Last Sunday, our language school sponsored a trip to the mountains. It was promoted as thermal baths, which along with the natural setting encouraged me to sign up the family as well as to encourage some students in my class to do the same. Nature is something that fuels our whole family. After a week in the City, it seemed a perfect way to reconnect to the earth while having some peaceful downtime.
It turned out there were no thermal baths but the river was just as healing with it's cooler waters. It turned out to be a scorching day. It felt great to cool off from the high temperatures, to be baptized by mother nature and to swim in the turquoise waters.
It was supposed to be a family outing but Amara took off with her friends as soon as we arrived (with the exception of one photo op) and we did not see her for hours. Havana hung with me until I took off for a swim to a cave with my classmates, while Don and Paula hung back and got their feet wet but stayed closed to base camp. Havana eventually got hungry while I was down the river, so the three of them walked into town for lunch.
We had expected to visit another town on the way home. But the A/C on the bus broke down. It was not safe to transport us on a 90 degree day, in a tour bus with no air conditioning. We drove about ten minutes before people got felt sick, causing us to turn around and head back to the small town to await a new bus. It was hot as hell (almost literally!) but travel has it's ups and downs and this pause in plans allowed us the opportunity to go with the flow. Our kids have had other experiences of delays. I am happy to know that they have learned that these type of travel hiccups builds patience, adaptability and forces creative ways to spend your time.
Havana, who met up with a friend just prior to getting up on the bus, took off with said friend to hang out in cool spot. Amara was still with her friends, so we still barely saw her. Don and his sister did their thing, allowing time for them to be together, while I sat in the cool bar of a small hotel with my classmates until it was time to head to where our new bus would meet us. The time passed quickly and soon we were off again, descending the beautiful mountains, passing through some lovely small towns and looking out on spectacular mountains.
The day did not go totally as planned and the heat was intense but it was a wonderful day and I am was very thankful to connect with the Earth in this part of the world and the rest of the family had a great day as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment