Mount Werong campground, Yerranderie and Wombeyan Caves

We decided to camp in a remote area of the Blue Mountains National Park, to visit two very interesting spots,  Yerranderie and Wombeyan Caves. The final push came from Frances, she invited us to a gathering in her home in Bowral with Rafael, a Spaniard that was visiting Sydney and that we didn't have any opportunity to meet. This was finally a big party with lots of Frances' friends. We planned everything to reach Mount Werong Campground by 6 pm, with time to set up the tent before sunset. Eva, Eladio and Eira were going to be waiting for us in the campground.
From Bowral, we drove west to Wombeyan Caves through Bullio, the shortest drive.



The route was lovely, but, unexpectedly, the last 40 km were unsealed. In fact, some areas were not very easy, with lots of washouts, corrugations, rubble, and blind curves, and driving, in many places, very close to the cliff. Fantastic views, enjoyable trip, and lots of adrenaline.

Crossing Wollondilly River

Our 4WD behaved very well, but we reached Wombeyan Caves later than expected... and the difficult part was ahead!
When we planned our trip, we decided to reach Mt Werong campground through a fire trail and other mountain trails: almost 36 km of 4WD driving. I couldn't find much info about this route, and we weren't sure how easy or difficult it was going to be (Google Maps couldn't map this route).
After a few km in a nice sealed road, we got into a flat wide dirt road, and, we commenced the unknown part of the trip. We turned right into Langs road, and left into the Range Fire Trail Road in our way up to Colong Stock Route (from 600 m at Wombeyan to 1200 m at the camp).

It was a good ride, with a fair amount broad-base rolling dips. I didn't realised how big these dips can be and we had a few hard jumps (lesson learned). This road was better and easier than expected and we arrived to the campground on time, greeted by our friends.

Range Fire Trail Road

The campground has a few buildings (only for emergencies), 2 covered picnic tables, rainwater tank, fire pits, a pit toilet, a few other buildings and some information panels. After the usual complains setting up the tent, we got organised for dinner and bed.

Breakfast

On the 2nd day, after a smoky breakfast, we traveled to Yerranderie, using the Colong Stock Route. A sensational route that crossed different types of forest. In some areas the road is very narrow (luckily we didn't meet anybody in these areas) with ruts and floodways.

Wallaby on the Colong Stock Route

Colong Stock Route

After almost 50 km, Yerranderie: an old mining town, once the home of 2000 people, and now a ghost town. There are ruins and photos of the good old days, and a few walking tracks to visit what is left from the old mines, and the Yerranderie peak.

Yerranderie

Yerranderie Silver Mines Hotel, 1st building (top), reconstruction after the fire (bottom)

We didn't have time to climb to the peak, but we visited the Silver Peak Mine and the Bartlett’s Shaft No 6, and the buildings in the Ghost Town (after paying a fee to NSW NPWS).

Yerranderie Ghost Town

Goana

Yerranderie Ghost Town

Silver Peak Mine

We could have stayed longer, but after visiting the cemetery it was time to drive back.

Kangaroos on the road

Camping at Mt Werong Campground

Although we had plans for a good dinner, the rain changed our agenda. With no BBQ, we cooked in our Trangia hamburgers for all. With the rain still falling, we walked to the tent to find out that we had important leaks on our section. This is an almost 6 year-old tent, and probably it was the right time to fail (two of the poles are already damaged, and there are a few other issues). It took a while to get the rain out of the way (moving the inner tent to separate it from the flysheet, tighten the guy ropes,...) before getting into the sleeping bag. And at 2 am, a bite on my forehead woke me up... I removed a fleshy thing... a leech!! After a few minutes, with our headlights and mobiles, we found it and removed it from the tent. Stopping the bleeding took longer (such a good anticoagulant)... We couldn't find any other and there were no holes in the tent, and we conclude that  it got attached to my clothes when I was fixing the tent. Fortunately, I could get back to sleep soon.

On the 3rd day, I had to drive to Oberon to refuel. We forgot to do it in Bowral (there is an Spanish proverb that translates as "Who falls short in the head must be long in the heels"... or wheels in this case). At 7 am, the drive was superb. Easy road, full with wildlife until we got close to Oberon. On our way back, Victoria used a timelapse app to film part of the way. Almost no animals this time, but one of the two kangaroos we saw in our way, jumped in front of the car. No damages and a good movie sequence.

Everybody was quite slow this morning, and we changed plans. We decided to walk the Ruby Creek Mine Track, that starts at the campground and follows Ruby Creek to the old mine, close to a big 50 m waterfall (that we couldn't reach). Mt Werong was another mining area, home of 70 miners in 1935, and the place were the largest recorded diamond in NSW was found.

Ruby Creek Mine Track

The walk was very nice and the views from the lookout at the Mine site were breathtaking.

Views from Ruby Creek Mine

We wanted to go into the creek, but access was difficult (and all these signs about open mine shafts weren't very reassuring).

For our way back, the kids decided to use the road tracks and the Colong Stock Route. We found a couple of dead wombats by the road (the only wombats we saw in our trip), and we tried to find the noisy crickets (or we thought they were crickets) that were filling the evening.

Again another storm, that almost canceled our BBQ dinner, but we were happy waiting (no access to weather forecast) with a few beers and drinks until the rain stopped. We got back the blue skies and the heat. This is NSW weather.

The area got dry soon while we were cooking our steaks. Great fun for the evening that finished with burned marshmallows.

"Burning" marshmallows (not very Spanish)

We had a sunset walk, the opportunity to see more animals was worth the try, but we weren't lucky, only the random wallaby.

After an good night sleep, we woke everybody early to pack and leave for Wombeyan Caves. We were concerned as our friends had a 2WD SUV. Slowly we drove down the 36 km to the Caves (and we filmed the whole drive with our GoPro). The trip was uneventful and we reached the caves in time for the guided tour of the Wollondilly Cave. Before this, we walked the self-guided Fig Tree Cave. The Wollondilly cave is as impressive (or more impressive) that the Jenolan caves we visited last year. We had a great time with a very friendly guide.

Fig Tree Cave

Victoria's Arch at Fig Tree Cave

Wollondilly cave

Wollondilly cave - very steep steps, and narrow corridors. Great fun for everybody

Wollondilly cave

Wollondilly cave

Wollondilly cave

In the evening, we played with the idea of using the sealed roads (280 km) instead of the unsealed route (180 km) that we already knew to go back to Sydney. The decision was to drive back the unsealed road. It was better this time, but still not an easy drive. We were amazed with the number of 2WD we crossed and overtook. We can perfectly imagine how hard the drive would have been for them.

This was an excellent adventure that we are happy to repeat in the future.

Wentworth Falls

On Saturday 15^th of December, 23 Spaniards ventured into the Blue Mountains National Park. We walked the National Pass track, (which starts at Wentworth Falls and ends in Conservation Hut) in 2 hours, plus other countless hours at the waterfalls for swimming and eating.

 The day was pleasant, light grey mist drizzled on the foggy blue mountains of Sydney. The weather was perfect, that feeling of not too hot, and not too cold, that 0 degree weather.

We began our descent, through a narrow, nicely crafted trail. Every so often we’d stop by a lookout, absorbing the breathtaking views. After a while of walking, we came across many, many steep, rock steps. Our group trudged the stone staircase, our knees aching with the pressure placed on them, though the cliff-side views were worth the pain.

Finally, the first step of the majestic Wentworth Falls came into view, once there, we settled to eat and to enjoy a freezing swim.

The water was ice-cold, but still many of us took an extremely gratifying swim in the cool, fresh water of the falls. The waterfall itself pelted down with incredible force, and those who had the courage to stand under it, suffered a violent pelting of water, that somehow was rather nice and relaxing, like a massage on your back.

Once lunch was over, we started our trek slowly uphill, leading back to humanity. Past cliffs thriving in lush vegetation, watching white cockatoos soaring high above the ground, their coos echoing across the blue valley, we ventured. Halfway, we came across another waterfall that finished in a deep waterhole, and stopped to observe a group of adventurers abseiling down the running water.

The excursion ended at a café, where all of us, tired and with crimson faces, got to rest and catch our breath.

Only two families were left once we bid farewell to the rest, and we decided to explore the little town of Leura.
Leura is a cute mountain village with a main street swarming with enchanting stores. We inspected the shops and marvelled at objects before picking up the traditional “With the Lot” Aussie burger and headed to Leura Waterfalls picnic area, where we enjoyed our delicious meals.

Lastly, we departed towards the Three Sisters, took panoramic photos and explored the great valley with binoculars.

As we drove back home, the sunset burned in oranges, while a rainbow streaked in the opposite direction. And that’s how we ended our trip, as we travelled back into Sydney, to the city life.

 A group of fantastic people.

Un grupo de gente fantástica

 The blue mountains.

Las montañas azules.

 Endless views.
Vistas infinitas. 

Impressive look out.

Mirador impresionante.

The long stairs.

Las largas escaleras.

 The waterfalls. Victoria and mum at the bottom.

Las cascadas. Victoria y mamá en la base.

 Victoria's massage.

El masaje de Victoria.

 All having fun under the natural shower!!

Todos pasándolo genial bajo la ducha natural!!

Lush forest.

Bosque exuberante.

 More walking...

Seguimos andando...

 A beautiful excursion.

Una excursión preciosa.

Abseiling people.

Gente bajando la catarata.

 Bored men while women shopping. Very considered people in Leura with special designs seats for them...

Hombres aburridos mientras las mujeres compran. Gente muy considerada la de Leura que tienen bancos especialmente diseñados para ellos...

No Photoshop here, they really are blue...

Foto no retocada, realmente son azules...

 The 3 sisters.

Las 3 hermanas.

 Sunset from the car on our way back home.

Puesta de sol desde el coche en marcha, de vuelta a casa.

El sábado 15 de diciembre, 23 españoles se aventuraron en el Parque Nacional de las Montañas Azules. Caminamos por el sendero del “National Pass” (que comienza en las cataratas de Wentworth y finaliza en el “Conservation Hut”) durante dos horas, más otras incontables horas en las cataratas bañándonos y comiendo.

El día fue placentero, una ligera neblina gris cubría las nubladas montañas azules de Sidney. El clima era perfecto, ni frío ni calor, cero grados.

Comenzamos nuestro descenso, a través de un sendero estrecho preciosamente trazado. Cada tanto nos parábamos en un mirador, absorbiendo las vistas que quitaban el aliento. Después de caminar un rato, nos encontramos con muchos, muchos peldaños esculpidos en la roca. Nuestro grupo caminó trabajosamente las escaleras de piedra, nuestras rodillas dolían por la presión sobre ellas, pero las vistas del acantilado hacían que el dolor mereciera la pena.

Finalmente, la primera parte de las majestuosas Cataratas de Wentworth se hizo visible. Una vez allí, nos instalamos para comer y disfrutar de un baño helado.

El agua estaba congelada, pero aun así muchos de nosotros nos dimos un gratificante baño en las frescas aguas de las cataratas. La catarata caía con una increíble fuerza y aquellos que tuvimos el coraje de ponernos debajo sufrimos ese violento chorro de agua, que de alguna forma era bastante agradable y relajante, como un masaje en la espalda.

Cuando acabamos el almuerzo, comenzamos nuestro lento camino montaña arriba, que nos conducía a la humanidad. Para allá íbamos, pasando acantilados cuajados de vegetación exuberante, observando cacatúas blancas volando altas sobre el suelo, con sus chillidos haciendo eco a lo largo del valle.

A mitad de camino, encontramos otra catarata que terminaba en una poza de agua profunda y nos paramos a observar un grupo de aventureros descendiendo por la catarata.

La excursión terminó en un café, donde todos nosotros, cansados y con las caras rojas, descansamos y tomamos aliento.

Sólo dos familias quedaron tras las despedidas y decidimos explorar el pequeño pueblo de Leura.

Leura es una pueblo de montaña muy cuco con una calle principal cuajada de tiendas encantadoras. Miramos las tiendas y nos maravillamos de los objetos antes de coger una hamburguesa tradicional australiana “con todo” y nos fuimos al merendero de las  Cataratas de Leura, donde disfrutamos de nuestras deliciosas comidas.

Finalmente, nos fuimos hacia las Tres Hermanas, tomamos fotos panorámicas y exploramos el gran valle con prismáticos.

Conforme conducíamos a casa, el atardecer ardía en naranjas, mientras que un arco iris brillaba en la dirección opuesta. Y así terminamos la excursión, regresando a Sidney, a nuestra vida urbana.

¿Somos australianos?

Probablemente ya estamos muy asentado en esta tierra... tanto que nuestra vida cotidiana es... vida cotidiana, y las cosas australianas nos parecen todas muy "normales". Seguimos viajando (en Australia, en España y en el Pacifico), haciendo excursiones en el "australian bush", no paramos de descubrir nuevos paisajes (parece que no acaban nunca), hacemos nuevos amigos (emigrantes y visitantes), cocinamos paellas para los amigos (una nueva afición), las niñas siguen creciendo, trabajamos mucho, y seguimos teniendo nuevos planes vitales. Ademas, ahora participamos en un par de grupos en Facebook: Familias Españolas en Sydney y Españoles en Sydney. Todo hace que no dediquemos nada de tiempo al blog y el blog va envejeciendo. La información que podéis encontrar aquí va haciéndose día a día menos relevante (ademas en Australia las leyes cambian bastante).
Aun así sabemos que nuestra historia ha ayudado a algunas personas y creemos que puede servir como estimulante a otras familias que decidan emigrar fuera de España. Por ello conservaremos el blog y la dirección de correo electrónico... pero no esperéis grandes actualizaciones, quizás algunas pequeñas ahora que nos hemos descargado la aplicación para iPhone.
Suerte en vuestra búsqueda. Recordad que no solo la meta es importante, hay que disfrutar el camino. 

Flint and Steel Bay (6/8/11) Bahía de Flint y Steel

Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, again. Next destination: Flint and Steel Bay. It was a sunny day with good weather and a light sea breeze, we made our way down to the beach through the lush, green forest. Upon arrival, we were overwhelmed and slightly jealous at the other people that had come prepared for a dip in the sparkling waters of the bay.
We enjoyed a delicious lunch on the rocks with the other 3 families, and soon the fourth one arrived. There, in the middle of an enormous national park, in a beach that barely any people had ever heard of, we were pretty much having a massive spanish catchup.
The kids were wildly running around the sand, screaming playfully as the waves tickled their bare feet as I walked around slowly smiling and stopping sometimes and sitting on a log or something. It was pretty much a relaxing time for all of us (apart from the kids who never relax because they're always too hyperactive, but you get the point).

Of course, dad doesn't do light excursions, there's always a twist to an easy walk in the bush. Now we were walking through the part where normal people don't venture into; but we're Spanish. The group clambered through the rocks at the side of the small sea cliff where the waves lashed enthusiastically. When there was no possible way of getting up across an abnormally large rock, I (as I was at the front of the group) decided to find a route through the foliage, then the adventure started.
The first two people, Rodrigo and I, encountered a bull ant nest, who decided to bite us for disturbing their Saturday. Following the girly screaming from both of us, the rest of the group decided to embark on a new route that didn't intersect the ant nest. Afterwards, I unfortunately decided to lean my arm against a strong looking branch poking out of the dirt wall at my shoulder height, to find out it was a larvae nest of some sort. I then learnt to never lean on branches poking out of the dirt at my shoulder height ever again.

The excursion got a whole lot more interesting when we decided that we were lost, because the path ended and there was only a few rocks ahead of us, two meters below, and there was no path to our left, and to our right was the navy blue ocean. A light followed, and the decision was to lower ourselves to the little rocks sitting on top of the small ocean entrance into the cliff face. All of us tiptoed through with care not to slip onto the water. I have a fast pace, and soon I could look back 400 meters and still see some members of the group lowering themselves from our original path. Minutes after that, they weren't visible, of course, this was a small cliff we were walking at the bottom of, and it twisted often. One of the adults caught up with Rodrigo, Marina and I and he told us he had found a track that lead back up to the car park. We slowly and heavily dragged ourselves uphill, tired, thirsty and sweaty. After approximately 15 minutes we had arrived at our destination, the intersection of the beach trail, and the car park trail. We waited in silence with the odd sentence every now and then, waiting for another 15 minutes; then I called mum.Here it gets funny, they had missed the hidden entrance of the passage we had taken, and had kept on walking until they had reached the next beach, where there was a sign saying "Car Park" and a sign pointing at somewhere but apparently there was no visible path, so they had to retrace their footsteps until they found our passage up.

Seeing we were waterless, having finished all of our water, we were getting rather impatient. My phone kept us entertained for a while, then we started talking. Another 15minutes and they arrived, in three different groups. We had a good laugh about it, then kept glowingly walking the short way to our cars.

The arrival back to known territory was celebrated with smiles and a lot of water (which we drank). It was an enjoyable day altogether, and like dad had said, "unforgettable".


View of the beach that we arrived at after the first part of the walk.

Vista de la playa a la que llegamos tras el primer trayecto del camino.

Group photo of the four of the five families.

Foto de grupo de cuatro de las cinco familias.

The small cliff face; struggling to get through the bushes.

El pequeño acantilado; luchando para atravesar la maleza.

One of the exhilarating moments of the excursion.

Uno de los momentos peliagudos de la excursión.

Sunset seen on the tiring walk up.

Puesta de sol vista en nuestra agotadora subida.

Relaxing image of a boat at sundown.

Imagen relajante de un velero al anochecer.


El parque nacional de Ku-ring-gai Chase, de nuevo. El siguiente destino: la bahía de Flint y Steel. Era un día soleado con buen tiempo y una suave brisa marina, descendimos hacia la playa a través del bosque denso y verde. Al llegar, nos quedamos alucinados y algo celosos de otra gente que había venido preparada para un bañito en las brillantes aguas de la bahía.
Disfrutamos un delicioso almuerzo sobre las rocas con otras 3 familias, y enseguida llegó la cuarta que faltaba. Allí, en el medio de un enorme parque nacional, en una playa de la que apenas ha oído hablar la gente, estábamos esencialmente haciendo una masiva puesta al día.
Los niños corrían salvajemente en la arena, chillando alegremente mientras las olas les hacían cosquillas en sus pies desnudos mientras yo andaba despacio, sonriendo y parando a veces o sentándome en un tronco o haciendo cualquier cosa. Era un tiempo para relajarnos todos (sin contar a los niños que nunca se relajan porque están siempre demasiado hiperactivos, ya me entendéis).

Por supuesto, a mi padre no le gustan las excursiones ligeras, siempre hay algo detrás de una excursión fácil al campo. De pronto nos encontramos andando en una zona donde la gente normal no se aventura; pero nosotros somos españoles. El grupo escaló a través de las rocas del pequeño acantilado al lado del mar donde las olas chocaban entusiásticamente. Cuando no hubo posibilidad de continuar a través de una roca anormalmente grande, y (como iba al frente del grupo) decidí encontrar una ruta a través del follaje, entonces la aventura comenzó.
Las dos primeras personas, Rodrigo y yo, encontramos un nido de hormigas toro, que decidieron picarnos por molestarles en su sábado. Como consecuencia de los gritos histéricos de ambos, el resto del grupo decidió embarcarse por una ruta nueva que no cruzara el nido de hormigas. Después, desafortunadamente decidí apoyar mi brazo contra una rama de aspecto fuerte que salía de la pared de tierra a la altura de mi hombro, para después darme cuenta que era el nido de no sé qué tipo de larvas. Entonces aprendí que no debo de apoyarme en ramas que salgan de paredes a la altura de mi hombro nunca más.

La excursión se hizo mucho más interesante cuando nos dimos cuenta de que estábamos perdidos, porque el camino se terminaba y sólo había unas pocas rocas enfrente de nosotros, dos metros más abajo, y no había camino a nuestra izquierda y a nuestra derecha estaba el océano azul marino. Discutimos un momento, y decidimos descender a las pequeñas rocas situadas sobre la pequeña entrada de océano en la cara del acantilado. Todos cruzamos de puntillas con cuidado de no escurrirnos en el agua. Yo ando deprisa y pronto pude mirar hacia atrás y como a unos 400 metros todavía pude ver algunos miembros del grupo bajando desde el camino original. Minutos más tarde ya no eran visibles, por supuesto, el pequeño acantilado por cuya zona inferior estábamos andando giraba con frecuencia. Uno de los adultos nos alcanzó a Rodrigo, Marina y a mí y nos dijo que había encontrado un camino que nos llevaría al parking. Despacio y pesadamente nos arrastramos montaña arriba, cansados, sedientos y sudorosos. Después de aproximadamente 15 minutos llegamos a nuestro destino, la intersección del camino de la playa y el camino del parking. Esperamos 15 minutos en silencio con una frase suelta de vez en cuando. Entonces llamé a mamá. Aquí la cosa se vuelve graciosa, el resto del grupo con el que ella venía había despistado la entrada del pasaje que nosotros habíamos tomado y habían seguido andando hasta que encontraron la siguiente playa donde había un cartel diciendo "Parking" y una flecha apuntando a algún sitio pero al parecer no se veía ningún camino, así que tuvieron que retroceder hasta encontrar nuestro camino de vuelta.

Viendo que estábamos sin agua, habiéndonosla terminado toda, nos íbamos poniendo bastante impacientes. Mi teléfono nos tuvo entretenidos durante un rato, entonces comenzamos a hablar. Pasaron otros 15 minutos y llegaron los que faltaban, en tres diferentes grupos. Nos reímos bastante de eso, después seguimos andando tan ufanos el corto recorrido hasta nuestros coches.

El regreso a territorio conocido se celebró con sonrisas y mogollón de agua (que nos bebimos). En conjunto, fue un día estupendo, y como mi padre dijo, "inolvidable".

The Wonders of Lost India (Part 1). Las Maravillas de La India Perdida (Parte 1)

You'll never guess…


I'm back from India.

It's weird to say that it's kind of a spiritual lesson to just learn how the backyard of the world really is; and I can't bring myself to explaining the physical and emotional changes around here. It's hard, that's pretty much it.

This place is a continuous contrast of life, one second you're breaking your heart watching people living their ordinary life in slums, of filth and unhygienic shelters they call home; and the next your enjoying a ride on a swiftly rocking boat to an island where you get lost in the beauty of the unbroken peace.
Why is it fair some get to have a luxurious life relaxing in glamorous hotels while others work every day, for 16 hours? Goodness knows, but someone needs to help out, many try, but it's not enough. Why are we so selfish? I wish…

* * *



Mum and I arrived at 5:30 am on a Sunday, to the Ankur Children's Home, in Mumbai after a pretty long and pressured voyage in planes with two different stops, just the two of us. And ahead lied the unknown of a place we knew of from picturesque pictures off magazines, only if we knew.

So we woke up about 10 am that same day, and met the girls. The Home consists of 8 sweet, dedicated nuns who nurse more than 200 girls. Mum and I's luck was extraordinary, thanks to a close friend of hers we had a safe homestead for our fifteen days in the strange miracle of India, for a new approach to a lifestyle completely different to ours.

Next day, we spent the day with another NGO: Smiles of Mumbai. They took us out to a slum, and we sat in the preschool they had set up there, watching newly arrived, crying kids of poverty. After walking out the door, our eyes were struck by a girl doing her necessities in the street on a newspaper and leaving it there to stay, for these kids were never taught hygiene. Further on, Smiles of Mumbai took us out to a school they had built in a different, faraway slum. Once arrival a woman placed the traditional red powder (in shape of a dot) on our forehead. They walked us around and saw the teaching of the kids, pushing forward for a more positive future for the children, and their families.



That afternoon we went to the market, and had an intriguing encounter with an elephant being walked through the street, casually, enlightening our shocked minds of the reality of some people in the hidden parts of Mumbai.


After a good night's sleep, we went to Mumbai centre, with the recent arrived to Ankur aspirant to nuns, Sister Marykutty (who by the way, speaks Spanish, Marathi and English!) and a tour guide-driver. It took us 3 hours to get there. We were driven around to The Gandhi Museum, The Hanging Gardens, a synagogue, a cute little church, The Gateway of India and another chapel. A beautiful day.
The next two days passed in a blur, visiting another slum and a different, bigger market where people where over-excited when you took a picture of them, a funny experience.

... To be continued





No te puedes ni imaginar…

He vuelto de India

Resulta extraño decir que es una especie de lección espiritual aprenden cómo es en realidad "el patio trasero" del mundo y no encuentro palabras para explicar los cambios físicos y emocionales que experimento estando aquí. Básicamente, es duro.

Este sitio es un contraste continuo de vida, un segundo te estás partiendo el corazón viendo gente viviendo su vida ordinaria en los "slums" (zonas de chabolas), donde hay cobertizos sucios e antihigiénicos que ellos llaman su hogar y el segundo después estás disfrutando de un paseo en barco a una isla donde te puedes perder en la belleza de una paz inquebrantable.

¿Por qué es justo que algunos puedan vivir una vida relajada y lujosa en hoteles clamorosos mientras que otros trabajan 16 horas diarias? Quién sabe, pero se necesita ayuda, muchos lo están intentando pero no es suficiente. ¿Por qué somos tan egoístas y no nos movemos? Me gustaría…

Mi madre y yo llegamos a las 5:30 am en domingo a la casa de niñas Ankur de Mumbai después de un viaje y largo y agobiante con dos escalas, solas las dos. Y delante yacía lo desconocido de un sitio que conocíamos por fotos pintorescas de revistas, si acaso.

Así que nos levantamos a las 10 am ese mismo día y conocimos a las niñas. La casa consiste en 8 hermanas (monjas) dulces y dedicadas que cuidan a más de 200 niñas. Mi madre y yo tuvimos una suerte extraordinaria, gracias a una amiga de ella tuvimos la oportunidad de vivir en este sitio seguro durante 15 días en el extraño milagro que es India, y poder realizar una nueva aproximación a un estilo de vida completamente diferente al nuestro.

El siguiente día lo pasamos con otra ONG: Sonrisas de Mumbai. Nos llevaron a un slum y nos sentamos en una guardería que habían hecho allí, estuvimos mirando a los pobres y llorosos niñitos que habían llegado recientemente. Nada más salir nos sorprendimos con una niña haciendo sus necesidades en el medio de la calle sobre un periódico que luego dejó allí ya que estos niños no reciben ningún tipo de educación sanitaria. Después nos llevaron a un colegio que habían construido en otro slum distante. Cuando llegamos una mujer nos puso el polvo rojo tradicional (en forma de punto) en nuestra frente. Nos enseñaron todo aquello y vimos cómo enseñaban a los niños, dirigiéndolos hacia un futuro más positivo para ellos y sus familias.
Por la tarde fuimos a un mercado y tuvimos un encuentro de lo más intrigante con un elefante que caminaba por la calle, así, casualmente, iluminando nuestras mentes sorprendidas de la realidad de algunas personas en las partes ocultas de Mumbai.

Después de un sueño restaurador, nos fuimos al centro de Mumbai con las recién llegadas aspirantes a monja, la hermana Marykutty (quien, a propósito habla español, marati e inglés) y un guía turístico-conductor. Tardamos 3 horas en llegar allí. Nos condujeron por muchos sitios, el museo de Gandhi, A los Jardines Colgantes, a una sinagoga, a una iglesia pequeña muy mona, a la puerta de la India y a otra capilla. Un día precioso.

Los dos siguientes días pasaron en un abrir y cerrar de ojos, visitando otro slum y un mercado diferente más grande donde la gente se emocionaba cuando tomábamos fotos de ellos, una experiencia divertida.

… Continuará

Starting High School. Empezando el Instituto

On the 31st of January I started High School, it is a big change from Primary, as you change to a whole new school, new friends, new teachers, new uniform, harder work, and switching classes every period. An average day at my high school starts off at 8:45am when the movement bell rings and everyone goes to their first class, at 9:41 the bell rings again and you change classes. After this, just before recess, we go to a class called "Pastoral Care". This is nothing related to Religion. At this class you get your name marked off, announcements are read out, and you talk with your Pastoral Care friends and teacher, which will be the same for the rest of your High School life, but this class is only takes 15 minutes of your day and mixes up 2 students of each year. Afterwards you have periods 3 & 4 and lunch is at 12:48, it finishes at 1:28 and then you have periods 5 & 6 and the final bell that marks the end of the day rings at 3:10.

So far I've had an excellent time in high school, learning key subjects such as English, Maths, Science and History. I'm also learning French at school, and if you choose to keep doing this language throughout your elective years (10, 11, 12) you have the chance to visit France. Other subjects I take at school are Visual Arts, Music, Design and Technology (Wood, Food, Computer, Metal), Sport, Thinking Skills and PD/H/PE (Personal Development, Health and Physical Education).
On Friday we had our annual school swimming carnival, in which I swam the 50m freestyle and came fifth and also got chosen for the Durham (my school house) relay team and we got second place. The school houses are usually four, for those of you who have read Harry Potter you will know… Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. In my school the names are Durham (blue), Windsor (green), Edinburgh (yellow) and Caernavon (red).
I'm really looking forward for the next six years of high school!

El 31 de Enero comencé “High School” que corresponde en España al Instituto. Es un gran cambio llegar de Primaria pues llegas a un nuevo colegio, con nuevos amigos, nuevos profesores, nuevo uniforme, trabajo más duro y cambiando de clase para cada asignatura. Un día normal en mi colegio empieza a las 8:45 cuando suena la campana de la mañana y todo el mundo se va a su primera clase. A las 9:45 la campana vuelve a sonar y se cambia de clase. Después de esto, justo antes del recreo vamos a una clase llamada “Cuidado pastoral”. Esto no tiene nada que ver con la Religión. En esta clase pasan lista, leen noticias y puedes hablar con tus amigos y profesor de “Cuidado pastoral”, los cuales serán los mismos para el resto de tu vida en el Instituto, pero esta clase sólo dura 15 minutos y mezcla dos estudiantes de cada curso.
Después vienen el tercer y cuarto periodos y el almuerzo es a las 12:48, finaliza a las 1:28 y entonces vienen el quinto y sexto periodos. La campana que marca el final del día suena a las 3:10.
Hasta ahora me lo he pasado muy bien en el Instituto, aprendiendo asignaturas importantes como Inglés, Matemáticas, Ciencia e Historia. También estoy aprendiendo francés y si sigues eligiendo este idioma durante todos los años (hasta el año 12) te dan la oportunidad de visitar Francia. Otras asignaturas que aprendo son Artes visuales, Música, Diseño y Tecnología (Madera, Cocina, Informática, Metal), Deporte, Técnicas de estudio y una asignatura con un nombre muy largo: Desarrollo personal, Salud y Educación Física.
El viernes tuvimos nuestro festival de natación anual, en el que nadé los 50 metros a crol, llegué quinta y también me eligieron para relevos representando a Durham (mi casa del colegio) y llegamos los segundos. Las casas de los colegios son habitualmente cuatro, los que habéis leído Harry Potter sabéis…Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw y Slyterin. En mi cole los nombres son: Durham (azul), Windsor (verde), Edinburgh (amarillo) y Caernavon (rojo).
¡Estoy deseando disfrutar de estos próximos seis años en el Instituto!