Flying to Mombasa from chilly NYC and London, Suzzy and I were a little unprepared for the 90+ degree heat with 60% humidity. The electricity was off for 1.5 days so we baked for a bit in downtown Mombasa. Jacob, the program director, took us on a tour of his school in the poorer area of Mombasa. We also toured through the surrounding village and met many of the locals. It was great to play with the kids a bit. Suzzy taught them an 8 count dance. I drew in the sand with them. More details to follow...once we get some photo uploaded of the school and kids...
We managed to get a hike in on our first day in El Chalten: the Torre trail. We saw a pretty waterfall and a river running through a gorge that a glacier probably carved. At about the three-mile mark, I gave Catherine the backpack and ran ahead while Catherine walked back. I made it to a lagoon of glacier melt right below Mount Torre. I drank from the stream next to the trail a couple times. I've never been in a place where I can drink whatever water I see. I really like it. Running home, I came across a llama eating grass with no other llamas or owners in sight. I tiptoed around it (didn't know whether it would buck like a horse or spit on me) and continued running. Half a kilometer later, I came upon two men leading three llamas. "There's a llama back there," I said. "Oh my gosh!" responded one. "Is it far?" "Yeah, about half a kilometer," I said, laughing. I couldn't believe that the two men were in such an auto-pil...
I saw three shows on Sunday: In The Heights, West Side Story, and Next to Normal. In The Heights matinee let out during West Side Story's intermission, so I joined my parents for the second half of West Side Story, and then we saw Next to Normal in the evening. All musicals. In The Heights My sister really liked this one but I only kind of liked it. I found the "Piragua" singer the strongest. I liked the musical Spring Awakening better. West Side Story I like this revival. This version has a lot more Spanish than the original. Entire conversations and many parts of songs are in Spanish. The lead woman, Maria, is from Argentina, so she sounds authentic to me. I'll go see this again. Next to Normal I liked one song in this musical (Superboy and the Invisible Girl) and I enjoyed watching the cellist (part of the on-stage band) rock out as she played. Other than those highlights, I didn't care for the show. It's about a housewife who becomes mentally ill...