And We're Home...

Didn’t keep the pact last night…I dozed off around 3:30 and slept for about 45 minutes before everyone got up and showered to prepare for the long day ahead. Chris, Bert and I loaded our stuff and made it downstairs around 5:15 as we were to head to the airport around 5:30 am…Yes A.M. The girls arrived and we all checked out and were presented with breakfast boxes full of all kinds of goodies. Not wanted to carry anymore bags, we all consumed the contents immediately and threw some of the leftovers in other bags. Around 5:45, Bert started pacing because no one had arrived to take us to the airport. Catherine called Juan Jesus who was already at the airport waiting for us and was highly upset because the bus he arranged was supposed to be out in front of the hotel at 5. We all began to wonder but sometime around 6:30 we found a bus driver wandering around in the vicinity of our road…Yes our flight is supposed to leave at 8. Finally we make it to the airport where Juan Jesus is standing with his hands folded across his chest (he was not happy). He puts on a smile for us and quickly moves us to the line for check-in. Everyone gets checked in but Tong and I get caught in a line with a guy at the counter who must have been in training because he took forever even when his boss was standing watching over his shoulder. He took what seemed like twelve hours before he finally got us checked in for the flight and we took off running to make it through the security checkpoint. When we cleared security, we learned that Catherine had been caught with a bottle of rum in her carry on baggage and had to throw it away. We gave Juan Jesus a hug and thanked him for the entire trip and promised we would all see him soon. A four hour place ride to Munich was very uneventful as we experienced a smooth flight. We passed through passport control and headed to the flight counter to check in for our next flight. Carla and I did some last minute shopping and when we returned the group had already boarded the place. Chris, Bert and Catherine were upgraded to business class and as the rest of us boarded the plane we found them sitting in the “nice seats.” We settled in for the eight hour flight and most of us slept the entire ride to DC. We arrived in Washington, the land of cell phone usage, cleared customs and headed for baggage claim. Everyone got their luggage except for I was missing one bag which the guard assured me would be delivered to my house by fedex tomorrow morning…we will see if that happens. A two hour layover went by quickly as we all experience a little bit of American food…nothing like it…and finally boarded the plane around 9:30. After a final video of us boarding the plane, we sat and enjoyed the tranquility of the thought of heading home. We arrived in Greenville about an hour and a half later to greeting from family and friends. There’s no place like home...maybe Tenerife…

Last day of Island Life...

A late morning began at Suzie’s house where I met Carla and Tong for breakfast after I had made sure that all of my stuff was packed. We loaded into the car and headed down town to start our day at Casa de Colon (Colon is the Spanish word for Columbus). When we arrived, we learned from Catherine and Marian that Alfredo was running late because of the strike that his company is dealing with by the emergency vehicle workers on the islands…He was to bring Chris and Bert but has not been able to get away from the office. We decide to walk down and find some coffee and as soon as the drinks arrive, the rest of the gang shows up. They join us for café and Alfredo runs back to work as we make our way to the house that Christopher Columbus built. Through the different diagrams in the museum, we learn that Columbus stopped in the Canaries in 1492 before he sailed the ocean blue. After his maiden voyage and much success, he stopped here on each trip thereafter. This house is full of interesting information as well as artifacts. We tried to take pictures but were each fussed at by the security guard. After the tour, Suzie walked us through the streets of the old part of the city. We stopped at several shops and enjoyed the beautiful day while we took a leisurely stroll through town. The time passed quickly and soon we were met by Manolo who led us to the Canario Museo where we saw many relics from the aborigines who inhabited the island and lived in small caves throughout the islands. Over the past four weeks, we have seen a lot of this and could probably teach a course on the Guanches and their lifestyles in the olden days. When we had seen all of the mummies and the clay pottery, we followed our leader as he meandered through the streets and into the shopping district. Nobody purchased anything except for ice cream…of course we needed ice cream.
It was getting late, so the team went separate ways to have lunch and get their bags transferred to the hotel. Suzie took me, Carla and Tong while Bert, Chris and Catherine went with Manolo. After we made our last effort to fit more stuff into our already overweight suitcases, Suzie treated us to some tapas at a local restaurant. We enjoyed peppers, potatoes, croquettes and a nice little dish that included eggs, potatoes, cheese and sausage. Once the food was consumed, we grabbed a cab and loaded all of the luggage (half in Suzie’s car and half in the cab…yeah that much luggage) and headed to the hotel. We checked in and were met in the lobby by Manolo who had set gotten us tickets to the Futbol game in town at 5:30. Of course we were in VIP section in the shaded box seats where we met Farzad (an old friend from a couple of days ago) and sat down to watch the game. The crowd was loud and we understood why after we learned that they have had a bad season thus far and if they were to lose this game they would be bumped down to a lower level league (as the worst team is sent down a league each year to keep the competition going). We must have been good luck charms because within the first ten minutes of the game, Las Palmas had scored two goals and held the 2-0 lead going into halftime. Sometime during the second half, the red team scored a goal but our home team (they wore yellow and blue) held on to win, even scoring a third goal in the final minutes on an amazing goal that barely made in it.
We followed the 18,000 plus people out of the stadium singing and cheering all the way up the hill. Since there were not any taxis available, Manolo suggested that we do some shopping in the mall for a little bit before we headed home. Catherine and I stayed and got a few items for people back home and we all agreed to meet at Manolo’s house on the beach for dinner at 9. We had all made a pact to stay up all night because we were to leave for the airport at 5:30 and there was really no point in going to bed…As we walked into the beach house, I realized that the majority of us were not going to be able to keep the pact. Our bodies are completely worn out and as we ate some dinner, everyone could tell that we were dragging. We enjoyed a wonderful final fiesta with our friends from Gran Canaria including Alfredo, Argirios, Suzie and our host Manolo and his wonderful wife Donna. After many hours reliving our experience and talking with all of the new friends we have made, we each left and headed back to the hotel…some earlier than others. At this moment it is close to 3 am and I have made the decision to keep the pact but it looks as if no one else is joining me…

Casual Friday...

Our final Friday in the Canaries was to be a relaxing one. Carla, Tong and I began the journey to Real Club Nautico de Las Palma around 9:30 am this morning. It was a ten minute walk and went by quickly as we talked about the night before. We met the gang in the lobby where we were quickly led through a tour of the place by Victor, a member of this club, the Rotary Club, the consulate to Ireland, a business owner, the Vice President of the senior golf association of Spain and the coolest guy ever. Victor told us of the 16 Olympic gold medalists that have trained at this club and the hundreds of world champions, whose names were on the mail wall in the foyer. The club consisted of an Olympic sized pool, a gym, a sauna, a Turkish bath, a restaurant, tennis courts, squash courts and a beach that may or may have not been a topless beach. The group changed their clothes and headed for the pool. Bert sat under the cabana and caught up on his journal which is a week behind. Tong went for a swim. Chris went and worked out. I laid by the pool and took a nap. Carla and Catherine sat around and gossiped like old ladies. Victor told us to meet him back upstairs for lunch at 2 pm so that gave us four hours to hang out and do nothing…a far cry from the schedule that we have been following over the past few weeks. Sometime during my nap, Tong and Carla walked out into town and did some shopping as well as changed clothes for the afternoon. Catherine and I walked on the beach and got our exercise in for the day…err the past four weeks and talked about the trip and how amazing the Rotarians have been to us since we have been chosen for the program…not only here but in South Carolina (we have all come to the consensus that we are all truly grateful for this experience but we also want to go to Norway next year with the GSE program…Ken/Myles, is that possible?). After a brisk walk and a sauna, we all showered and changed for lunch. Victor treated us to another great lunch in the upstairs dining area that overlooked the pool and the beach. During lunch, we all took some Dramamine because we were headed to the ocean to meet a sailing competition team and follow them as they practiced sailing for the regatta that is happening tomorrow.
We walked over to the port and met the team that is sponsored by the club we visited earlier. We watched as they prepared the boat for the trip out to see. We learned that in most cases, it took around two hours to prepare the boat for one hour worth of sailing. This is the only predominantly female team in the Spanish league (they have a couple of guys to help with some of the heavy lifting). The team worked together like clockwork to make sure that everything on the boat was perfect before they headed out to sea. When it was time to leave the bay, we were led to a small tugboat that followed the team and we watched as they sailed the open sea…they didn’t go too far or too fast because the wind was not blowing at all. However, we followed and cheered them on as they practiced for tomorrow’s event. At some point during the trip, Catherine decided that we needed to sing songs to pass the time and they all had to deal with water…the songs ranged from “Jeremiah was a Bullfrog” to “I saw three ships coming sailing in…” It was a fun ride. Once the team had finished their training and exhausted all of the wind in the harbor, we headed back to shore for snacks. The team unloaded the boat and we enjoyed cold beverages and sandwiches before getting together for some group photos. The team accepted us with open arms and made us feel like we were going to be on the boat with them tomorrow. We wished them the best of luck and headed out to the cars.
The schedule said that we were supposed to have dinner with our host families this evening and Argi and Efie had prepared a Greek dinner for me, Tong and Carla. Sometime during the evening, Alfredo and Marian, the host of Chris and Catherine respectively, called and said that they were coming over as well. They stopped and got food from an Iranian restaurant and our Greek meal turned into an international party. The night was wonderful as we enjoyed the company of the entire group sin Bert. He was having dinner with Victor and probably in bed early. Argi and Efie were amazing hosts and took care of the group like were all one big happy family. Once we all had agreed that we were tired, the house cleared and everyone headed back to their houses for the night. The day was perfect. We needed a day to relax and get ready to move into the hotel tomorrow. We still have to pack…

Yo Ho Hum and a Bottle of Rum...

Thursday morning began quite early as Carla, Tong and I took a cab over to meet the rest of the gang excepto Catherine at Hotel Santa Catalina. As soon as we arrived, we were met by two Rotarians, Jose and Maria, who directed us to the bus that had been rented specially for today’s trip. We drove to the town of Arucas where we met up with the district governor and a few other Rotarians from the town and headed to the Ayuntamiento. Mayor of the town, Angel Victor Torres Perez (trying saying that five times fast), took time out of his busy schedule (he is in dead in the middle of a political race that will hopefully result in his reelection on Sunday) to speak with us in English about the town. He told us about the history of the town and welcomed us as our visit was being broadcast on the radio as well as being covered by several newspapers. After the visit, Juan Jesus took us for breakfast at a small bocateria where we each enjoyed ham and cheese sandwiches (what else) and café. During the course of desayuno, we convinced the district governor to have his picture made with each of us wearing a red nose (for those of you that got to know the inbound group from the canaries in our district, you will remember that Sylvia made everyone where the red nose in her pictures including our very own Rich Waugh). Once we had consumed the breakfast, we headed out down a street when all of the sudden, a magnificent church rose in front of us. We walked up to the Templo Parroguial de Arucas. This church was constructed in the early 1900s and is designed similar to the church that stands in Barcelona, La Sagrada Familia. We received a special tour from a fellow Rotarian who knew all things that related to this Iglesia (that is Spanish for church, Ken). The group walked around and was all amazed at the sculptures in the church as well as the church itself. Another thing that we found interesting was the fact that the entire church was constructed in eight years with all of the intricate work completed by hand by local artisans. Once our tour was finished, we headed back to the bus where we were transported through the city to a facility that houses the stone crafters that are direct descendents from the sculptors that completed the church façade. The family now owns a business that carves rock for residential and commercial businesses as well as has a mock up area where they show how their jobs were completed in the old days. After we saw the facility, we headed for the real fun…the distillery of Arucas. Apparently in the olden days, sugarcane was a huge crop for the people of this town. As it was, they created rum with this resource and so was born the trade of rum in the canaries. There was a small debate among our tour guides as to the origin of rum. Some of them said that rum was first made here, others said elsewhere. We really didn’t care as long as there were samples. Our guide led us through the factory where we saw oak casks full of rum that is aging…The owners had various famous people that have visited over the years sign the outside of the casket. There were signatures from huge dignitaries including the King and Queen of Spain, Cesar Manrique, Placido Domingo and of course…Tom Jones (somehow he didn’t seem to fit). As we passed through the facility, we saw the assembly line and learned that eighty percent of the Canaries market uses this brand of rum. After the tour, we were led into the tasting room where we each sampled a handful (yes handful) of flavors. Carla had two handfuls. We all liked the chocolate flavored rum the best, some of us sampled more than others. As we walked out, the CEO of the company met us with a kind word and some gift bags which included a bottle of rum for the road.
As we boarded the bus, Juan Jesus told us that we all looked very tired and he was pulling the district governor card and cancelling the dinner that was planned at the Rotary Club in the south this evening. Our lunch club would be the last presentation because he was the boss and he said so. We all delighted in this new revelation because we really were (and are) tired from the culmination of all of the activities over the past three and a half weeks.
As we arrived at the RC of Arucas, we walked into the restaraunte past a crowd of people gathered for a dinner with one of the candiates for President of the Cabildo. Tong and I stayed to listen to part of Jose Manuel Soria’s speech that was made to a sold out crowd. A few minutes later, we were summoned to the back room for the meeting. We enjoyed a fine dinner as we prepared ourselves for out last presentation in the Canaries. The meeting began and during several breaks, the club had brought in a folkloric band to perform as a special treat. The group sang a few special songs…one of which was our favorite…Hay, Hay, Hay, Hay, Canta y no llores….
After the concert, we made our final presentation and probably one of the best as we got several ovations throughout our time on stage. Once we had finished, the Governor had several gifts to pass out for us and had nothing but good things to say about us and the GSE program. Juan Jesus has become a friend. A few minutes later, we received a visit from the very important candidate for President, Jose, who to my liking was a conservative. We promised him that we would vote for him if we could but told him that we would be leaving on Sunday and would follow up on the results when we returned to the states. He made his rounds throughout our Rotary meeting to lock us some final votes before heading out. The final meeting was a great success and we enjoyed meeting so many new friends in the town of Arucas.
With the afternoon granted free by our best friend, we each went our separate ways. I visited the beach for an hour before dinner at Suzie’s house with Tong and Carla while Bert, Chris and Catherine all had dinner at Marian’s house with their host families. After dinner, Carla and I came back to have a few glasses of wine with my host family before calling it a night.
As I get ready for bed, I remember the sign that I saw in the factory today that said…”A day without rum is a bad one…”

Work days...

We all went our separate ways this morning and since everyone was too tired to write their separate pieces for the blog, I will adlib and try to remember what everyone did. Here goes:
Carla and I had a scheduled visit at an MBA school here on the island. I met Carla this morning and we were to walk over (about a 15 minute walk in town) however she was supposed to ask Jorge (her host father) for directions of where the place was. Do you think she remembered to do that? So we started walking in the direction that we thought it was and called Argi for exact directions. Amazingly, we made it on time where we met Judit Garcia, the director of Academic Affairs. Judith is a native who did her studies in Spain but lived in London for seven years before moving back home to work with the Business school here in Las Palmas. The school is private and has partnerships with Georgetown University in the states and Leed University in England. We learned about the various projects and classes that the students have to complete in the one year program. Judith told us about an upcoming trip that the faculty will make in July to Washington, DC to work with the professors there. The visit was very interesting and proved to entertain both of us as we are hoping to pursue MBA degrees sometime in the near future.
Chris visited a technology firm. He said it was fun.
Catherine visited the school where Suzie works. She said the school was very modern and comparable to schools in the US.
Tong went to a College for American students. She liked her visit.
Bert stayed at home and packed his stuff. Typical retired person.
After our professional visits, we all met at Museo Nestor for a private tour of this famous artist’s gallery from the Canaries. Nestor Martin Fenandez de la Torre was man who lived in the 19th century and traveled the world painting. The museum provided us an insight into the work of the artist who without any doubt created unique Canary Island art linked to various trends that were used throughout his lifetime. The tour guide told us that Nestor was a complete narcissistic person and painted himself and his lover in many of the paintings (we also learned that his lover was a man). The guided visit was a nice one and we were able to view the beautiful artwork that is displayed within the old house situated in an old town square.
After the tour, we were hurried over to the Hotel Santa Catalina for lunch with the Rotary Club of Las Palmas. We enjoyed some drinks with the members outside on the patio and a few minutes later were herded into the main room for lunch. This Rotary club is a bit larger than the last few that we have visited but is still no comparison to Bert’s club in Greenville. We enjoyed lunch and moved to the front of the room after Manolo directed the business of the club. We made a marvelous presentation (I think most of us have memorized our own lines as well as each others lines by now) and received praise from our friends as we sat back down. After lunch, we were free for the afternoon and each of us took off in different directions. Bert went with Victor to get settled into his new house. Chris and Tong went on a shopping expedition along the beach promenade. Carla and I laid on the beach for a couple of hours after checking work email. And Catherine went and got her haircut as well as doing some shopping in the old town.
Once we were all relaxed from our free afternoon, Carlos Medina, a Rotarian with a sweet wife, Ana, invited over for dinner and to watch the futbol final between AC Milan and Liverpool. We met at his house around 9 and sat down in his basement/bodega in front an amazing flat screen TV that covered the wall and enjoyed snacks as they were placed in front of us. The basement was amazing with the flat screen, surround sound, speakers, lights, a pool table, a foosball table and much more. However, I didn’t see a wire in the entire place (my dad would have been proud of the electrical work). To our dismay, AC Milan pulled out the victory by a score of 2 – 1…I was informed that we were pulling for Liverpool because their coach is Spanish and a couple of the players were also Spanish. I didn’t care as long as food and drinks were placed in front of me. After the match, more food was set out on the table and we all migrated that way to try the desserts and sit around the bar for more drinks. Sometime during the party, matches got started at the foosball table where I showed my skills that I learned in college in the tiny little house where we lived in Clemson…I knew those nights would pay off sometime. After meeting some new friends, including Carlos’s son, Carlos who studied in West Virginia and because of that could understand our accents, we were given gifts of alcohol by Ana who didn’t want to send us away empty handed. As the night ended, we all said our goodbyes and head home for a good nights sleep as tomorrow will be an extremely busy day. Better get some rest…

Road Trip...

Out early this morning, Carla, Tong and I caught a cab and headed to the meeting place. After some miscommunication with the driver, we arrived at Hotel Santa Catalina to find the others drinking café. We joined them and waited around thirty minutes until the District Governor, Juan Jesus, came walking up. He explained that he had hit a lot of traffic and was running a little late. We gathered our things and he led us to a bus that he had rented specially for us. Juan informed us that the visit to the Air Force base had been cancelled because of certain issues but other things would be interjected into the schedule to make up for the missed visit. As we rode to the south of the island, he explained to us many different things about the various parts of the islands and talked to us about his travels throughout the district as the governor. Around 10 am, we pulled up to a coffee shop where we got out and had our second café of the morning. We met Jose Carlos, the President of RC Maspalomas, and Pablo, an older gentleman who is a Rotarian and a really good artist. They joined us in the bus and we went on our way to an area further south. When we had driven a little while longer, we found ourselves parked at a security gate where Juan Jesus explained who we were and we were immediately granted access. As we drove in, we learned that this was a former NASA facility that has been turned into an research institutes that monitors satellites for the government and private companies. INTA is located on a site that is at the same latitude as Cape Canaveral in Florida and was placed here to monitor space activity throughout the years. Not to long ago, NASA downsized and this facility was closed and reopened by the Spanish government and uses some of the highest quality satellite tracking devices in the world. Not only does this place monitor air quality, vegetation growth, space activity, and storm movement from outer space, it offers a service that monitors gps tracking devices to rescue people lost at sea or lost in various parts of the world. We got the royal treatment including a private tour of all the major equipment rooms and satellite stations. After we were all amazed at the access granted, we loaded back onto the bus and headed back to Maspalomas. Jose Carlos and Pablo directed the bus driver to take us back to some conference center where their meeting would be held. Around 2:30, lunch began and we gave a wonderful presentation to a group of about fifteen Rotarians. After several questions from the group, they decided that they wanted to take us around the area and show off their towns. We split up into two cars and were driven to Playa del Ingles. As we walked up to the beach, we were all amazed. This was unlike any other beach that any of us had ever seen. There were dunes that stretched into the distance and finally met the sea. People leaving the beach were walking along the tops of the dunes. The beach reminded us all of the pictures that we have seen of the Sahara and each of us could not believe our eyes. After a few pictures, I decided to take off my shoes and go walk out on the dunes. I became king of the hill (because no one else wanted to scale the dune like me) and enjoyed having my feet in the ultra fine sand. Next the Rotarians took us to a boardwalk type place a few kilometers down the road to have ice cream and enjoy the sunshine. We then loaded the bus and drove around the coastline and stopped at various miradors to see the beautiful views as the road went up and down the mountains and in and out of the valleys. The scenery was gorgeous.
We all enjoyed the relaxing time as we had been up very early this morning but as we continued to tour around the south, we realized that we were supposed to be back towards the north of the island at 8:30 for dinner at the RC of Telde…the problem was that it was closing in on 8:15 and Telde was a good 30 minute drive away and the Rotarians didn’t seem to be turning us around to head that way. Finally, we brought the facts to the attention of Jose Carlos and he made a few phone calls and told the Telde group that we would be late.
Around 9:30, we made it to Telde for dinner. We each sat around the table and talked about the experiences that we have had so far including our time on this island. We were served a light dinner and then performed for a group of 20 Rotarians. Afterwards, we answered questions and then went our separate ways with our host family for the night. One week from today, each of us will be back at work…

Simple yet Wonderful...

After the most sleep that I have gotten since I have been here (seven hours), I awoke renewed and refreshed this morning. I walked over in the rain (yes, this is the first rain that we have seen since we have been here) to where Tong and Carla are staying and we caught a cab to Hotel Santa Catalina, the meeting point for our great adventure of the day. Everyone showed up a little later and we enjoyed some café on the terrace of the hotel. Farzad, a businessman who deals in imported rugs, met us and at once we were whisked away to VIMOR. Once we arrived in the center of the city (and Farzad hitting the wall with the van), we realized that VIMOR was the business that is owned by our good friend Manolo Vicente. He is a Rotarian that started his business from scratch a few years ago and is now running a very successful commercial furniture business. As we toured the facility, we learned that Manolo actually founded this company that designs and sells products that go into the stores that are normally placed in malls and retail shops. The designers come up with the concept and his operational people manufacture the components that go into the actual woodwork and glass work that is seen in malls across the world. We walked the production floor and were surprised as he had a machine that etched out a piece of wood in the shape of the statue of liberty for us. After a quick tour of the commercial side of his shop, complete with Catherine visiting the mannequins, we headed back to the garage and on to our next visit.
Our chauffeur drove us to the Potabilizadora de Emalsa near the sea. Once we showed up there, we were met by Jose Luis who walked us through the process of filtering the salt water and making the water that is sent to each individual in the area for household use. Jose showed us a lot of similar things that we saw at the desalinization plant in Lanzarote and shortened the tour because we had seen most of it. Once the tour was complete, we headed to a restaurant called “Cinco J” which was nicely positioned right beside a golf course. We enjoyed lunch with Jose Luis, Farzad, Manolo and Eddie, a Rotarian who was visiting the area for business from Manchester. The almuerza was exciting as we each got to order our own meals from the menu, something that we haven’t been able to do since we got her three weeks ago. Following a long meal that included more English than Spanish, we were taken back to the center of town where we met up with Alfredo who got a special VIP visit to 112 Canarias. This place is the equivalent of a 911 call center in the states. Alfredo owns a business that provides emergency vehicles for these services and pulled some strings to allow us inside for a presentation of how this system works in the Canaries. After this, we were free for the afternoon for a little shopping in the major district but had to be back in a couple of hours for dinner with our host family. Each of us split up and headed our separate ways to try to find a few souvenirs to fit in our suitcase for family and friends.
Since my host person was out of town for business, Effi, the flatmate, decided that she would take me and Carla out to a social meeting that she and her friends have every Monday. We met at a place that they all call the Gym (I know great excuse to say that you are going to the gym). This was a small bar centrally located for all the friends where they gathered each week for a good cause (they take up money for charities) and have tapas and drinks. We were introduced and began to make new friends. The group is a multinational group with several people there doing work studies here from England. Effi made the comment that there were more foreigners here tonight than locals. Everyone took us in as we had been friends with them for thirty years and we had a great time learning about everyone’s different experiences. The night ended when Carla and I made the decision that we needed to get home because of an early morning coming up. We said our goodbyes to new friends and left the gym without working out…