Day 280

Roots and leaves - On the way back to camp.

Rain and more rain - everyone was excited for the Barn Climb, an old barn with about 10 different climbs set up in it, where everyone wears helmets and is hooked in at all times.  They were excited, if not to actually climb, then just to be indoors and out of the constant wetness.

Several boys became decidedly unenthusiastic when they saw what each climb entailed, and some actually managed to do no climbing at all, just helped their partners do the climbs.  The whole point of climbing is to challenge yourself, but it would seem this is not part of some kids' experience.  

Two children, a girl and a boy, made it to the very top climb, the cormorant's walk, and one boy did the hardest climb of all, although I forget what its name is.  But it involves traversing across very high beams on ropes and whatnot, ultra-scary!  I was very proud of all those who tested themselves.

In the afternoon the sun came out at last, and my spirits immediately lifted, flew up actually, so that I loved everyone again and the world was indeed a beautiful place!

We observed an exquisite rainbow, and everyone dashed to the water's edge to see it and exclaim.  Two girls stayed after everyone else had rushed off again, sitting alone, one above the other on the rocks, watching the beauty in silence, expanding their souls.

Each night I took ages and ages to fall asleep, partly because of the strangeness of sleeping on a thin little sleeping pad, in a sleeping-bag which restricts all your movements, in a hoodie so that I wouldn't get cold, and in a draughty old damp tent full of spiders.  But mostly I think, because we were all in bed by about 8.30pm, and my earliest bed-time is 11pm!  I was very glad of my group though, because other groups experienced many mishaps throughout the night, like children vomiting, or being homesick, so that the other teachers were quite exhausted by their broken sleep.  Whereas our group, even the crazy rambunctious kids, went straight to sleep as soon as Jane had read them a story.

And so we passed our last night at Chewonki.  It felt as though I had been gone for a long long time, I think because it is so utterly different from my usual life, you are completely cut off from the outside world, no radio, no cellphones, no internet.  And everything down to basics, digging a hole for your toilet, cooking over a fire, surviving with headlamps as the only light when the sun goes down.  Pretty strange.

Playing "Sharks and Minnows"

It is one of those experiences that you are glad about once it is over. Pretty amazing, actually.