Doc Wood

Greenstone and Kayaking and Who the heck is Queen Charlotte? We left Franz Josef and headed north to the town of Hokitika, known as the Greenstone (Jade) capital of the country. Indeed, there were at least 15 stores plus a couple of street vendors selling jade jewelry of all sorts. More interesting to us was the wool sock store where the woman running it actually makes the socks on old style one person looms. She was operating the cash register today and we had a great talk about her work. From their we went on to Punakaiki and the first stop was the Pancake Rocks. An incredible set of rock formations on the edge of the ocean that look like stacks of grey pancakes (limestone). Along with the rocks were blowholes and natural bridges where the ... read more

Fish, Farms, and Fjords (and rest stop Colin) Another great two days in this country. We left Gore and drove to Milford Sound in Fiordlands. On the way stopped in the lakefront town of Te Anau for lunch as it had begun to rain, or pour, actually. But by the time we had finished a meal, bought some groceries, and nosed around town the sky was starting to break. So we hit the road for Milford, on the way stopping to hike at the Mirror Lakes, Lake Marion Falls, Humbolt Falls, Gunn's Camp, The Chasm, and Tutoko River. It had rained some 2" so the falls were in full force. On Friday morning we took a nature cruise on the Milford Sound. We were filled in on hanging valleys, glaciers, seals, corals, etc. The sound is ... read more

On the Road OK, let's start with an admission. What I did not tell you about day one is that at the end of a very long day (the excuses start) and not really understanding how the gas pumps work (as in, any of the pumps work no matter which fuel selection you make, another excuse) I did mange to put 14 liters of diesel fuel into the tank of our gas powered little van. When I realized my mistake I fortunately did not start the van. Rather, the very friendly and helpful owner of the station (he regaled me with the story of the last guy who did this--it was his second time in a row) helped us push the van into the lot. The next morning the local fix it guy, Dave, showed up ... read more

We are sitting in the Santiago, Chile airport looking at the snow caped Andes and waiting for the plane to Houston. And trying to think about how to wrap up this trip in words. Our final day began at Finca Garciarena with a great breakfast including local fruits and home made pastries. Then we were notified that indeed Pablo had arranged a tour for us at the Museum of the Disappeared. We made our way to the metro police station where about half of the building was now given over to a tribute to the 600+ individuals that we "disappeared" from Mendoza alone during the late 1970s and early 80s. There were 10,000 dissents who vanished from Argentina during this period, with thousands more surviving when the junta was finally driven from office. (By the way, ... read more

We have now spent a week at the DAD school in Mendoza, and the time has flown by. Each day we have been treated like rock stars, the kids want to know about our lives and homes and practice their English on us and laugh at my feeble attempts at Spanish. In the end I think we will be able to work out a 'sister-school' relationship that includes the possibility of student exchanges and of teachers working with students virtually across the continents. Each day brought a new opportunity. Tuesday was our welcome day, as mentioned in the first entry of this trip. On Wednesday the staff took us on a city tour of Mendoza. Then it was back to school for lunch, served to us by the cook, Valeria, who would serenade us in English ... read more