We began Monday evening by holding baby leatherback turtles before we headed to the beach at dark. Here are Molly, Gustavo, Chloe, and Jonas petting a mother leatherback as she lays her eggs. What an amazing experience! Earlier on Monday, we took at 3.5 mile hike to the water falls (above), swam for a good while, then hiked back. One incredible experience after another.
Two group pictures: The Trinidad group dressed in their Sunday best right after going to the church service and the Costa Rica group with Melody Blackmore (Asher's sister and Frances's co-leader.) The Costa Rica group had a wonderful white-water rafting experience and then headed to Las Cruces. They have been working on a gardening project, gone on nighttime nature hikes, and played lots of soccer.
Dave reports that the Adirondacks trip is doing well. They went on an overnight canoe trip. They started at Square Pond, crossed under the bridge to Follensby Clear Pond, and portaged to Polliwog Pond where they spent the night. The next morning, they portaged to Middle Pond, then went up creek to Floodwood Pond, and then down another connecting creek to Little Square Pond. (This definitely sounds like a Dave Worden trip!) As to food, they have been "throwing all sorts of things on the large cast iron griddle over the fire...french toast, pancakes, eggs, and potatoes." They went on a 5-hour kayak trip from Stony Pond through Stony Creek and down the Raquette River almost to the village of Tupper Lake. They will do more kayaking in the next few days.
The Civil Rights trip to Alabama sounds truly amazing. The group was written up in the Selma Times-Journal (May 25). The article talked about the group wanting to "engage in honest discussions about race with residents from a city in the Deep South that witnessed some of the most dramatic events of the Civil Rights movement." The kids and Susan will show Selma residents how they see the history of Selma through 2 documentaries that were created by Travis Rexrode and Susan at the Everyman Book Store in Selma on Thursday night. They are also working on another documentary throughout this educational trip.
I spoke briefly with Jon Lepofsky who is in Newton Grove with the freshmen. He reports that all is well. Last night, the group visited their first migrant camp and played soccer with the farmworkers. Visiting the camp brought about strong feelings in the kids that they were able to share during their nightly silent meeting. Father Tony and Pastor Doug, the leaders of the Episcopal Farmworkers Minestry, did a presentation to the kids today to explain the important work they do and talk about what our ongoing involvement means to them. Work at the Head Start facilities is going well, and the cooks are doing a great job in the kitchen! I believe they are planning a talent show tomorrow night and a freshman prom on Friday or Saturday.
That's all for now. I'm having a hard time transitioning back to Durham from Trinidad. I miss the group, the view, the food, and the warm and wonderful Trinidadians. More to come...
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