Cabarete
We visited the town of Cabarate, known for its surfing, a little further up the coast. While there, the kids took a trapeze lesson that overlooked the picturesque Kite beach. We plan to go back again before leaving DR.
In Which Mima and Pepe come to Visit, and Jasper becomes a TEENAGER!
We were thrilled to welcome Mima and Pepe for a visit our second week in Cabrera. Though their journey here was exhausting and stressful, they settled in to a lovely small hotel in the area and we got to spend a lot of relaxed time together, just catching up. It was wonderful to see them after many long months of separation. The kids were in heaven getting some grandparental attention and love.
We also were able to celebrate a big milestone together: Jasper turning 13 (!!!!!). As we don’t have an oven, we settled for a giant pancake breakfast and a dinner out with some coconut ice cream.
Much joy found in the waves
The weeks rolling by
Our time in Cabrera centers around the Hive and its community. It has been lovely hanging out with families who all have an adventurous spirit for travel and encourage their kids to learn through play and exploration. Frequent time at the beach, playing in the waves, leisurely outdoor dinners, and in the little pool at our house has been a source of great joy for the kids and for us as well. That said, our time here hasn’t been without little struggles. The Hive’s philosophy is more along the lines of “un-schooling”, which is child led and very unstructured. While a very worthwhile experiment for all of us, I think we can conclude that this type of learning is not the ticket for any of our kids, who all at their very different ways haven’t embraced the looseness of the setting. Carl and I have been filling our days with our work, as Carl has committed to his new position at Longview and I have been preparing for the next Open Call at Interlude.
Travel days are not easy
Our first days in Dominican Republic
Our journey from Puerto Vallarta to Cabrera was long and arduous, entailing three flights and a long drive with much shuffling, schlepping, waiting, and snafus in between. It involved loud drama from some defiant Venezuelan deportees and the officers and flight attendants trying to handle them, and several hours in kafka-esque rental car purgatory.
We finally arrived though, and after some recovery time, we are slowly exploring the place and getting into our groove. There are many beautiful beaches, each with a different quality and vibe in the area that we have taken to visiting, particularly in the later afternoons every day. We’re figuring out where to get our groceries and vegetables, how to decipher the very accented Dominican Spanish, and all the rest. The kids began their experience at the Hive School yesterday, where they are surrounded by other ‘worldschooling’ kids and families. It is a very warm environment with a lot of freedoms, and hopefully the adjustment will be swift. There are also loads of other activities and possibilities for us around the Hive, from Ranch Camp, where the kids can work with cows, goats, and chickens, to soccer, to horseback riding after school. We also hope to start to learn to surf! More updates soon.
A jaunt to Puerto Vallarta
We took a quick trip down to Puerto Vallarta at the tail end of our time in Mexico, to have some fun on the coast and to meet up with Carl’s grad school friend Victor and his family, who relocated there from DC during the pandemic. We rented an AirBnB that turned out to be within a rather beautiful resort on the beach. The kids had a blast in the many pools, with Willa making fast friends with some other kids, and we explored the harbor and the coastline. We went on a fishing boat one morning, where we saw a number of whales. The highlight for me and Carl was a night when the kids had a sleepover, and we went further south to a cove at sunset. There, we took paddle boards out into the dark, paddled through caves covered in sea birds, and delighted in the bio-luminescence that showed up more and more as the sky darkened.
Final weeks in Mexico City
Our time in Mexico City flew by, as I spent many hours most days in the studio trying to resurrect my painting practice after months of dormancy. The kids, along with Carl and sometimes a babysitter, spent hours in Chapultepec park. We took in many more museums, taco stands, and markets. I had a small pop-up art show at the very end of our stay, and Carl and I spent a day at the studios of two incredible artists, Pedro Reyes and Hector Zamora, along with a sprint through the massive art fair in town. All of us enjoyed being in a bustling city, and really didn’t enjoy trying to homeschool. Lessons learned.
Casa Azul and Coyoacan
The leafy, bohemian neighborhood of Coyoacán features cobblestone streets, a delightful market, and the Frida Kahlo museum. We all enjoyed learning more about her and her milieu at Casa Azul, as well as several trips to the market and all the surrounding stalls selling all manner of clothing, souvenirs, and yummy bites.
Xochimilco
We gathered a trip to DF was not complete without a day on the water in Xochimilco, a place on the outskirts of the city which has been dubbed the Venice of Mexico. There, you can hire colorful flat bottomed boats for tours around the canals and man-made islands. It is a very jolly atmosphere, with revelers eating and drinking on boats all around you, dueling mariachi bands mixing with other music from speakers all around. Vendors float up to you proffering drinks, trinkets, freshly cooked snacks, and also a lot of plants, including bonsai. We stopped at Coyoacan market beforehand to stock up on fun little snacks, and had a great time people watching and soaking it all in.
Téotihuacan
We took a quick day trip out to see the great archeological site of Téotihuacan. During it’s day (around 400-600 AD), it was not just the largest city in the Americas, but largest city that had existed anywhere. Covid restrictions didn’t permit us to climb to the top of the pyramids or visit the museum, but did allow for a very uncrowded and interesting exploration of the vast ruins. It includes two large pyramids, a citadel, and many other foundations for what had been thousands of dwellings including apartment complexes. We’re excited to compare the experience to what we’ll see in Egypt.
kid stuff galore
The kids have had the pleasure to visit several museums excellent for hands-on learning: the Universum science museum, The Children’s Museum (El Papelote) in Chapultepec park, and the Interactive Museum of Economics. They also visited Kidzania: an interactive city made for children that involves role-playing and making things. Several of these places we have already re-visited or plan on revisiting next week.
We’ve also enjoyed the wandering that happens going from place to place, as well as the opportunities that Mexico City has presented us, including a delightful day biking through the car-free streets of the Centro, which they do every single Sunday. We saw many people biking and skateboarding around with their dogs tagging along or in bags and backpacks. There also was a very dapper man in a suit riding along with his cat perched on his shoulder. All good breaks from the homeschooling work!
They also took a 3-part art class on Thursdays that focused on the work of Georgia O’Keefe. All 3 enjoyed it a lot.
The incredible Anthropological museum
First days in CDMX!
Apologies on lagging behind in the blog entries. Our arrival in Mexico City was three busy weeks ago! After some initial jet lag, we have all dived into this phase of the trip. I rented a studio in our neighborhood (beautiful, walk-able La Condesa), and since then have been trying to carve out substantial time in the studio in addition to trying to soak in the sites with Carl and the kids. Carl has been heading up the homeschooling, which has taken some adjustments for everyone, but is going reasonably well.
One incredible feature of this city is the density of museums on offer. There are far more sites and collections than we could dream of exploring, but we are making a point of trying to see as many as we reasonably can.
There is also a bounty of beautiful parks, delicious foods and snacks, gorgeous markets, and activities to do. We’re having a great time, and the days are flying by.
A Very Covidy Christmas!
Just before returning from Watamu, I developed a small sore throat that got me nervous. Willa also started complaining of an ear ache, so I took the two of us to a local clinic for Covid tests, which both came back negative. Willa just had a lot of beach sand stuck in her ear! We headed back to Tigoni to settle back into our friends’ house for Christmas. I still had the sore throat, a headache, and some other mild symptoms that made me think that maybe that test hadn’t been accurate. I went back for a PCR and lo and behold, a positive result, just in time for Christmas! Luckily, the house where we were staying was large enough that I could isolate, and meanwhile we made the decision that we sadly couldn’t make our tour in Egypt, and it couldn’t be easily postponed. Simultaneously, we learned that Morocco was going to keep its border closed for another month, also scuppering our plans to go there for another residency. ACK!
During the following days of isolation and recovery for me we thought the others had escaped infection, then Lex came down with a fever, and then a couple days later, Carl and Willa as well. Luckily, all cases were quite mild and everyone is essentially back to normal. In the intervening days, we made the decision and arrangements to head to Mexico instead. We’ll be spending a month in Mexico City, where I made arrangements for a studio/residency situation. But first, a week first in Puerto Vallarta to see another part of the country and meet up with Carl’s friend from grad school who lives there with his family. We are off on our long journey tomorrow: an 8.5 hour flight to Frankfurt, an 8 hour layover, a 12.5 hour flight to Mexico City, a night at an airport hotel and a drop off of some baggage at our future house rental, and a flight the next afternoon to Puerto Vallarta. The kids are excited for all the unfettered and unlimited screen access.
We ended up staying much longer in Kenya than anticipated, and Covid has indeed spoiled many a plan. We are regretful we didn’t have a chance to explore South Africa, Egypt, and Morocco. But hopefully we can engineer ways to make our way back to those places at some other time. And back to Kenya, for that matter, as we have really loved being here and will miss it a lot.
Down the coast to Watamu
We took the shortest plane ride of our lives (25 minutes) from Lamu to Watamu, another coastal town further down the coast toward Mombasa. We stayed in a lovely rental with views of the water and deliciously cold air conditioning (a welcome addition after Lamu). Several friends from Tigoni were also there, and we had some nice gatherings. Watamu is close to Malindi, which has a large population of Italians. As such, we consumed a lot of excellent pizza and gelato, and I delighted in hearing the little local kids shout “ciao!” as I walked by.
The kids spend a lot of time exploring the shoreline, and we spent a great day hiring a boat to see dolphins, snorkel along the reef, and have a bbq seafood lunch in among the mangroves.
Willa on a Mozambique-style Dhow
Otherwordly Lamu
Lamu was always a place we aimed to visit while in Kenya, and we had resigned ourselves to the notion that we wouldn’t get there, until our changes of plans opened the door to that opportunity. It was very rewarding to spend several days there.
Lamu is on an archipelago and the oldest most continually inhabited city in all of Kenya. It is predominantly Muslim, with the distinctively Swahili architecture and culture, mixed with all the layers of occupation and trading over the centuries. It feels especially timeless because there are no cars on the island, and everything is transported by boat and by donkey. It was very quiet, save for the call to prayer coming from the many mosques, the donkeys braying, and the cats squalling in the alleys everywhere.
The term ends with the Glow Show!
There was quite a frenzy leading up to the Big Show on Tuesday night. It was a production with a huge amount of complexity, with each class having multiple song and dance numbers, and many other elements besides. Carl and I were part of the staff/parent chorus for which we actually practiced for several weeks, and I also contributed to the set design.
Willa, Lex, and Jasper were front and center in their parts of the production, and threw themselves into it. The show was a warm and wonderful way to tie up the Term, and we feel very connected as a result.
We also held a big goodbye party on Wednesday, with families showing up mid-day and staying through the late evening, with an Ethiopian food feast. There were also a number of sleepovers, including Willa spending two consecutive nights at her best buddy Nadine’s house. What a thrill!
Because of changes of plans, we’ll be back in Tigoni for Christmas, with one more chance to see some friends. Turns out, Carl and I will also be the emcees for the Silent Night Christmas eve show, and the kids will be performing a skit. So we have one more chance on the Forest Stage before we leave Kenya.
Lots of wrenches in plans!
We sadly have to skip South Africa. Omicron has taken off there, and we don’t feel comfortable entering into the fray, particularly with all the complicated travel restrictions we might face. This is such a shame, as we were all excited about seeing Cape Town, and I have been keenly anticipating the residency (and access the art materials). Oh well! We knew we needed to be very flexible and that covid would present many wrenches in plans.
After some more complicated maneuvers, our new strategy is to pack up around the same time, visit two locations we have yet to see on the Kenyan coast (including Lamu, which most say is unmissable, and now we can check off our list), and then back to Nairobi briefly where we will be able to stay at a friend's house during Christmas while they are away. Then, we'll head to Egypt. We're gifting the kids a surprise few days at an over-the-top resort on the coast with water slides and such, and then diving into a 10 day tour of Egypt's greatest hits. From there, we'll hopefully be able to get to Morocco, where I have a residency in Tetouan in the North of the country. That is all contingent on Morocco opening its borders to travel, as it closed them completely for 2 weeks following Omicron news. If we can't get to Morocco, we'll have to figure something else out. Whatever that is, I hope it entails an art-making space and access to art supplies, as I'm sorely missing both.
This time period will also compose the fully 'worldschooling' portion of our year with the kids, and Carl will largely head up the project of working with them on some academics. We'll see how that goes.
In February, we're heading to the New World for a little while. We have a 6 week plan for the kids to attend a kind of homeschool/school hybrid in Cabrera, Dominican Republic. However, Carl has been offered to be the keynote speaker at a conference for Founder’s Pledge in the French Alps in early Feb. I'll likely take the kids first to DR for a while on my own, as I can't conceive of what it would entail to have all of us tag along (despite the offer of room and board), what with more travel hurdles and the cost and hassle of all the winter gear which we obviously don't have in our carry-ons. We aim to head back to Europe in April.
For now, we’re still deep in the logistics game, while simultaneously trying to soak up our last days with the kids in school at Woodland Star. Their big show was postponed from Friday to tomorrow due to rain. Hopefully, the weather will cooperate this time!
Ol Pejeta
Our friends Carly and Gio generously offered us a stay at their lovely cottage in Nanyuki. We took them up on their offer to go there for a long weekend so as to visit Ol Pejeta, a conservancy not far from Laikipia, which is known to have a larger population of both black and white Rhino. It did not disappoint!
We had close encounters with many kinds of creatures. Many Rhino, Elephant, Giraffe, Hyena, Jackals and Bat Eared Fox, and beautiful bird life, both large and small. Ol Pejeta also has a special enclosure with a blind, tame Rhino that can be petted. We also visted Sweetwater, a sanctuary for Chimpanzee from all over East Africa that was founded by Jane Goodall.
A wonderful and ample Thanksgiving
We pulled off a giant feast for 26 for the holiday, replete with all the dishes and a short presentation pre-meal for the first-time Thanksgiving-goers among us. Our friend Trixie took care of the turkey, and others brought some dishes as well, leaving me the opportunity to make all my favorite sides.
It felt very special to celebrate with so many lovely new friends in this beautiful place.
Rainbow Infinities
Particularly after navigating out of Nairobi and up into the Highlands, Tigoni has provided us with nearly endless beautiful weather, vistas, and solace in the rolling green hills. At nearly 8,000 feet up, yet very near the equator, it has been amazingly temperate, with chilly mornings and evenings and bright, sunny days. There are furious rains on occasion, but they blow in and out quickly, often providing spectacular rainbows in their wake. This one we witnessed coming back to the road by our house. It was incredibly full and bright. When we stopped to have dinner with our friends nearby, we could see not just a double rainbow, but infinite ones nestled into each other in reversing directions. We will miss this place.
Quick trips out of town
Shortly after Carl’s return from London, we went to a lodge for his birthday that is — as the crow flies — not too far from Nairobi. To get there, however, we needed to drive across the city during Friday afternoon traffic, and battle the dreaded Mombasa road. I will spare you the details, but it was not a pleasant experience. In the end, we had a nice weekend in a reserve without big predators, which made it possible to explore on foot.
Jasper and Lex also both had overnight field trips with their classes. Jasper’s class went to a mountainous area where they did a lot of hiking. Lex just returned from two nights camping at Lake Naivasha, where he had an excellent time.
As our time in Kenya comes closer and closer to a close, we’re filling it up with as many get-togethers, little trips, and fun experiences we can. Coming up tomorrow: a party tomorrow at one of Nairobi’s artist communities. Next week: we host Thanksgiving for 26, and then go up to the Nanyuki area for a visit to one last wildlife conservancy. Then, our whole family readies for the big December performance. Stay tuned.
