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I am writing to you all sitting in the lamp light of our
beautiful big yurt. We have just returned from a trip to Marlow,
the new Kroka land. The fire is crackling as cooks prepare
dinner and others are getting ready for our rafting trip tomorrow.
These past days we were working on the lodge-moving project
in Marlow, and it was delightful to see the new location of
Kroka. The atmosphere is very different there, as open fields
and an arching sky meet your eyes instead of close trees.
We started our lodge moving process on Tuesday and by Wednesday
the lodge was fully loaded on the trailer and we were ready
to set off to Marlow. The trip to Marlow was very exciting
as we journeyed independently on our bicycles. The ride was
long from Newfane, but it felt smooth, especially because
the hills were not too treacherous. We had a joyous break
when we reached the Connecticut. After a very refreshing swim
in the chilly water, we sat together to share 1 pt of Ben
and Jerry’s ice cream. It was a real treat and our thoughts
were nostalgic as we remembered junk food and other civilized
things from the past, As we neared our destination and headed
out of the Connecticut River Valley, the hills grew and began
to roll upwards. I think this is when we started to feel exhaustion,
but also we were beginning to embrace the burning sensation
in our legs, as the growing of muscles! Eventually we arrived
in the late afternoon sun of Marlow and there we had a huge
and filling supper prepared by Misha and Lynne.
A man called Juny Esslinger came to teach us about the night
sky and it was fascinating to learn stories of the constellations
over our heads. The moon was particularly bright and gave
an eerie glow as it shone through the mist that enfolded the
field we were in. We used a telescope to get a closer view
of the moon, and we could see the amazing rocky texture of
the moon. We were also able to look at a close up of Jupiter,
and we could see it’s three moons.
We awoke late the next morning to the heat of the sun on
the still dewy field with breakfast already made by our wonderful
teachers. We continued our lodge rebuilding process and piece
by piece we created a beautiful shelter from a pile of logs
and strings. After the completion of the lodge we visited
the Badger Company in Gilsum. We were invited to a delicious
meal, with many varieties of food and yummy cookies. We also
had a tour of their production building, and we saw their
huge vats of olive oil, and their shipping building. It was
interesting to see how a business runs, especially after hearing
from the founder, Bill, about his inspiration and dreams for
Badger as an organic and ecological company. Before we left
we were presented with specially formulated bug spray and
sunscreen to protect us from the sun of the mountains and
the bugs of the jungle.
Many of our families visited us for an over night this weekend.
We all did different things with our parents. Those families
could not come were treated for dinner by the Del Rio family.
I had a wonderful time with my mum, brother, and three of
my best friends who all came to visit me. We went out for
ice cream and I enjoyed large amounts of sweetness, possibly
for the last time before leaving civilization for the next
couple of months.
As most of you know we are leaving for Ecuador on Thursday.
We will fly from Boston to Texas, and then on to Quito. So
hopefully your next update will come from the mountains of
Ecuador!
To mail letters to us or to call us here is the contact info
for Ecuador:
Michael Dammer/(name of person you wish to mail to)
PO Box 1716232
Quito, Ecuador
Phone # on Farm in Palugo (near Quito): (593) 2 2380209
Michael’s cell #: (593) 9 3587028
Michael’s e-mail: michadammer@yahoo.com
 This
week’s fashion tip originates from our trip to Badger
where we wore these out-fits to keep the production rooms
clean. As you can see they look absolutely dashing, we will
expect modeling agencies to be contacting us soon, after this
successful photo shoot. So remember to keep your booties and
hairnets after visiting Badger, just in case you need to look
as great as they do.
On Wednesday evening Juny came to Marlow to spend the evening
looking at the stars with us. Juny started out by giving us
star charts and teaching us how to understand and use them.
We spent the rest of the evening looking at the constellations
and looking at various stars and planets through a telescope.
Juny also spent some time talking about how the stars will
appear in Ecuador and ended the evening with a short class
on optics and the telescope.
Instead of using expensive tractors use a friendly horse that only needs a
field and a stream. Tractors need expensive harmful gas or
diesel which is in short supply. Horses are a lot more friendly
and efficient!
On Saturday a plethora of nutritiously delectable meals appeared,
prepared and cooked by our parents therefore the recipe of
the week is “Enjoy leftovers”. Thanks again, parents!!!!!!!
Use solar energy! It is worth investing in. Since solar electricity
doesn’t need to travel very far, a lot less is lost
due to friction and heat.
Just 17 seconds of the sun’s energy, if captured, could
provide the world with a whole day’s worth of energy.
There is plenty of sun therefore we should take advantage
of this efficient way of harnessing harmless energy.
 Hola
a todos los padres. Este fin de semana, ustedes vinieron a
Kroka para visitar sus hijos. Los hijos están mejor
en español que cuando llegaron y cuando vuelvan de
Ecuador estarán casi fluidos. Si te quieres comunicar
con tu hijo, puedes aprender español también.
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