh!

By halftime we are done and head down for what we think will be a victory celebration.............we are all there, even a few foreign supporters.....cheering and groaning and yelling and jumping and sighing and .........oh we are losing .......... oh we are losing by 2 ........................Yeah!!! WE SCORE!!!!!   tense comes now where close the  feeling in the room.......despair doesn't describe the final moments!! But pride covers all and we stand and cheer and clap for our team and speak only words of a positive nature. It was interesting to see how the other countries were trying to understand how we could cheer our team , even after they lost. But that is what it means to be a united country and to be American and proud of it! Way to go Team USA - well played .....

Good Morning Star shine........

That line from a 1970's song has never seemed more appropriate than this morning! After a really out cold, dead sleep, I am awakened by the shrill , jarring alarm that you find on iPhones now a days and rousted out of my nice cozy duvet covered sleep to head out to breakfast and begin my day...

Ok so I get it.. time to rise and shine ,but it is 7am and there is no hint of a rising sun...as in .. are you kidding me? It is pitch black out and the birds are not even thinking about singing. But being the good room-mate that I try to be, I get some clothes on and head down to breakfast so my roomie won't have to eat alone. She has traveled extensively, and has been teaching elementary school for 35 years and we will leave it at that.

I am now into my third cup of coffee and am thinking that this will be a very hard week to get the protein that my body has become accustomed to... many thanks for GNC and their packets of shake protein mix that I can use when I feel in a pinch.

So how did yesterday go? Was it less eventful than the day before? I mean really .. how can anyone have another day as adventure and excitement filled as my first 24 hours? You say to yourself, yep! I agree with her.... isn't possible. Trust me, it is. After seeing Karine and Shady ( pronounced Sha - dee ) off at breakfast, I had another latte and then gathered my bearings and belongings and just relaxed until the rest of the crew was up and about. Come to find out that they have completely acclimated to Argentine time and were out partying until 4 am. This did not stop them and soon the stragglers wandered down stairs and we went out into the sunshine of a B.A. morning.

There was a plan in effect - hit the Opera House first and then wander down to the south part of the city; check out a couple of parks ( one where there is supposed to be " the" game screen of the city ready for Tuesday's game , then off to Recollete ( sp ) , check out Eva Perron's tomb,  get food, gather our stuff and head to the aeroporte for travel to Patagonia.

We actually did all that we planned and found Evita's final resting place ( in and amongst what can only be considered a local weeping angels hang out! ) Food became a necessity as we walked ALL over town and as luck would have it , we found a local place that served the most fantastic , rustic , authentic Argentinian food. White sweet potatoes baked and covered with a mixture on one of cheese and spinach and pumpkin , the covered with honey and nuts. Casseroles of pumpkin and cheeses and spinach and empanadas full of pumpkin.... we ate and ate and ate....

To counter our excessive eating , we walked back to the hotel to get our airport transfers and on the way we saw : Tom's" like shoes with world cup team flags...... oh how we all drooled for the want of a pair representing the USA. It was not to be ... Sunday and the store was closed.

The rest of the trip to the airport was uneventful.... but the excitement continued as one of our merry band left her passport in the taxi and another found that her luggage was overweight based on in country Argentinian standards and had to pay  200 pesos to get her bags loaded on the plane........ extra fee paid: bags checked ; taxis driver returns and brings lost passport: passenger elated..

Sleep is calling and I plan on staying awake long enough to buckle my seat belt..... and then  ....wait ! We are landing? Already? But I haven't had any sleep........oh I did? two hours later? Sure  thing: feels great.

Check at the hotel after a 40km ride and we are good to go..........sleep sleep sleep.......

ADD moment: see that woven shawl in the native artisans section of the hotel? and all the other handmade stuff............. sounds like a take home idea to me......................

 

How much trouble can you get into into 14 hours?

The Day flew by.... well  what I can remember about it! As the iEARN group gathered and then gathered me into the warmth of group existence, we headed out into the streets of B.A ( Yup! We are comfortable enough now to call this place B.A - for short you know...) A quick look at a map and we were off looking for the big pink building that takes up and entire city block - the home of El Presidente. I guess for at least right now I should call her Mdme President. Lots of picture taking ensued and we checked out all the Argentina futbol gear , which means mostly stuff with Messi's name on  it. In front of the palace, we took probably the best selfie I have seen in a long time. We decided since the tour of the home was free , that we would take the government up on. We lined up, sent all of our stuff through the x-ray machine and got our English speakers tour tickets. First time in a long time we are all feeling pretty good about our navigational and communication skills when one of my partners in  crime discovered that she herself was a victim of crime. Someone had lifted her phone out of her bag and wandered away into the crowd................we were crushed. This beautiful and historic city had wounded one of the "family"....................we left and headed back to the safety of the hotel where we could watch the Brasil game and root against them.... it would be party on a epic scale!!

Game on! Vamos Chile!! Our dreams of watching the game ended abruptly when 2 more of our travelers suggested that we head out to the artsy section of town called La Boca. Great call actually! It was amazing and the handicraft work and paintings were sublime!! Tango dancers were everywhere and they offered lessons or for a few pesos you could dress up like a tango dancer, strike a pose and have your photo taken......... We were hunting for something else: FOOD!! local Argentinian food!! But here's the problem - it is now midafternoon............not a great call to fill up on food when we are supposed to meet up with others later.... but on the other hand , a great excuse to watch the end of the game which gone into crazy overtime and was headed for penalty kicks!! We found a local eatery - ordered empanadas and proceeded to watch the game with a bunch of crazy Brasil fans. Don't get me wrong, there were Chile fans there too , us and about 10 other fans. We did however find one lone Mexico fan , who had had slightly too much of a local beverage and was very happy telling us how much he loved the USA............... game over .... Chile loses a heartbreaker and our Mexican fan decides he wants pictures with his new friends and he wants to tango with one of the iEARN gals...... we needed to get her out of there fast , so we made our excuses and headed back on the bus to the hotel. Back in relative safety again, we took naps or showers or shopped and planned to meet up again around 8:30 for supper...............Have I mentioned that people eat at like 9-10pm and don't go to bed until 3 or 4 am. Apparently I had just missed all the partying when I got in this morning. Holey Moley ! Was it just this morning? Meeting at our scheduled time , we headed off again across winding streets and skinny  alleys until we reached a local place called DaDa. It was tiny and we got the last two booths in the place. Each ordered something different and we all got a taste of a taste of Argentina. My rib eye ( ojo biftek) was to die for............ As we finished our first 24 hours in B.A. , we walked down Florida Street and got the opportunity to take in a street show with some fantastic singing.  It was a beautiful brisk evening and the walk did us great. We have done so much today in a span of 12 hours it is hard to believe. The rest of the group who's flight was delayed had arrived and was hungry so off they went and I put this tired bag of bones to bed for what I hoped would be a well deserved night of rest.....

The saga of life is a continuing story that with most reach a level of stability and some sort of contentment with all that is and all that seemingly will be...........I can't do that. I am constantly looking for the next new thing or the next thing I haven't done or eaten or.. well you get the point. So to add to the I was petrified and just knew I couldn't do it list was to navigate around Buenos Aires as a non-native non Spanish speaker ( wonder what the school acronym for that would be ). I left you all yesterday as I had found out that the rest of my group would not be arriving until 14 hours later than me. Now you need to realize that when I say that , what I am actually saying is that the plane would land 14 hours after mine did. Then my friends would need to deplane, go through customs , get their luggage and then find a way to the hotel and finally..... ride the 30-45 minutes to the hotel.

In light of the new development in my day, I made the executive decision to leave the airport and strike out on my own............in the dark and not speaking the language............

Now some may say, " Wow! Dumb move there Mrs B".... but honestly, what were my options? I  spoke with the information desk and they directed me to the shuttle bus ticket counter and for $140.00 pesos, I was the proud owner of a shuttle and hotel transfer ticket ( something I hoped I had communicated correctly or who knew where I was going). I wandered out of terminal A and found terminal B , the home of the shuttle transfer and away we went. Some 30 minutes later, I found myself at the hotel transfer terminal for the bus. So far so good!! I was directed to the correct hotel transfer car , luggage was stowed and I was safely secure in the back seat. That is when the whole , You did great thing, started to crumble. As we all gave our destinations to the driver , and he looked at his GPS , that little voice in the back of my head started screaming..... My turn: I would like to go to Ibis Hotel. It is on Uruguay Street. The driver said , Where? Well I mean he said , Que? A quick call to his supervisor got him directions ( ummm what was the GPS for? ) and we were off. B.A. is a lovely city that doesn't wake up until about 1pm and this was now 6am. Needless to say, there was nothing happening.

No matter I think, this is probably a good thing. We will get to the hotel faster, I can get a shower and go get a nap. THERE IT IS!!!!! Ibis Hotel. Home for the next two days!! Whoo Hoo!  ( I know , you are all thinking that this adventure wasn't so bad. Right? Admit it! ) I head to the check in desk and the little man began checking for the group in the system..... and he checks and checks and ummm checks . No booking. My heart fell out of my body. Trying to act calm and composed, I squeaked.. What do you mean? Long story short - wrong hotel , middle of the night ( early morning ) and a great human being that found the right Ibis Hotel, called me a cab and sent me off the 5 winding blocks to the correct hotel. The cabbie was awesome and refused to leave until I was inside the door and so he earned his $30.00 pesos for my 5 block ride.

Yea!!! the right hotel!! And the group is in the system.... a room for me? Yea !! a room for me! A room for me right now? Noooooooooooo!!! Could you go sit in the corner couch and wait ma'am? Off I went and found my new couch home for the next 4 hours!

Thus endeth the last few hours of the first few hours in Argentina.....

I was shaken out of my groggy daze about 10 o'clock as one of the iEARN folks already at the hotel found me. Actually got into my room , took that shower and got ready to begin the next 12 hours in the bustling city of Buenos Aires ......   

a brand new start

This a brand new and squeaky clean.... at least at the moment there are no cutesy pictures or engaging fonts..... that will come when time provides. However, the point of any blog is to get the skinny out there as it is happening and so here goes! I am here! Well , my body is here............. my brain is somewhere trying to slumber and not doing that at all ..... so it has effectively ceased to function on any high level activities.

So where was I , oh yes .. I am here. Where is here you ask? Here is downtown Buenos Aires at 9:28 in the morning. I have been travelling since 5 am Friday morning and the adventures didn't really start until today. I had a rather uneventful flight from Charlotte to JFK and except for what seemed like a never ending layover can only be described as normal. My flight on Aerolineas Argentinas began as we all lined up to board. Now you have to understand, this is a chica that has been through the transformations of travel and boarding since it was logical and by the rear of the plane first to the cattle car ,  herding mentality that is most prevalent  today. So , I digress.... as I said, we all lined up herd mentality to get onto the plane. Now, I am thinking... this must be a really full flight based on the number of people crowded into the waiting area. It was a pleasant surprise when we were all boarded and the two seats between me and the next passenger were empty. See now in my mind, that means we each have two seats to spread out in and sleep overnight in the flight.

Mistake # 1 : don't assume anything about extra space.

The other passenger to share my wealth of space was smaller and shorter than me. So... logic says she can't possibly take up more than her share of the seats, right? Au contraire! She feel asleep first and she hade almost three seats worth. Hmm, says I ..... gotta squish in here somehow and I did manage to contort myself so that I was completely off the floor.............. a bit uncomfortable , but she finally got the point and then we shared.

Mistake # 2 Don't assume that you will get edible food on an country's international flight just because you have in the past.

Whew! Not even sure what the orange stuff was that was swimming around in the little metal dish, but hunger dictated that I scoff it down and so I did. I ate more carbs in that small meal than in a whole week I swear.

Mistake # 3 Don't assume that because you look pitiful you will get help.

Actually , I was told I was functioning quite well on my limited Spanglish and the further adventures of the day will bear that out. I was grateful for one flight attendant who picked me out as an American almost immediately. I wonder if it was the bright red , sparkly, sequined hat with stars all over it?? She was very pleasant and not the least condescending  , like geesh stupid American - could you please know Spanish? She worked with me as I muddled through with hand signals, English and shaking my head as I understood the Spanish that she was using.

Breakfast was a carb delight again and so I opted for the yogurt and a very strong cup of black coffee. Somewhat awakened from that , I was ready to land in 10 minutes! What , you said how many minutes? 10 ? But... But.... I mean I haven't used the toilet, or brushed my hair or teeth....... I can't leave my seat now...... ok......guess it will wait. Landing was smooth..............probably the smoothest I've felt in years .... it is very dark so I can't see to much of the city. That will come later when the group gets here and we tour about. Thus endeth the first leg of the journey. Meeting everyone in 4 hours or so.

WHAT?!!!!! Say it isn't so! Their flight has been cancelled/delayed and they never left? Not leaving until this morning and arriving at 8:30 pm? Do what? 14 hrs in an airport waiting? I think not!! So off I set.............not idea where I am going and only a hotel and booking person's name between me and the mean streets of Buenos Aires...............................