B6/7 Class 2007

Our sighting of a few dolphins.

2008-03-13T11:32:00.000-07:00

We saw a few dolphins once we had gotten up a good speed about eight miles off the coast of California. We didn't have a camera on us; we couldn't believe it! That will be our first stop when we get to Japan. We are still boating in the Pacific Ocean, but we are nearly at Japan now. Only a few more miles left to go.

Change of Plans

2008-03-13T11:09:00.001-07:00

Somehow Dan, the outdoors man, convinced us that we should not take a plane to our next destination, instead biking, riding, or walking. Nobody else agreed at first, but then Colton and Calvin agreed and so I did and then Isabel and Ali decided that it would be fun too. However, there was one hitch; Isabel wished to go to Japan and check out a few famous places in Tokyo. Dan was astonished that we agreed with her and tried to convince us to use a motorized form of transportation, but we threw his words back in his face and forced him to come up with an idea. He eventually said that we could bike up California and ditch the bikes in Sacramento. He said that we could then boat across the Pacific Ocean to Japan. He said that if we were very careful, then we would not get eaten by sharks. I agreed with him and added that if we rowed over that part of the ocean we would travel the least distance over water. I also said that we could trail huge fresh-water filled containers behind us in the water so that we would not get at all thirsty. Calvin scowled but commented that we could send a good swimmer into the water to spear fish with a sharp pointed stick. I told him that we would probably need a fishing net, and so we went and bought a rowboat, a fishing net, and a few large rubber balloons that would hold fresh water. It cost a fortune, but Dan's dad was able to give us enough money. The boat was huge with enough oarlocks for everybody to be able to row. It looked like a Viking boat. That picture is of our boat. We all like it and we all think that it will hold us long enough to get to Japan.

The Cenote

2007-10-30T12:10:00.001-07:00

The flight to Mexico was fairly long, but we all agreed-except Dan- that the Cenote looked cool-even above the ground. The Cenote were places where the limestone of the peninsula had sunk into the underground rivers underneath, creating entry-ways to the enchanting waters below. Calvin was very excited to see that his eavesdropping had turned out to be for a better time than just taking a taxi plane around South America. He said,
"Hey, Peter, (his annoying nickname for me) I'll go scout out a place where we can rent scuba diving outfits to explore the underground rivers!" I nodded, pleased that he was finally making an excited effort to have fun, and annoyed that he couldn't just call me Lily, my preferred nickname. Calvin dashed off as we waited. Dan started to complain about all the time that we were wasting, but Colton told him to be quiet or else he'd push Dan into one of the deeper holes that were close by. Soon Calvin came back and led us to a tourist attraction place where we could rent very cheap scuba outfits and, if we wanted, a guide. Colton, Calvin, Dan, George, Isabel and Ali didn't want a guide, and I didn't care, so we paid for the outfits and were led to a place where we could dive. I showed everybody how to put the outfit on on top of their normal clothes, then we dove into the deep, cool water. We immediately saw some awesome animals and neat underground seaweed. The 'cave' structure was also really neat. We had a lot of fun for about 4 hours. Then we sadly returned the outfits and got ready to go back on a plane to tour South America.

Blogging does help me evaluate and gain synthesis because blogging is an in-depth experiance that you can create. You can make up characters and make up their trips, then you judge where and what to have the consequences will be for your character(s).

Moving on to Peru

2007-10-09T12:02:00.000-07:00

Before we rode for 5 hours, everybody but I got tired of the saddle, so we decided to take a plane into South America. We left the horses and some bribing money with a kind family with instructions where to take the horses back. We then walked a few miles into the airport and caught a small taxi jet that was quite expensive, but very fun. We landed in Peru, and since the plans were changed, we just decided, right off the bat, to see the Inca City, Machu Picchu. It would be incredibly fun, and we would have something to tell our social studies teacher when we had to go back home after our month-long tour around Latin America. Machu Picchu looked really neat. Pictures don't show the wondrously small little trails and small stone sheds, so I didn't include one. When Calvin suggested we go to the small, hidden house behind a long border of stones, we all agreed, and so his mom led the way. (we didn't have a guide) When we went in the small, cramped room, I found a surprise. All of my classmates in the 6/7 B from Eagle were in the room! Even Mr. Cprice, the social studies teacher, was in the room lecturing about the importance of having hidden stone storage rooms because of the thieving rats and varmints in the Inca times. I shouted in surprise and quickly found my best friends, Santhosini and Ella, then introduced them to the best friends that I had with me from my other school. I saw Ile again, and he smiled at me, but didn't seem to be too interested in meeting my other friends.
I was pleased to have almost all of my new best friends around me, and my old best friends. The only problem was that Calvin acted like he normally did when he was meeting new people-he slouched, didn't offer his hand, didn't meet anybody's eyes, and whispered in my ear like he was trading secrets. I knew he had bad manners outwardly, but once you get to know him, he is really actually kind and nice, and you don't really notice anything bad.
I had heard of the mysterious lines that criss-crossed the dessert in Peru and other countries bordering Peru. I decided to go and check them out. I wondered if Ella and Sant would go with me, but they had their own plans. I was disappointed, but we ate lunch together then my group headed toward the boundaries of Cuzco where I remembered there were some dessert line pictures.
The lines have been discussed a lot, and many theories popped up about how they came to be and what their purpose was. Some of the theories that I believe were that people used the figures as watering systems, carved into pictures to bless the water with the Gods' attention.
I decided that I was right, and so did my friends, so we decided to move on to our next location. Calvin overheard Ella say that she was going to the super-cool Cenote in the Yuccutan Peninsula. He told me of his eavesdropping and suggested that we go there to see what it was all about. Dan really wanted to go around the rest of South America, but the rest of us agreed to go quickly to the Cenote in Mexico, then fly back to South America to finish our tour as fast as we could.

Lake Nicaragua

2007-10-02T12:26:00.000-07:00

We didn't really get to see Lake Nicaragua that much, but we did rent specially bred and imported Arabian horses at the very Northern tip, so I suspect that we will grow tired of seeing a lake before we even reach the border of Costa Rica. I have included a picture of Lake Nicaragua and the horse that I rented.

Sierra Madre Oriental

2007-10-02T12:15:00.000-07:00

After a three day ride we arrived at Sierra Madre Oriental. It was almost identical to Sierra Madre Occidental-I thought, but Isabel pointed out differences in the rock formations. She is a whiz at spotting small things that other people might miss. We pretty much did the same thing on the Sierra Madre Oriental as we did on the Sierra Madre Occidental, but this time Isabel was less lucky, and Dan and I were much more lucky. We found the unfossilized skeleton of some sort of mountainous squirrel, and several little bits and pieces of fossilized bone that our guide-much nicer than the other-said belonged perhaps to sheep or goats. Isabel only found rocks that looked like limestone that nobody could actually identify.

I was getting bored with Mexico, and so we decided to fly to Nicaragua Lake, buy some fast horses bred for traversing across Central American land, and then ride down to San Jose so that we could then catch a plane into South America.

Sierra Madre Occidental

2007-09-25T12:17:00.001-07:00

It did not take more than half an hour in the van to reach slightly above the base of the Sierra Madre Occidental. I have included a picture that I took of the mountain range before we actually reached it. It is an awesome range! It is heavenly. We reach it about 7:00. We have to wait about an hour before we could start activities on the mountain. Waiting, we got nervous about being on such huge mountains, but then Calvin called us all babies, I mimed pushing him, and we all relaxed and laughed.

After watching the awesome sunrise, we noticed some other groups arriving. I recognized a tall kid from school, Ile. He was looked ready to tackle the mountains. I wanted to see if we could dig with him, but I decided that maybe not, Calvin and the other boys with me might get mad; Isabel too. We had, after all, decided to take the trip together, and Ile and I see each other in school.

In a few more minutes, our guide opened a gate to a steep trail. Ali groaned and I shot her a glance, trying not to look disgusted. After a quarter of an hour hiking up, we reached a small flat area. The guide told us not to look down and to dig only near the mountain where digging areas were marked. There was spray paint signifying where to dig. I was slightly put off, our guide had almost treated us like little kids on a treasure hunt, but I realized that Isabel was loving it, so I kept my mouth shut.

Dan and I were working on one section of the designated digging area, but we didn't uncover anything but mud and a few odd rocks, layered like limestone. Calvin and Colton were working next to us and we combined efforts to find a small, fossilized bird skeleton. Isabel was having a lot of luck. By the time we came down from the mountain, her small sack was full of neat rocks, fossils, and hardened clay.

We paid the guide, hopped in our car, and drove across the Mexico De Plata to Sierra Madre Oriental.

We've Arrived in Latin America!

2007-09-25T12:05:00.001-07:00

There is a general hustle getting off of the plane at Chihuahua. I throw everyone's baggage and luggage into the back of our rented van. Calvin's mom, Kristine, is driving, and Dan's dad, Keven, is supervising our noise level. I ask Mrs. D-Kristine-if we could stop at Mexico city first, but she explained that we had limited time if we really wanted to visit all of Latin America in just a month, and going down to Mexico City and back up to the mountains that Isabel wanted to dig in would take too much time. I understood, and piled into the car with all of my other friends. And off we were, headed straight to Sierra Madre Occidental!

My Adventure into Latin America

2007-09-18T12:13:00.000-07:00

I am so happy-thrilled even- to be going to Latin America with some of my old friends. We are on the plane to Mexico from Wisconsin, and we are all clustered excitedly around the map, planning where we will go. There are two other girls and four boys with me. The two girls are Ali and Isabel, and the boys are Calvin, Colton, Dan, and George. Isabel wants to stay in Mexico long enough to forage for old artifacts in the Sierra Madre Occidental and Oriental, but all the rest of us prefer to see a short bit of every country, especially Brazil. Calvin, Colton, Dan, and I really are interested in the Amazon Rainforest. We decide to spend a longer time in Mexico than previously planned, and then we will take a fleeting tour around South America. Since Ali likes islands, we will visit Jamaica for half a week.