The bus ride from Oulad Teima, where we'd just completed a volunteering assignment, to Marrakesh was rather pleasant and scenic. The monotony of the chanting sounds the driver played on his speakers for nearly the duration of the trip was compensated for and colored by the friendly young woman across the aisle from us who … Continue reading Take me to Marrakesh
Our third and final week in Oulad Teima was only our second week of volunteering at the school; so while it seemed as if we'd been in town forever, we were just getting started with our volunteering when it was time to start wrapping it up. We continued having some chaotic sessions with the younger … Continue reading Oulad Teima Counting the Days
At long last, Monday rolled around and we were ready to begin volunteering at the school in Oulad Teima after twiddling our thumbs for the previous five days. It was a light schedule, entailing no more than 2 to 3 hours a day, depending on the day of the week, but it was exhausting – … Continue reading WorkAway in Oulad Teima, Morocco
Sometimes things don't turn out the way we plan. That's unavoidable, especially when you travel all the time, no matter how well you plan. But what's annoying is when things don't turn out well because somebody else didn't plan at all. And that's the scenario we found ourselves in during our first week – or … Continue reading First Taste of Oulad Teima during Ramadan
At about 8:00 p.m. on the night of April 2, we landed in Agadir, Morocco, having been through a relatively pleasant flight from Madrid. Then we stepped through customs pretty quickly, even though we hardly knew a word of Arabic, and exited the building. And, voila! we were standing on African soil for the first … Continue reading Standing on African Soil for the First Time Ever
On Monday at about noon, we touched down in Madrid after flying across the ocean from Bogota. It was our first time in Europe in 6 years, and the first time that either of us ever had been to Spain. The first order of business, of course, was to acquire a few euros for pocket … Continue reading Making Memories in Madrid
Leaving Chicaque Natural Park On Sunday morning, we loaded our gear onto one of those little electric carts that had brought us down three weeks earlier and a driver took us on the steep climb back, back up to the entrance. (It wasn’t until days later that we realized we’d left behind our water filter … Continue reading A Taste of Bogota
The third and final week at UBHA And so we come to the final week of volunteering at UBHA school, our final week in Chicaque Natural Park, and our final week (ish) in Colombia. Students reenacting an impromptu version of "Little Red Riding Hood" It was great fun for all of us -- there were … Continue reading Volunteer Teaching in Chicaque: “Getting Dramatic”
On our second weekend in Chicaque Natural Park in Colombia, we really aimed high. First 105 feet, then 328 feet (or, to the locals, 32 meters and 100 meters respectively). We partook of a pair of airborne adventures offered by the park, at a substantial discount for volunteers. And they were definitely among the highlights, … Continue reading Hanging from Trees
Volunteering at UBHA in Chicaque Natural Park - week 2 During our second week of volunteering at UBHA, we really found our groove, and bonded with the kids quite nicely despite the language barrier. As anticipated, fellow volunteer Joel took his leave earlier than planned, leaving just us to cover the full day's schedule. One … Continue reading Dramatic Play, Wild Mushrooms and Glass-winged Butterflies
world travel with a theatrical flair 