Grenadines 2016 – Friendship Camp is Rockin’ and Volcano Hike
The Group celebrating life on top of La Soufrière Volcano after a wet and arduous hike
Dear Global Routes families and friends:
Hello from Lauders!
This message is coming to you at the conclusion of day seven of this year’s Friendship Camp at the Lauders Playing Field. This portion of our journey together is the most challenging as well as the most rewarding. These days are full of hard work, with a great deal of personal growth and a sense of accomplishment following.
Top of the volcano (doesn’t that lake look like a face?)
This group of LIAs has been working their tails off planning and executing full days of fun for the children and teens of this community in which we are living, and are having a blast (albeit an exhausting blast) doing it! Every day after four hours of running, chasing, drawing, painting, laughing, singing, you name it… They come home and plan the next day’s activities (after a shower and rest, of course). At home they belong to work groups and pitch in every day to cook, clean, and keep each other healthy and on time. We are truly living together as a tight knit community who pull together as a team to take care of each other and run the best camp we can!
Camp Planning in action, look at that focus!
When we’re not at camp we are relaxing, reflecting, and exploring this wonderful island. This weekend we took a trip to climb the tallest peak on Saint Vincent, the volcano La Soufrière. It was a fairly short but challenging hike up, and everyone in the group would strongly agree that the gorgeous views from the top were more than worth it. That hike, a couple trips to different beautiful beaches, some local walks around our lovely community, and plenty of fried chicken are definitely instilling in all of us a great love for and appreciation of this island.
After the conclusion of camp, we’ll head to the island of Bequia for some well-earned relaxation and tourist fun. It’s hard to believe that we’ll be on our way back to New Hampshire in just over a week, but we’re on island time so we still have plenty of time!
Sincerely,
Ali and Max
LIA Blurbs:
Elijah: I’m having so much fun. The camp is really tiring, but very rewarding. We went hiking up a beautiful volcano and yesterday we took a trip to a beach with crystal clear waters.
Olivia: This week we climbed the volcano and got to stand in the middle of a cloud. Week two of camp is going great. We have two days left until Bequia. Miss you, I’m having a great time!
Marybeth: We’ve all been having a great time working at the camp. The kids have so much energy we can barely keep up. I love spending time with the people of Lauders.
Lauren: Well, it’s finally happened… They’ve started to eat one another. We ran over the food budget on day two. We started the trip with 16… Now there are 10… for several reasons. Could be Stockholm Syndrome, but it’s a good time.
Food Art!
Alex A.: Hey everyone, in the last few days I climbed a volcano, wrangled numerous small children, and bought a cake-pan shaped like a guitar. We feed and pet the local puppies and it’s really fun. We play loud hip hop on the way back from scenic beaches and scream political ideologies/phrases at each other in weird voices. The trip is going great!
Ari: I’ve been having a great time in Lauders. The kids at the camp are a little crazy, but it’s fun. Climbing the volcano was super tiring, but we all made it and the view at the top was amazing. I’m really excited to go to Bequia.
Blair: It just occurred to me last night that I’ve been with the same people for the past two weeks. The fact that I hadn’t thought about that until now is a good sign.
Anna: I am doing well, I am having a great time. I made it to the top of a volcano and it was amazing. It was very cold and windy up there. It rained on the way down. We also went to the beach and that was fun. Camp is almost over and we will be on our way to Bequia. I am excited.
Nora: Camp is almost over, we have two days left, then we are going to Bequia. We climbed La Soufrière and looked into the middle of the volcano. It was so cool! But it was windy and it rained a lot on the way down. See you in two weeks!
Ben: There are many people on this island. I enjoy friendship. Have a great time!
Alex V.: I have been having the most wonderful time running a summer camp in Lauders with my peers. All the children are a delight to be around, for each and every one is teeming with the effervescence and abundance of energy that is characteristic of youth. The youngest children, especially, make being a counselor all the more enjoyable. Although I am filled with pathos at the thought of leaving the children of Lauders, I can’t wait to go to Bequia for the final part of our trip.
My: For the past two weeks these incredible kids taught me a lot about myself. The kids put a smile on my face every time but there are times that really annoy me. They made me realize a lot about my inner self. Life is awesome in the Grenadines. I love this place, but I hate the bugs. Before I fly back home, my goal is to learn how to swim. This trip has brought out my fear of water to a whole new level.
Charlotte: On Saturday we hiked a volcano! It was beautiful; and well worth the hike. Once we got to the summit, we realized there was a higher peak that wasn’t too far away. Me and a few other people hiked up it. Max stayed behind with the rest of the group. Hiking the few extra hundred feet was probably the coolest thing I’ve ever done. Camp is going really well. Some kids are getting a little too comfortable and testing us. I had to pry an umbrella out of a little girl’s hand. But, it’s really good training. I wanna apologize to some of my nannies for being the worst kid ever, because I now know how they felt when I was being a butt face.
Next time you hear from us we’ll be in lovely Bequia!!
Peace, Love, and Chow from the Caribbean!!
