http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/GSE-Dry-lands-to-Islands/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from GSE Dry lands to Islands en-us Fri, 01 Jan 2010 17:44:30 +0000 Fri, 01 Jan 2010 17:44:30 +0000 It seem as if June 1st was just the other day and now we are packing our bags to return home in the morning. The past 30 days have been beyond believable We have met wonderful new friends in Cayman New Providence Nassau Abaco and Turks Caicos. Today was our final day in the Caribbean but the memories of our 30day tour will last a lifetime. The memories of our time together will fore http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Turks-and-Caicos/Providenciales/blog-293366.html I think that I can safely say that we arrived home with mixed emotions. Although we are glad to be home and see our families we will truly miss our time together as a GSE team and the awesome time that we spent with our Rotarian hosts in Cayman Nassau Abaco and Provo. As of June 1st Mark Mishay Wendy Katie and I became a family and for better or worse would have to see each other and deal http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Arizona/Phoenix/blog-294600.html From WendyHello AllI have arrived safe and sound back to my home at Grand Canyon and am almost finished unpacking. I want to take a moment to say thank you to all who were involved in planning and making this trip possible. What an amazing experience we had I especially want to say THANK YOU to all my hosts. The kindness and open welcome I recieved while staying with each of you was amazin http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Arizona/Grand-Canyon-National-Park/blog-294557.html Katie checking in for one last blog Hello All I hope there are still folks checking out the blog. We all made it back to Arizona last night. It was a long day of traveling why does it always seem to take longer getting home than getting there with us arriving in phoenix around 7pm our time last night. We had a great welcoming party thanks to Marks family for greeting us and welcoming us ba http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Arizona/Phoenix/blog-294123.html heres some pics from our time on the GSE experience Hope you enjoy Wish I could add some picks of TCI but I dont have them off my camera yet I will post once at home so keep checking. http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Turks-and-Caicos/Providenciales/blog-292617.html From Katie Hello All Had a few minutes to spare and thought to bring you all up to speed. We have had an exciting few days in TCI Turks and Caicos Islands. Since arriving we have presented at all the Rotary meetings in the country We had a chance to meet and present at the Rotaract Club dynamic group travel to Grand Turks for a tour visit to museum and then a meeting with their Rotary Clu http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Turks-and-Caicos/Providenciales/blog-292613.html Wendy Katie checking in As sad as we were to end our time on Abaco Turks Caicos welcomed us in grand style. We arrived on the beautiful island of Providenciales Provo to the locals and we were picked up at the airport and taken to the West Bay Club for our two day break to recharge our batteries for our last week of this life changing experience. We spent most of our break chatting and http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Turks-and-Caicos/Providenciales/blog-291254.html Who knew that such a wonderful treasure was hidden right here on earth I had never heard of Abaco prior to coming to the Bahamas and I am pleasantly surprised and awestruck at the natural beauty of this island. The Abaconian Rotarians showed us a wonderful time in Marsh Harbour and took us on mini adventures to Treasure Cay pronounced Key Green Turtle Cay and Elbow CayHope Town. The phot http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Bahamas/Abaco/blog-290163.html Mishay's ReflectionsWhat an awesome opportunity I have enjoyed fellowship with Rotarians in Cayman Islands New Providence and now Abaco. Our hosts have afforded me the opportunity to experience their fabulous cuisine rich culture religious worship and schools in the Islands. I promise you the sights that tourists access do not begin to compare to being immersed in the culture and exper http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Bahamas/Abaco/blog-289408.html Cynthia's Comments We are halfway through this awesome adventure and have met some wonderful people along the way. Attached to this blog are some photos of our new friends that have helped to make this experience extra special for our team. Thus far we've been to the Cayman Islands and Nassau Bahamas and are now experiencing life in Marsh Harbour on the island of Abaco in the Bahamas. Each l http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Bahamas/Abaco/blog-288657.html Hello All We have arrived in the beautiful island of Abaco. We had an early morning met at the airport at 5am still dark and i am sure our hosts were happy to go home and back to bed. Sad to say goodbye to Nassau and our host families but excited for our next destination. Yesterday we ended our stay at Nassau at the Straw Market on Bay street was fun shopping I think we have gained 40lbs si http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Bahamas/Abaco/blog-288495.html from Katie Hello All Wishing you all a Happy Fathers Day thinking of you Mom and Todd I hope all my family and friends in the Midwest are safe during this time of flooding and tornados. You all are making the news down here It rained here today as well but it was needed and enjoyed. I have been staying with Tony and Claire Howorth they have been wonderful hosts and treating me like fami http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Bahamas/Nassau/Bahamas/blog-287777.html Hello all I need to correct my entry from yesterday. I stated that we arrived on New Province and it is New Providence island. We are having another great day on our trip. To begin with we toured the Harold Wilson's Pond National Park and then went to the Bahamas National Trust headquarters for a brief tour of one of the largest collections of palm tree varieties in the world. Then we were http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Bahamas/Nassau/blog-287015.html We arrived on the island of New Province home to Nassau on Tuesday evening and were taken to our host homes to settle in and get some sleep. Our next day started late giving us a chance to visit with our hosts for the morning and then we presented at a lunch meeting and progressed on to tour Greycliffs wine cellar. Theirs is the largest privately owned collection in the world with one bottle fr http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Bahamas/Nassau/blog-286743.html From Katie WOWWhen they say GSE is a once in a lifetime experience they are not kidding there is no way i could tell you all evertyting I have had the opportunity to do i would be writing for hours....days So just want to list some of the things we have been doing went to turtle farms dancing swimming in the sea out to the breakers dancing eatting local foods cassava cake turtle http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Cayman-Islands/Grand-Cayman/blog-285060.html An entry from Wendy.Hello again. We have been having a phenominal trip thus far. All of us have had at least 3 vocational days and now we are enjoying some of the island's recreation. Some of us have swam in the Carribean Sea and others have relaxed on the beach. We have been so very fortunate to have such a dedicated host as our guide. Carl Brown has been driving us around each day and en http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Cayman-Islands/Grand-Cayman/blog-284915.html From KatieWOW what a great day it was our first vocational day and we started out great I was lucky enough to be able to ride along with Kenita a Social Worker with the Department of Children and Family Services. She took me on visits to the womens prison a girls group home supported by Rotary and a home for Older residents. We talked nonstop surprise as I asked her questions about the http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Cayman-Islands/Grand-Cayman/blog-283482.html What a phenominal dayIt was full of amazing food fantastic sites terrific company and much laughter. Tomorrow is our first vocational day and it will be a full one. Cynthia will be spending the next three days with GISGovernment Informational Services Mishay will be shadowing someone from the District of Education Katie will spend Tuesday and Wednesday with the Dept. of Children and Fam http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Cayman-Islands/Grand-Cayman/blog-283129.html Our team members rose in separate homes on the big island of Grand Cayman. Katie Cynthia stayed together at the home of the Cayman Islands' national hero Ms. Sybil McLaughlin the first female Speaker of the House for all British territories in the the British Commonwealth. This was put into perspective when our host Carl said that Ms. Sybil was one of the first female speakers anywhere in th http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/blog-282968.html Close your eyes and imagine the applause of the ocean waves welcoming our arrival to Grand Cayman We have witness some hidden secrets of Grand Cayman known only to the natives. After 12 hours of travel we landed on Grand Cayman and were greeted by our hosts for this leg of our journey. Mark. Mishay and Wendy are enjoying accomodations within walking distance of the shore.. Imagine rising t http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Cayman-Islands/Grand-Cayman/blog-282734.html