Ruta Maya II - Aug 21, 2009

Today we visited the Mayan city of Tikal, and it went beyond any of our expectations. It would be an understatement to try to describe what we saw, so I would recommend googling it to get a visual. Our guide is fantastic though, and pointed out all sorts of animals along the way through the jungle, which used to be a paved, Mayan city with no trees and grass in between these massive pyramids. We saw a crocodile up close (whose name is Paula, a chld told us), a small rodent called "aguti", an animal related to a raccoons and anteaters that was adorable, spider monkeys, howler monkeys, tarantulas (the guide scared it out of a hole and caught it so we could pet it), a giant grasshopper, and a number of ant species. The guide taught us that if you put metal in between your teeth, the ants will avoid you because of the current. Those with braces were quite excited about that.Then we visited the Tikal museums and did some shopping at the markets. Tomorrow morning we are headed for Belize!Take care,Barbara

Mexico - Aug 19, 2009

I have another few miunutes in an internet cafe. Yesterday we went rafting down waterfalls, hiked through the jungle, saw a mountain crab, met a Mayan chief, his son & daughter and pet monkey, climbed up ruins, and had shish kabobs with flaming limes for dinner. The kids loved it. We´re dealing with a passport issue but are assured it will all be fine : ) Kids are holding up well.

Guatemala - Aug 20, 2009

After a longboat ride across the river separating Guatemala from Mexico, we met up with our new guide Julio who will be with us the next few days. He gave us a great introduction to Guatemala on the van ride and we stopped at a grocery store so boys could get quetzales and snacks. Now we are in the Jungle Lodge in Tikal. On the way, the boys were excited by the jaguar, turkey, and snake crossing signs. Just as we arrived, we saw a monkey and its baby up in the tree, and some while turkeys. The hotel is beautiful so today we are resting and exploring the grounds and tomorrow we are going to explore TIkal, which is apparently huge. 7 km wide. Saturday we leave for Belize. Hope all is well in the States!Barbara

Ruta Maya II

Hello! Greetings from the Holiday Inn in Chetumal! We just got into Mexico last night from Belize, where we spent two nights on a tropical island paradise. Truly - it was amazing. We all had little huts overlooking the Carribean, we went snorkeling and kyacking and were treated to fresh seafood. Today we went to two Mayan ruin sites and this afternoon we had lunch and went swimming at a crystal blue lagoon. Tonight we go out for "real Mexican tacos", whatever that means! Tomorrow we head further north where we will visit Tulum and then Chichen Itza the next day. I'm not sure when I'll have internet access again, but everyone is healthy and happy. The boys are having trouble believing we have school in 5 days, as are we all! They have all learned a lot of new Spanish words and a huge amount about pre-Spanish culture, so the education has already begun...

We are looking forward to seeing you all Saturday night!

Barbara and Brian

Santorini, Greece June 25

The students are just arriving at the beautiful island of Santorini. Early today, they spent the morning in Crete visiting the ancient home of the Minotaur at Knossos. There is a slight flight change; they will arrive on Delta flight #6709 from JFK at 6:59Pm. Please make note.

Tomorrow, they'll be home with stories and pictures. From what I hear, I think it safe to say, they had a great adventure.

June 23 Kusadasi Turkey

Talked to the group this morning. They had a great visit to the ancient ruins of Ephesus and thoroughly enjoyed the bazaar in Kusadasi. This afternoon they will lounging on the beach on the Greek island of Patmos. All is well and the kids are having a blast.

Greer and Kendra June 22 1st hour of cruise

It is a common misconception that the peace signs are two legs facing downward while in actuality they face upward. Fun Fact: Boys cannot be trusted with food.

Ryan Zaki sends more pics

here's some more pics (parents might appreciate them more)
First picture is from our first day in Athens--1896 Olympic stadium
I forget where the second picture was taken (my camera says I took it on June 14th, though).
Third picture was us before we hopped on the bus to our last dinner in Athens (departed for Mykonos next morning).

Greer and Kendra via text June 21

Learned: in the Mykonos Islands churches cannot be touching any other buildings. Fun Fact: 2 hours in the Greek sun is equal to a full day at the beach back home.

Ryan Zaki from Mykonos

Hey. It's Ryan Zaki posting from the island of Mykonos in Greece. I've been taking hundreds of pictures and thought I'd share a few. The pictures are of a pelican that is well-known by the locals of the island.
I apologize for the large photos, if you save them and view with Windows' default picture viewer, they should automatically scale down.
I also took a video of the pelican, but I'm unable to upload it via Youtube with this hotel's absurdly sluggish internet speed. I'll try to attach some more pictures (group shots) later.

En route to Mykonos June 19

Just talked to Erika. They're on board the cruise ship enjoying life. They are about 2 hours outstide of Mykonos where they will do a walking tour tomorrow, visit Paradise beach and then the Island of Delos. For a better look at Mykonos, visit the interactive map.

Text messages from Greer and Kendra

Learned info and fun facts provided by Greer and Kendra
Day 1. Learned: a nail in a tire does prevent take off. Fun Fact: Rear end (my word, theirs was a little more colloquial) goes numb after 2-4 hours depending on individual 'rear end.'
Day 2: Learned: apparently the flight is 11 hours. Fun Fact: nuclear physicists sit in coach and people of large frames still only sit in one seat.
Day 3: Learned: The euro is a worth .......a ton more than the dollar. Thank you economy. Fun fact: Greeks apparently still take baths.
Day 4: learned: Clapping in the center of the Greek theatres allows everyone to hear the same acoustics. Fun Fact: Greek kittens are the size of small dogs.
Day 5: Learned: Greek Olympians ............(wrestled naked). Fun Fact: Greek honeydew tastes like canteloupe.
Day 6: Learned: the largest suspension bridge in Europe is in Greece. Fun Fact: Tomatoes in eggs aren't good and apparently pirates in Greece originally hail (text stopped)

Greece post from Leyanne and Grace June 18

Hey,

This is LeAynne and Grace. We are here in Delphi just for the night. We are enjoying the trip so far. We just came back from shopping in the small town near the hotel. Grace bargained and so did the other people on the trip. It was a very exciting experience. So far we have visited a ton of museums and ruins. Its extremely hot, but a bit better than Virginia because it's more of a dry heat. We are going on a cruise through the islands in a few days. We are very excited about this part of the trip. The only bad part of the trip is on the first day when our flights got messed up. Everything was going good and we were on the plane about to leave when the pilot told us that we were going back. He said that there was a nail in the tire!!!! We had to rebook our other flight and stay a night in Atlanta. We all hate nails now!!

Delphi, Greece June 17

Just spoke to the group. They're enjoying the small town of Delphi today and will visit the ruins tomorrow. HOPEFULLY, they will reach an internet cafe today and I will post some blogs from them tomorrow or later today so please keep reading the blog.

For a great Google Earth look at the location of the students, please click on "Satellite" on the interactive map.

Greece June 16

8:54 EDT
I just spoke with Erika Peck. The kids are at Olympia today. Please don't forget to check the interactive map. It is very precise in tracking their locations from day one. I'll try to update it at least once a day.

Greece 2009 June 15 update

After a rough 24 hour start, the kids hit the ground running touring Athens and nearby Greek ruins. I've talked to them three times and presently they are on their way to the nice seaside village of Nauplia. Apparently the food is great especially the orange juice.

Please keep watching the blog as I hope to update it daily and also they should be posting their own blogs soon.

Elephants

We spent today riding and feeding elephants. The kids LOVED it. Sort of a slow day otherwise as we gear up for our flight to Phuket to board the dive boat. We will have limited access to internet after this. Most kids have emailed or called parents by now.

Also, I'm very sorry our interactive map has not been working. Apparently, there is a glitch in the software translating my gps coordinates to a decimal system. The tech guy assures me it will be working on Monday. Lets cross our fingers.

So far, trip has been fantastic. All the kids have been great. Parents and Cape Henry have a lot to be proud of in this fine group of young adults.

Laos/Thailand - School Built

We just arrived after two hard days of construction work on a school and another three days treking. So much to say, but here it is:

The students actually built a school. They mixed concrete, made the cinderblocks, and layed the blocks. We almost finished what turned out to be serious, hard work, but very rewarding. After staying three nights in relatively comfortable homes, we slept on floors with little mattresses, we treked up into the hmong tribal regions. Our first day was a challenge with leeches attacking from all directions. A few students had interesting leech locations! We arrived in a small village that had NEVER been visited by any white people, ever. Once again, Cape Henry leads the way. We were welcomed into their homes and given an elevated bamboo matt to sleep on. By far the roughest conditions we've ever experienced. The kids were great though. Real troopers. No complaints, no negativity. They rocked. The next day we treked over the ridges into another village and stayed in similar conditions. Twice we experience the Hmong baci ceremony and we're blessed with their animist shaman. This was really a cultural experience. Food was rough for some as rice was the mainstay. After three days of treking we made it back to luang prabang and civilization. Everyone is happy to be here and looking forward to riding elephants tomorrow.
Everyone made it out safe and sound.

We'll probably blog again tomorrow.

Trekking through Mong village

We arrived at Mong village, which has the most rustic living conditions I have ever seen. We are also the first Westerners to ever visit since the French army came through one day during World War II (remembered by one village elder). As a result, we've been objects of interest. The people followed us around, touching our clothes and hair. Instead of sleeping out in the open, we have been welcomed into their homes to sleep on the floor. All the kids are doing great! Stephanie will be adding the coordinates of our location to the interactive map sometime today.

First Leg into Bangkok

We arrived in Bangkok with all bags, took a 6 hour nap and hit the ground running. Today we visited the Grand Palace, Wat Pho, Wat Arun and the Teak Palace. The students loved the Tuk-Tuk rides around the city the most. Everyone is dragging but doing well. Rained for most of the morning so their new raincoats and boats got a workout. Everyone is doing fine and excited to head to Laos tomorrow. I've added our location to the interactive map so please keep watching our progress.

Nexus Google Interactive Map

Please make sure you visit the Interactive Map (link on both the blog and the Nexus page). You will be able to follow our exact GPS location throughout the whole trip. Try clicking on "hybrid" to see a more detailed google map.

Bangkok and Laos

We're on our way in two days: All students should be at the airport by 8:15AM at the Delta check in.
I will post blogs from Bangkok, Luang Prabang and Phuket

Welcome

Please check back on this site later in the spring when the Nexus trips start taking place. You will be able to hear first hand from the students and faculty who take part in this wonderful opportunity.