Pictures!!

Follow this link for our travel pictures on Flickr - there are a couple of sets that we finally uploaded. Let us know what you think.

Pictures on Flickr

Hello from Antigua

Hi everybody! This is Madeleine. Sorry I haven't posted for so long. I will start where I left off before. Boquete was really nice. We went to a flower show and at our hotel a toucan kept on flying into the dining room. We were going to stay longer, but Dad's computer crashed. That meant we had to leave early for Alajuela (a city near San Jose in Costa Rica) so he could get it fixed. We took two bus rides to get there, ten hours in all. At the bus station, someone was selling tons of cute little chicks for 75 cents each. In Alajuela we went to a butterfly farm where they raise butterflies to sell to live butterfly exhibits all around the world. The butterfly exhibit in Philadelphia has butterflies from this place. It was interesting, but in the end they gave a long and reeeaally wierd speech about finding your inner butterfly. We also went to the top of the Poas Volcano. The crater was huge and smoking. The sulfur SMELLED when the wind blew the smoke cloud toward us. I would like to say that we had alot of traditional Costa Rican food, but we mostly ate at a Tex-Mex place. We got to fly from Costa Rica to Guatemala in first class. We got comfy seats and cushions, our own mini-TVs where we could watch free movies, and a whole meal that looked fancy and actually tasted good. We are now staying in the city of Antigua in Guatemela. In Mom's words, it is a charming colonial city with cobblestone streets and many ruined churches and monasteries. We have spent alot of our time here touring them. There was one with an underground room that had an amazing echo. We have also gone to the Antigua market. There are lots of beautiful Mayan products like huipiles, but also lots of fruit, dvd's, confetti, and underwear. We have had to be careful about what we eat and drink here because certain foods and tap water can give you diarrhea. It's kind of annoying. I hope I will be posting again soon, but I don't know if we will have WiFi in the places we are going to next.

Goodbye!

Boquete

Hi everybody!
We've just arrived in Boquete. It is a small town in the Panamanian mountains. Our last few days in Bocas del Toro were alot busier than our first. On Friday we took a trip to Red Frog Beach. Our boat ride out was awesome. We had to go through an area of water with tons of waves and the boat flew into the air when ever it hit one. Oddly, none of the adults enjoyed the ride. Red Frog Beach gets its name from the little red frogs that live there. We went searching for some, but the only ones we found were four that had been caught by local kids, and we had to pay 25 cents per person just to look at them. (When Valerie saw them she immediately said "They're cute, I want one". In the middle of our beach trip it started to rain and we all had to get under the roof off a restaurant. (It was closed because the cook was missing.) When the rain didn't show signs of stopping we decided we should go. We had to hike across the island to catch a boat in the pouring rain. We had to stop at the main island to get groceries, but by the time we got there we were all WET. We finally got our groceries and thought that we had a nice 15 minute boat ride before being warm and dry in our villa. We were soooooo wrong. Just as we got on the boat it started pouring buckets and the fog was so bad we couldn't see much out of the boat. Our boat driver got lost and for a while we weren't sure if he knew where the island was at all. We finally arrived back at the island soaked through and shivering fifty minutes after we left the main town.

The next day we spent at home, recovering from the last one. We spent most of it homeschooling. Dad, Andrea, and I went snorkeling and found hundreds of sea urchins.

On Sunday, we went on a trip to Starfish Beach. On the way we passed a group of five wild dolphins which was really cool. We also stopped by a place called Bird Island because of the many birds there. (Whoever named the island must be very creative with names). I have to say I liked it even though I don't normally like bird watching. Starfish Beach had an amazing amount of starfish (as you can guess by the name). I had no idea their could be so many types of starfish. After that we took a boat out to a spot in the water where we could snorkel off the boat. There was a beautiful reef there. It looked exactly like the ones you see in movies. I saw rainbow fish, coral of every color, and some things that I don't know what they are. After that we went to the main town to get supplies. Dad left my clothes on the boat (I was wearing my swimsuit at the time) so I had to walk through the town wrapped in the towel.

Monday, we took a tour of our island's cacao plantation. It actually was more of a forest covered with cacao trees. There were tons of wierd trees like one that had things that felt exactly like needles covoring it. The leafcutter ants were also really amazing. There were pathways that looked like the trails you take hikes on, but thinner. It turns out they were made entirely by leafcutter ants walking over that strip of ground thousands of times. We saw a hill that looked normal, but if you looked closely you could see that it was all one giant anthill. We got to try cacao beans grown there. You could taste a sort of chocolate flavor, but it didn't really taste good.

Today we got up, packed, and took a 4 hour ride in a cramped van to a city called David where we caught a cramped school bus 45 minutes to Boquete. There we caught 2 cabs to Villa Marita where we are staying. There is an amazing view and our rooms are alright.

That's all (this has been a long entry) I'll try to keep posting.
Goodbye!

Hello from Panama!

Hi everybody, this is Madeleine. Sorry it took so long to post.
Right now we are on a small island off of Panama. We are staying at Starfish Villa with my Grandma Alicia, Aunt Andrea, Cousin Valerie, and Uncle Malcolm. We spend most mornings (and some afternoons and nights) homeschooling, and spend the rest of the day relaxing. There is great weather and amazing snorkeling. (I saw a two foot long starfish, almost ran into a jellyfish, and have seen tons of other colorful fish.) I am sort of hesitant to get in because on the boat ride here we passed a lot of small buildings with pipes leading into the water that looked suspiciously like outhouses. Overall it's really nice here except for the chitras which are mosquito-like bugs that love to eat us alive.

Before this we were in Florida with my Grandpa and Grandma. We got to go to a powerplant where at least eighty wild manatees were swimming around! We also got to see this guy play an organ that not only played muic but controlled lights and other instruments around the room!

We should be staying here in Panama for the next week before leaving for Costa Rica, then to Guatemala (probably).
I will try to start posting more so keep on checking, and please comment.
Bye

Last Europe Post

Hi everybody! This is Madeleine. We are back at home now, but I will tell you about our last five days of traveling.

We took a ferry from Naxos to Athens, and the next day we went to Delphi. It was really neat to see all the ruins and where the oracle made her prophesies. Sadly, around half the site was closed because of a rock fall so we couldn't go up next to the Temple of Apollo, the theater, or the stadium. The same day we went to a small Greek mountain town. It was really strange, because it was 80 degrees in October, but alot of people ski there in the winter.

The next day we spent in Athens. First we wandered around the city and saw the Temple of Zeus (though all that was left was columns), the Roman Agora, and some Greek Orthodox churches. The afternoon we spent at the Acropolis and the new Acropolis museum. It was a long climb to the top of the Acropolis, but it was worth it. It was really wierd to see the Parthenon after seeing pictures of it for so long. We also saw the caryatids (columns shaped like women).

On our last day in Athens we saw Syntagma Square (the main government center of the city). We also saw changing of the guards in front of the parliament building. The guards have very odd costumes (with pompoms) and a strange march. Then we saw the Agora, the ancient central market/business place where all of the famous philosophers hung out. Our last stop was the National Museum of Archeology where most of the Greek artifiacts are placed. We saw a famous bronze statue of either Zeus or Poseidon (they are not sure which) that they found under the sea. We also saw Agamemnon's death mask.

Our trip home was TERRIBLE. We started at 9:30 AM Athens time and got home at 9:30 PM the next night (Athens time). That is 36 hours of traveling. We had to catch a flight from Athens to London, London to Shannon (where we spent the night on freezing metal chairs in the airport), Shannon to Dublin, and finally Dublin to Philly.

Our next big trip should start in the middle of January, and I will start posting again then. I might post about some of our shorter trips around the US before then. Until then, bye.

Greetings from the Greek Isles

Colin's Blog Entry

Howdy Folks!

This is Colin.

I'd like to tell you about what we did

Day 1: We went to our hotel, it had a restaurant and a swimming pool. It was cool. One of the restaurant workers's son Dimitiris, a common name in Greece, grabbed toy trucks and threw them in to the swimming pool. We met a kid from Canada. His name was Peter.

Day 2: We went into town called Fira we saw small cable cars and people on donkeys. We also went swimming at the Black Sand Beach. Peter showed us fish.

Day 3: We went to the Red Sand Beach. I ran ahead onto the beach before anyone else got their except for Madeleine who was chasing after me. We met Peter and went out looking for fish.

Day 4: We went to a boring museum then we took the ferry boat to Naxos. In the ferry line Dad met someone he knew.

Day 5: We drove up the hills of Naxos . I led Madeleine down these stairs in the mountains. On the way up I was out of breath. Then we went to the beach. Dad thought we didn't need snorkels because we had goggles. I got out really early because there were no fish or waves and it was boring.

Day 6: In the middle of the night I woke up from my horrible nightmare and it was 5 am in the night. We went back into Naxos town and walked around and had lunch, of course, I had my pizza Margherita. Then we went to a new beach and saw lots of huge fish. One was as big as my whole hand! On our way back we got Magnums - ice cream cones with vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup. When we got back to our hotel we ran into two cats. At night while we were writing in our journals we spotted a cat outside. We went out and petted it and fed it tuna - then the other cat came along and we did the same. Then, while we were inside, a new cat came along but we stayed inside and they stayed on our porch.

Greetings from Colin. I hope you have enjoyed my blog and tomorrow we will be in Athens.

Madeleine's comments.

Santorini:

The first thing I would like to make clear is that the whole island of Santorini is an active volcano and that we rode a boat into its crater. From Fira we got some amazing views of Santorini ( and some donkeys).The buildings in Greece are really all white. The museum was not boring - it was filled with artifacts from the last time Santorini erupted when the Minoans were still powerful. The beaches were actually black and red with fish swimming in the water which was pretty amazing. We have been trying Greek cuisine especially Spanakopita.

Naxos:

Our first day here we drove to a cute little mountain town called Apernathos. All the streets and sidewalks were made of marble. Those "steps" that Colin and I went down were actually a long trail on which Colin made us go way farther than we should have. We spent the rest of the day on the beach. At first we did think that the beach was boring, but today we found a spot filled with fish. We also explored Naxos town and got to look at an old Venetian castle. We got to see this giant arch to an ancient Greek temple (only the arch and floor are left), and the remains of a temple to Dionysus.

That's all for now.

Hello from Santorini

Hi everybody! I'm going to tell you about the past week (and a bit).

Day One: Today we went to Siena. It's really neat because there are many neighborhoods which each have their own flag, symbol, church, and fountain. They all compete against each other in the Pallio on the Campo (a big center square). We got to walk around the Campo and spent a long time at a fountain there. The fountain had wolves with water spurting from their mouths. Pigeons like to sit on the wolves' snouts and stick their heads in the wolves mouths to drink.

Day Two: Today we drove to Massa Lubrense (a small town near Sorrento). We stopped at a small hill town called Orvieto. It was cute and had a view but not much else. Apparently, Massa Lubrense is home to the Sirens who lured Ulysses.

Day Three: Today was Colin's birthday. To celebrate, we went to Pompeii. It was really neat, because it was really well preserved. You could walk into the houses and still see frescoes and mosaics. We then went to Naples (the home of pizza) for Colin's birthday pizza. You could watch them make it, and it was really good. We then got him a giant gelato before heading home for presents.

Day Four: Today we drove the Amalfi Coast. We got a breathtaking view of the Mediterranean and the coast. It was also kind of scary because you are driving along a winding road on the side of a cliff. We stopped to go to the beach at a town called Positano. The water was incredibly clear and there were fish swimming around you.

Day Five: Today we drove from Massa Lubrense to Rome. We tried to get up to the top of Mt. Vesuvius but found it virtually impossible.

Day Six: We started off the day at the Colosseum. Only the skeleton of the building is left (the seats, marble, steps, and iron bars were all taken away), but it was still amazing. We saw the Roman forum. It was covered with the ruins of temples and government buildings. We got to see the place where Julius Caesar was cremated. We walked to Trevi Fountain which is a GIGANTIC fountain with a statue of the water god. We climbed the Spanish Steps before heading back to our apartment.

Day Seven: Today we went to Vatican City. We walked to the Vatican Museum and got to see the Sistine Chapel. Next we went to St. Peter's Cathedral. It really is huge. We saw one of the Cardinals doing some kind of ceremony in there, and he was surrounded by the Swiss Guards. We went up to the top of the dome where you could see Rome stretching out below you. It was 1,100 steps in all. Then we wandered around Rome for a few hours. It was our last day in Italy.

Day Eight: Today we flew to Santorini. We spent most of the day flying. There is a black sand beach a few minutes from our hotel, the first I've seen.

More later...