Day of Illumination

This morning, we slept in.  Everyone agreed it was much needed!  At 10:30 AM, we set out some breakfast items and snacks for the kids to eat.

At 11, the students delivered their Puerto Rico presentations in the lobby.  They all did a really nice job! 

The bus took us to Luquillo Beach.  We stopped at a restaurant for another bite at the Kioscos de Luquillo. The food was excellent!  There was mofongo and arepas. 

After eating, we headed back to the bus to visit the beach.We arrived at the beach and walked down to the water.  As we were walking, we saw beautiful palm trees and other tropical plants.  At the beach, the students spend a couple of hours playing in the water and sand.  While there was a little bit of cloud cover, the scenery at Luquillo was very beautiful.

Around 5:30 PM, we boarded our bus to head to the Bioluminescent Bay (Bio Bay) tour with Glass Bottom PR.  They have that name because their kayaks have glass bottoms to more easily see the luminescent effect.  We had a short drive through beautiful buildings and mountains. 

To get to the Bio Bay, we had to kayak there.  Two people would be in one kayak.  We were told it was best to row together and taught how to move our kayak around.  We were also told that we could not bring anything with us, including phones, as this was a protected area.  Instead, they would take photos of us and put it on their Facebook page.  Once the guides finished their instructions, we took a group photo.

Pair by pair, we each got into a kayak.  Kayaking was not as easy as it looked!  Many of us ran into each other or turned too much.  Eventually, however, all of us got the hang of it.  We were taken around some boats in the bay to a small canal.  The area was surrounded by mangrove trees with huge roots!  This made our path very narrow, so we often ran into the trees.  Were were told to try to keep a single file line, but it was difficult, as we were moving against the current.  Our guides often had to yell out instructions and even take our kayak's along with theirs to get us through.  They were really funny, though, and helpful.

Another interesting aspect was that the tour was at night.  This was the only way to see the bio-luminescence.  So, moving through the narrow canal with almost no light made it even more challenging.  After about a half of a mile, we made it out into the protected bay area.  Our guides put our boats into a line and explained what we were about to see.

Our guide explained that the micro-organisms and jelly fish in the bay produce a luminescent light as a defensive mechanism.  The micro-organisms are incredibly small, such that they can't be seen with the naked eye, individually.  What they do is gather together to produce a large light effect, to make themselves look bigger.  While this seems like a strange defense, it allows other micro-organisms to get away.  They put themselves in danger to protect the others!  How brave!

Next, our guides covered all of our boats with a tarp to eliminate as much light as possible.  The darker it is, the easier it is to see the luminescent effect.  With the tarp over us, we put our hands into the water and moved them around.  This disturbed the micro-organisms, and so they began to glow!  As you moved your hand around, the water sparkled a light blue.  It was amazing.  Some of the students were even able to grab a glowing jelly fish!  They do not sting, and are extremely light to the touch.

After 20 or 30 minutes, we made our way back through the canal.  We were all better at kayaking by this point, and so the return trip was much easier.  We made it back to the bay opening and got out of the water for some snacks before getting back onto our bus.  As our day was over, our bus headed back to the hotel.

By the time we got back, it was really late.  We ordered some pizza for a quick, late dinner, and then went to bed.  Tomorrow, we are headed to the city of Ponce!

School Day!

Today, the teachers prepared breakfast for the students at 7:50.  We grabbed some yogurt, fruit and snacks for the day, and headed to our tour bus.  We were traveling to visit the Santiago Iglesias Pantin High School in Ceiba, Puerto Rico.

It was about a 45-minute drive to the school.  On the way, we could see the El Yunque Rainforest in the distance.  Like much of the trip, we were greeted with beautiful scenery.  

When we arrived, the students of the Santiago Iglesias school were getting off of their buses.  You could tell they were excited and anxious to see students from a different school, and our students felt the same.

We were greeted by administrators, teachers and a couple of students when we arrived.  They escorted us to a lounge area to provide us with some information about the school and snacks.  We were told that the students wear different colored shirts, depending on their grade level.  However, much like us, it is near the end of their school year.  As such, there were many students who had dressed down.

We visited the library.  Inside, we saw their books and some student projects.  The projects were models of building in Puerto Rico!

As a matter of fact, the entire school had a relaxed atmosphere!  Many students had completed testing or final projects.  There were a lot of activities that reminded us of the end of the school year at FLA.  There were other similarities, too.  Like us, they have a 50 minute class period.  There is a similar curriculum to ours and the staff used Edmodo in their classrooms!

There were a lot of differences, of course, as well.  For one, the basketball court was outdoors, only it had a large, metal tent structure covering it.  The building itself was a lot more open, too, with courtyards and walkways outdoors.  Could you imagine having a palm tree in a courtyard in the middle of FLA?!

We visited several classrooms, including ELA, special education and business.  All of the classes were taught in Spanish, with the exception of ELA.  The students we encountered were very friendly.  One student even sang for us! 

The special education room was designed like an apartment, to help students with special needs learn how to complete tasks many of us take for granted.

We visited the basketball court and took a wonderful group picture on the bleachers.

 Then, the students played basketball with the Santiago Iglesias students.  They played much better than us!  Next to the court was the trailer for the engineering and mechanical classes.  We went inside, where a teacher spoke to us about what they do, the skills they learn, and how it can be useful later in life.  It was really cool to see an auto shop at a school!

We were invited for lunch in the cafeteria of the school. We had bean, rice, beef, milk and juice. Very typical lunch in Puerto Rico but a lot different than FLA!

The students continued to play sports and meet with Santiago Iglesias students.  They played soccer, basketball, volleyball, and socialized.  They had a lot of fun!  They keep asking to go back but it's not on our itinerary! Maybe next year!!

Finally we headed back for the hotel for some pool time!  The students changed and headed for the pool, where they played for a couple of hours.  Some of us wanted a break from water and relaxed in the sun, instead. 

In the evening, we changed, and headed to Mi Casita for dinner.  The food, as usual, was delicious!

After dinner we went back to the hotel and began working on our presentations and journal writing. We have done a lot and we stopped to reflect and write in our notebooks about everything we have done so far.

And tomorrow brings us a new adventure at Lujillo and Bio Bay (plus we get to sleep in!!)

History Comes Alive!

We met in the lobby at 7:45 AM to go to breakfast.  We ate at a place called Mi Casita.  There was waffles, pancakes, french toast and eggs.  When finished, we waited for our tour bus to take us to Old San Juan.

When we got on the bus, our tour guide provided some information about the day's events and the history behind what we were going to see.  Our first stop was the Puerto Rico Capitol Building.

At the capitol, we got off of our bus and took pictures of the statue of Saint John the Baptist, the namesake of San Juan.  Around the north side of the building, there was artwork with the official symbols of Puerto Rico's cities.  We finished taking pictures and headed into the capitol building.

We were greeted by a tour guide inside the building who explained the history behind what we were seeing.  In the first floor main hall, there was a circular, enclosed glass case containing the Puerto Rico Constitution.  The building was made entirely of marble and all of the architecture was extremely beautiful!  The main hall was surrounded by carvings of the history of Puerto Rico, including murals of Christopher Columbus and the Spanish-American War.

Upstairs, we were shown statues of former Puerto Rican government officials, including Santiago Iglesias, whom the school we will visit tomorrow is named after.  We were then taken into the Puerto Rico legislative chamber.

-Inside the chamber, the tour guide explained Puerto Rican politics and information about the government.  We were allowed to ask questions and really learned a lot! We wanted to ask if Jean Paul could sit in the chairs since he is our Student Council President, but you have to be 21 to be a congressman in Puerto Rico so we figured he will have to wait! Did you know that Puerto Ricans are US citizens but they can't vote for President? Politics in Puerto Rico is interesting but very complicated!!

-, we left the capitol building and headed out to the south side of the building.  Located there were statues of U.S. Presidents who have made an important impact on Puerto Rico.  There was even a statue of President Obama! 

Next, we left for Castillo San Cristobal, a fortress built by the Spanish during the colonial period.

We watched a shore film which explained the history of the fort, why it was built and how it was used.  The Spanish built the fort after conquering the area and defended it from the English, Dutch and French who were enemies of the Spanish.  Later, the fort was commandeered by the U.S. and used for strategic purposes during World War II.

Our tour guide took us from the theater out into the fort.  We traveled to the top of the fort to look around the area.  There were beautiful views all around!  We went into a tunnel that was used by soldiers to move into different positions.  There was a dungeon with centuries old graffiti inside!  We exited into a courtyard where soldiers stayed and trained.  There was a barracks with old uniforms and equipment for us to look at.  We also saw garrisons on the corners of the fort, which were used by soldiers to stand watch.  We were surrounded by so much history and it was a lot to take in!

The rest of the day we spent shopping, swimming, eating and relaxing. Some of us had a small adventure at the grocery store....

It was an exciting day of history! And we're making our own history every day! We can't believe half of our trip is over already. It's been amazing and we're enjoying every minute if it!

Island Hopping!

We woke up early this morning for our tour of Culebra Island.  At 6:15 AM, the students met in our lobby for breakfast and snacks.  We hopped on our tour bus and headed for the Culebra ferry.

When we arrived at the ferry station, we waited in line and took pictures of the docks.  Our boat left shortly after we boarded and we were greeted with plenty of sunshine!

The boat ride was about an hour.  The scenery was absolutely stunning.  We were surrounded by islands and blue skies.  While some students were feeling a little nauseous from sea sicknesses, all of them handled it great.

When we arrived at Culebra, we boarded a bus to Flamenco beach.  At the beach, there were shops with snacks and drinks.  We stopped for a quick bite and to use the restrooms.  Some of the students had empanadas and pina coladas.  A short walk later, we were at the water.

The beach was fabulous!  The sand was a beautiful white, and felt wonderful to walk on.  The water was a crystal-clear, light blue.  We played in the water for an hour or two and enjoyed the sun!

When we left, we boarded our bus and headed to Tamarindo Beach for some snorkeling.  A tour guide equipped us with life vests, snorkels, goggles, and flippers.  He explained how to have the best snorkeling experience and told us a little about the beach.  

We were instructed to swim about 200 yards out to a buoy.  We had to be careful of getting too close to shallow areas to protect the local coral and sea urchins.  Mr. Palmer led the students out to the buoy, where they snorkeled along the way.  In the water, we saw all kinds of sea life, including turtles!  The schools of fish and the coral were breath taking. Harry took this awesome video of a sea turtle that come right towards him! It's a little hard to see at first, but wait for it!!!

We played for about an hour before returning to our tour bus.  We headed back to the ferry station to return to Puerto Rico.  It took a while for the ferry to arrive, and of course, it was another hour back.  Many of the students (and the teachers) slept on the way.  The island and the sun had taken its toll on all of us!

We returned to Puerto Rico and boarded our tour bus to grab some dinner.  We were taken to a place called Meson Sandwiches for sandwiches, fried, salads and drinks.  There was a Baskin Robbins in the restaurant, as well, so we grabbed some dessert.

It was 9:00 PM by the time we got back to our hotel.  After instructions on tomorrow's activities, it was time for bed.  Everyone was exhausted!  When it was all said and done, however, it was a wonderful day!!