AAVE Trip BLOG » 2006 » August
August 28, 2006
Poem from AAVE Mom
Posted by Chris in : Peru & Machu Picchu , add a comment
A poem the mother of a PMP#2 camper wrote on the day her daughter, Melanie Kaplan, returned home …
Bienvenidos Mel Kap
Who trekked to sky city and back.
She hiked and she biked
Through canyons and land,
She rowed and she floated
Built chimneys by hand.
Made friends of all kinds
Cruised rivers and lakes,
Traveled the country
Doing whatever it takes.
Explored new cultures and cities
And expanded her zone
Mel left as a trooper,
And returned having grown.
8/13/06
Marina Baroff
August 17, 2006
Goodbye from Australia
Posted by Chris in : Australia , add a comment
Dan here saying thanks for a great time!
Everyone should be home by now and I can’t believe the trip is already over. This has been an incredible summer for me and I think that everyone had a great time. The group was amazing and was always open to new adventures. Their positive attitudes and teamwork helped make this a trip that we will all remember for the rest of our lives!
Thanks again,
Dan Zahn
Adventure & Culture with Summer Camp in Peru!
Posted by Chris in : Peru & Machu Picchu , add a comment
We are all safe and sound and back home after our adventures in Peru. It was an amazing trip for everyone and Tracy and I really enjoyed everyone and everything. Thanks so much to all the families who chose Peru this summer - it was a real pleasure leading such a great group in such a great country.
Thanks for a great time - we can’t believe our adventure is over!
Cheers!
Chris Howard & AAVE
chris@aave.com
August 15, 2006
Surf & Speak Spanish in Costa Rica Summer Camp!
Posted by hnwhelpley in : Costa Rica Clasica, General AAVE Trip BLOG , add a comment
Hello families and friends!
Our group is doing great! We have had a very busy couple of days! Just today we went mountain biking, swam in two waterfalls, went horse back riding and tubed down a river through class II and III rapids! What a great day! Yesterday we arrived here in Rincon de la Vieja National Park and relaxed at an eco-spa by treating our skin to mud baths from the volcanic mud in the area. We were suprised on the drive back to the hotel by a beautiful sunset falling over the hills. What a fabulous way to end the day!Â
Tomorrow we will hike in the National Park and get a chance to see the boiling sulfur and muc pits. Then we head back to the San Jose area to get ready for two days of white water rafting! This will definitely be a huge highlight of the trip! We’re near the capitol for the final three day of the trip, once again in homestays and completing an awesome community service project with the Humanitarian Foundation of Costa Rica.Â
Hope you’re all having a great summer!
Heather and Johnny
August 13, 2006
Teens Biking from Amsterdam to Paris
Posted by admin in : Bike Amsterdam Paris, General AAVE Trip BLOG , add a comment
Courtney Martin one of the BAP 2006 participants wrote this evaluation of the trip. We posted it because it gives a good perspective of what the trip was like. For 2007 we will be pacing the trip a little differently AND we do not anticipate temperatures in the 90’s as we experienced this year.
1. What was successful or unsuccessful about Bike Amsterdam/Paris?
Unsuccessful–
I realize this was a biking trip, & that we would primarily be well, biking which takes a lot of time, while seeing beautiful scenery along the way. Which it was and we did. However, I do wish we would have had more time to enjoy the sites. In particular, when we were in Amsterdam, due to time constraints, we had to choose to either visit the Van Gogh or the Anne Frank Museum. I was really interested in the latter, but after having AP art history my jr. year, I also wanted to visit van gogh. So I had to make quite the decision. Moving on, I loved Belgium; it’s such a magnificent country, so beautiful. I’m sure Maarten would agree 
Anywho. It would have been nice if we would of had more time there to explore; the same goes for Paris. More than anything, I desired to visit the Louvre, but with us only having a few hrs, I didn’t feel that that was adequate. I decided instead, to do some shopping to get some gifts for the familia.
Successful–
Crews. Such an awesome concept & effective when applied. Cooking, Camping, Leader of the Day, & Day Off–all of which we rotated through, each had their pros and cons. These jobs so to speak, kept us grounded and busy, fostered & strengthened our bonds with one another. Learning to prepare meals, to use the stoves, & to set up the “shelter” was great. Previous to this trip, I didnt know how to set up a tent. Sad, I know. But I’d never been camping before so I have an excuse. Now however, I’m pretty skilled if I do say so myself. & I can attribute all of my new found abilities to this trip. Oh, and lets see. Leader of the Day. I rather liked that. It felt as if I was truly involved in what we were doing the next day, where we were traveling to, our “destiny” as Marteen often called it, & what we would encounter along the way. I loved being informed, knowing which cities we would ride into, the dams we would cross, & so on. Seeing a sign and knowing, on your own, that you’re going the right way, not just following blindly, was cool I must say. Those nightly meetings were fantastic as well. Glows & Gripes–these allowed us to focus on & voice our opinions about the good & bad of the day. All in all, the crews specifically, gave me a greater appreciation for the comforts of home, & especially for all that my parents do.
2. Did you like the leaders; Maarten, Bonnie and Kequyen?
Maarten–fantastic leader. patient. great sense of humor.
Bonnie–kind. helpful. always positive w/ a smile on her face. encouraging.
Kequen–kept everyone in line. down-to-earth. amiable. easy to talk to.
They all seemed to complement each other. Perfect combination of leaders!
3. How was the food?
Wow. So I never imagined that we (the kids) would be cooking the meals. I was a wee bit apprehensive since my cooking at home consists of boiling water for ramen noodles or poppin’ a hot pocket in the microwave. So yeah. That was a new experience. When we were first told this, I thought the food was gonna be horrible; at the very least, I didn’t have high hopes for anything I would prepare. My group was the first cooking crew. Great. Good thing Gabe often cooked at home ’cause we would have be lost. My apprehensiveness was assuaged however when we received positive feedback on our cuisine. It was a success. In general, the food was always good, & we always had a variety. I liked how it was our job to create the menu; this allowed us to constantly have some type of input in what we ate.
4. Was the biking enjoyable? Too hard? Too easy?
It’s pretty cool that I’m able to say that I biked over 600k. So I definitely enjoyed the biking. We had some tough times as a group, but overall, I’d say that it was average as far as difficulty is concerned. On the days that we got lost, be it for whatever reason, it was a little strenuous seeing as how we’d often do double the said k(s). Of course, it was nothing we couldn’t handle; we persevered. & that’s what matters in the end. It was all good.
August 9, 2006
Down Under Camp
Posted by admin in : Australia, General AAVE Trip BLOG , 1 comment so far
Dan from Down Under,
What a week its been, surfing in Byron Bay was awesome. It rained on and off for a couple of days, but everyone kept a positive attitude and made the best of it.
An unfortunate thing that happened in Byron Bay was that two kids were sent home for smoking. The group has really come closer and I think everyone has learned a lot from the experience.
We are in the Blue Mountains right now north of Sydney and the gang completed a great solo hike in the morning. I met up with them after lunch and we all took a ride in an old rail car at the end of the hike. Tomorrow we head for Sydney! I was able to book us tickets for a concert at the Opera House. Everyone is excited, and I cant believe the trip is almost over.
Dan Zahn
August 7, 2006
Teen Camp Adventures to Machu Picchu
Posted by admin in : General AAVE Trip BLOG, Peru & Machu Picchu , add a comment
Hello, moms & dads!!
We arrived back in Cuzco safe and sound from our great adventure on the Inca Trail. Thanks to our strong and enthusiastic group of hikers - as well as our awesome guide, Adriel, and our incredible group of porters - we arrived in Machu Picchu for sunset on Day 3 instead of on Day 4! This meant we were able to camp at the most amazing remote campsites - far from the crowds - and enjoy Machu Picchu in solitude as the sun dropped. What an amazing sight! The hike itself was beautiful and included some really tough climbs over high mountain passes. Our group rocked and we were really strong and fast and we played a lot of games and had an amazing time with one another.
Also - our mountain biking in the Sacred Valley was amazing and even some of those who hadn´t mountain biked before really rocked the crazy descent after the delicious lunch - go Sean and Kate!!
Now we are getting ready to head to the Amazon tomorrow morning and enjoy the warmth of the jungle as well as our last few days together.
This time next week we will all be home with amazing tales to share!
Cheers!
Chris and the PMP2 Team
August 4, 2006
Spanish Language Adventure Camp
Posted by admin in : Espana Clasica, General AAVE Trip BLOG , 1 comment so far
Santander, August 4
Spain definitely brings the sun into our hearts. Starting off in the beautiful surroundings of Madrid/El Escorial, we already learned everything there is to know about the campsite way of living. The second highlight was the outstanding historical city of Salamanca. Wandering around, the 14th century architectural beauty and atmosphere absolutely amazed us.
Next stop on the AAVE-routemap was Picos de Europa. This high cool mountaineous region in northern Spain confronted us with a challenging outdoor setting for the first time. During a sunny hike in the mountians, some Spanish cows seemed to have a keen interest for AAVE-campers. This hike though was only an appetizer for what is still to come…
After a week of camping, a nice and cozy bed with a Spanish host families in Santander felt wonderful. Improving our Spanish speaking skills stood high on the agenda, communicating with the family members and taking Spanish classes in the morning. Theory and practice perfectly intertwined… Santander had even more to offer. A cultural visit to Santillana del Mar and surf classes at Somo beach gave this second week in Spain lots of extra flavour.
This trip has been awesome and very fullfilling up till now and there’s still lots of highlights to come: Bilbao, Barcelona, canyoning, rafting and hiking in the Pyrenees. We will keep in touch…
Hugs and kisses from the España Classica Trip leaders Katrijn De Marez, Jonas Scherrens and Daniel Diaz-Silva and 15 campers.
August 3, 2006
Costa Rica Beach Time!
Posted by hnwhelpley in : Costa Rica Clasica , add a comment
Hola from Costa Rica!
We are all doing great! We have been at the beach for the past four days and it hasn’t rained once! We started our beach days with a sunset sail and snorkel where we swam with beautiful tropical fish and took in an amazing sunset that created a rainbow of colors across the sky! Next, we learned to surf at Tamarindo–everyone rode at least a few waves, which is awesome for beginners! Yesterday we came to Ostional to volunteer with the sea turtles. Today we were helping with a beach clean-up and we saw baby turtles coming out of their nest and making their way to the ocean! It was absolutely phenomenal! I can’t believe our luck!
Hope everyone is doing well at home and enduring the heat we hear is all over the U.S. Talk to you soon!
Heather and Johnny
Snorkel & Surf on Costa Rica Summer Camp!
Posted by hnwhelpley in : Costa Rica Clasica, General AAVE Trip BLOG , add a comment
Hello everyone!
We left Monteverde yesterday and headed to Arenal, surviving a torrential downpour that, amazingly enough, cleared the clouds around the volcano and allowed us to see red hot lava flowing down the mountain last night. It was a National Geographic moment! We also enjoyed hotsprings, definitely a highlight of the trip so far, and hiked to a beautiful waterfall and swam in its pool. Tomorrow we are off to the beach and everyone is really excited to snorkel and surf! Hope that everyone is doing well at home!
 Heather and Johnny