El Rio Grande: Camping with a few hundred boys

Camping Trip with the Boys

The week before Easter- called La Semana Santa, or Holy Week here, is a week where almost noone works and its dedicated to remember Jesus and everything that led up to his death and resurrection. Obviously the kids are off school, and during the whole week, we have alot of masses or group gatherings in the church. One thing they also do is all go camping, boys and girls seperate. I went with the boys because I work with the boys. We got out of school at 12 on the Friday before Palm Sunday, the 14th of March. We all loaded into 3 buses with tents and blankets and all that kinda stuff. We drove about an hour and half to 2 hours away to this little school out in the middle of nowhere and set up camp in the front yard of the school. It seemed kinda random place- but i think they do it there because its close to the Rio Grande, or big river, and the school lets us camp there. After setting up camp, we went to swim, which is what this trip is all about, swimming in the Rio Grande. We brought food from the ranch and cooked there. There was an outhouse (aka wooden posts surrounded by cloth with a hole in a wooden platform to sit on and go to the bathroom, which smelled worse than any outhouse I have ever been in in my life) but I think most kids went to the bathroom in the river. So, basically the weekend consisted of alot of swimming and playing and being in a different place away from the ranch. The tiny town surrounding the school knows we come every year, and the ranch always gives the families extra food and things. the kids make friends with the town kids and alot of them even went to one house that had a TV and watched a soccer game. It was alot of fun, and Sunday we headed home around 11am. We got back in enough time to shower and get ready for Palm Sunday Mass, at 2pm with the girls. After the mass, the girls all left to go camping. It was fun and here are some pictures.

More to come on the rest of Holy Week: Good Friday and Easter Sunday activities on the ranch.

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