Amazing Wildlife

Lago Sandoval * Canopy Walk * Night hike

We woke early this morning, 5:00 a.m., so that we could be ready by 6:00 a.m. for our boat ride and hike to Lago Sandoval. It was beautiful on the river this morning. Not a soul around and silent as can be. It was amazingly cool, and we kept our jackets on throughout the hike until we were in full sun on the lake. Our guide Leon is great. He’s thoughtful and likes to hang back from the others so that we have a quiet, intimate experience with nature.

On our 2-mile hike to Lake Sandoval we saw huge trees and leaf cutter aunts busy at work carrying the leaves back and forth. The trail is popular, but because of our early start, we didn’t see anyone along the way. The nature preserve built a wooden boardwalk to protect the pathway and to help out the hikers during the rainy season.

Once at the lake we boarded our long canoe with 2 other guess and our guide to scour the shoreline in search of wildlife. It didn’t take long for us to spot our first caiman and then we saw one after another until we lost track. Most were on the shoreline, but we did see one huge one in the middle of the water.

As we slowly meandered around the perimeter of the lake we were amazed at the wildlife. We first saw monkeys, then a laundry list of birds. A couple of different ibis birds with long beaks and several camimoran birds actively swimming and diving for food. We even saw one come up with a snake and eat it! After these birds are done swimming, they have to sun themselves on the shore with their wings spread out to dry their feathers before they can fly again.

Our guide took us back to the lodge via a 3-mile nature walk through the jungle (aka rain forest). It was awesome - at one point we saw a tree that was crawling with monkeys. It was like our own private monkey exhibit in nature. They were playing, jumping, and running around the canopy.

After lunch today we traveled 25 minutes down river to a series of hanging bridges. We climbed a 120 ft tower where we could see over the top of the canopy and out to the river. On our way up we spotted a mamma sloth in the tree with her baby. It was amazing to watch her hang onto the tree with her long claws, then incredibly enough she started to climb higher into the tree. It was amazing to watch her long arms reach up and grab the branches and the baby tightly hang on. We sat and watched her for several minutes. Afterwards we enjoyed our walk along several hanging bridges 80 feet above the jungle floor. Only one person could cross the hanging bridge at a time, we were assured that they were inspected at least twice a year.

Out guide, Leon is amazing. He’s thoughtful, reflective, and respectful of nature. He listens and looks and then gives us an opportunity to do so as well. This evening we went on a night nature walk in search of creepy insects. We found several scary and poisonous spiders and a long green caterpillar. At one point we turned off our flashlights and the dark was consuming, like being in a cave. We could not see the hands in front of our faces. We capped off our evening walk in an open area where we could see the stars - they were magnificent. The southern cross was amazing.

London - The Mormons, the museum, the relic, and Westminster

Church * Natural History Museum * Hyde Park & Speakers Corner * 

Convent * Westminster Abbey

It's a bit weird that we're coming home tomorrow.  I thought my kids would be chomping at the bit to get home, instead they don't want to talk about it.  It's always hard to confront reality.  Of course, Stewart is nervous to get home and start the next phase of his life - college.

We attended the Hyde Park ward today.  In addition to the Ward house the huge building also severs as a visitors center, the mission offices, and a family history center.  It was the biggest Ward and biggest building we've attended this entire summer.  It's in a great location for missionary work as there are many families walking up and down the street to visit the great museums located nearby and to go to Hyde Park.  There was a world map in the Relief Society room and I wish everyone could have stood up and pointed to where they were born.  There had to have been someone from every corner of the globe.  In YW there were girls from Italy, Spain, New Zealand, America and the U.K.  In RS lots of members from Asia.

After church we picnicked in a nearby park and then visited the free Museum of Natural History with the rest of London.  Or perhaps there is just no way to escape the crowds here.  The museum was huge and we visited 3 areas: dinosaurs, mammals, and creepy crawly things.  The dinosaur exhibits we have in Utah are superior to anything we saw here - I guess we take our Utah dinosaurs for granted.

Our next stop was the Tyburn convent to visit a Maxfield relic - yes, a relic.  Back in the early 1600s, Thomas Maxfield was a martyr for his Christian faith.  Thomas was born a Catholic and escaped to France where he joined the ministry and became a priest.  He later returned to England has was hung near speakers corner at Hyde park.  Somehow the Spanish ambassador salvaged one if his bones (his right radius to be exact - in its entirety) and it is now housed in the crypt of the Tyburn convent.  (Eric had to do some pretty amazing google searches to figure this out).  Anyway, we visited with the Nuns, got a tour of the place, some stories about the martyrs, and took our picture with the bone.  We really tried to be as respectful as possible, and I think they expected us to offer a prayer or something - we just took a picture and tried not to stare or giggle too much.  They were super sweet Nuns and super dedicated to what they do.  

After the convent we stopped by Speakers Corner in Hyde Park to listen to the preachers and whomever else wanted to share their opinions.  It's been a traditional spot of free speech for centuries and many of the early Mormon missionaries in England preached the gospel on this corner.  We listened to one Christian preacher for a while that was convincing, but he had to contend with non-Christian hecklers, which made it difficult for him to share his message.

Our final London stop, and for that matter, event of the summer was a Sunday organ concert in Westminster Abbey.  That is the best way to see any Abbey with the organ filling the great expanse of space.  The organist rocked the organ.  He didn't pick out the slow organ funeral marches, but the up beat, sometimes modern, dance across the keyboard, bring down the house organ songs.  I love listening to the organ.  

Well - that's all she wrote folks.  For those of you reading along at home I apologize for my quick, unedited, personal journal entries.  Sorry none of the pictures were labeled (I'll do that when I have a computer).  Hopefully you enjoyed our adventures right along with us.  A final shout out to my children who exceeded my expectations as world travelers.  They did amazing in new circumstance, with new food, less than comfortable living situations, long days, long walks and  "boring" museums.  We've never had so much continuous family time and I wouldn't trade a day of our summer for anything.

Natural History Musem

Entering Hyde Park

Tyburn Convent

One of my favorite pictures of the summer

London - Churchill War Rooms, Soccer disappointment, Mousetrap

Churchill War rooms * Trafalgar Square * Mousetrap

15,000 steps

Our first stop today was the Churchill War Rooms.  A museum under ground in the rooms where Churchill, his cabinet, and staff worked for several years during WWII. After the war the rooms were locked and not thought about again until  many years later when they were made into a museum.  It was amazing to see such basic rooms with only maps, typewriters, and phone.  No computer or high-tech equipment.  There were also bedrooms in this underground work space for Churchill, his wife and staff.  There was also a nice museum on Churchill's life.  We all learned something new about Churchill, like he never inhaled his cigarettes - just chewed on them.  He loved the one piece jumper and often wore a red one that was referred to as the Siren Suit.  He also liked to paint.  We enjoyed a picnic on the grounds of Saint James Park afterwards.  We've been lucky while in London because the weather has been perfect for site seeing, no rain and just a tad bit cool.  Sometimes it even feels like fall.

We were suppose to see a soccer game this afternoon, but our plans were destroyed when we got to the soccer stadium only to learn that our tickets had been voided because we bought them through a 3rd party ticket vendor.  Everyone was so disappointed, especially Eric.  Not only were we so excited to see a premier league soccer game, it was a bit of an effort to get to the stadium (an hour away).  To pour salt into our wounds, Emma lost her glasses on the way back to London so we returned home to boost our spirit with get a snack and to play some cards (and get Emma's spare pair of glasses).  The kids were troopers and quickly adjusted to a plan B.  Eric and I were just glad we had purchased the tickets on our credit card so we can get a refund.

Tonight we had our last sabbatical dinner out at a wood fire pizza place in the theatre district - then we were off to Mousetrap - an Agatha Christie murder mystery that's been playing in London for the last 64 years.  It's an institution here.  The crowd was a bit older and conservative and we felt right at home.  The kids got into the story quickly and even Charlie was trying to figure out "who dunnit" and was squeezing my hand when the plot became tense and scary.  The theatre was old, but nicely restored and our seats (although on the top, steep balcony) were great.  It was a perfect way to finish the day.

Churchill War Rooms & Museum

London - War Museum, Tower of London, and some wandering

Imperial War Museum * Tower of London * 

22.460 Steps

We've decided to sprint these last few days of our Sabbatical and there's not a better place in the world than London.  There is so much to do and see and experience.  The great thing is that there will be plenty we don't do and we can have a good excuse to return.   That will be made easier now that SLC has a direct flight to London.

Eric had to pick up our soccer tickets today from a friend of a friend at an office in London about an hour away.  We agreed to meet at the Imperial War Museum at 10:30. However, we had to get off the tube prematurely because our stop was closed for construction.  Stewart and Maren took over navigation for me and got us to the Imperial War museum with no problem.  They are becoming very comfortable in big cities and with public transportation.

We enjoyed the exhibits of WWI, WWII, and the Holocaust in this Museum.  Sometimes the exhibits provide too much information for the kids so we challenged them to find one new or interesting thing and then we make everyone share at the end.  It makes the museum a bit of a treasure hunt and helps them look for the most unique fun fact or exhibit.  For example today Charlie found a mini motorcycle that was parachuted into France on D-day.  Afterwards we picnicked outside the museum and played some cards before heading to the Tower of London.

We spent 3 hours at the Tower of London, first we took a tour from a Beefeater - the honorary guard of the tower.  The beefeaters and their families live IN the tower.  That would be a crazy address.  We saw the Crown Jewels and speculated quietly about the health of Queen Elizabeth II (it is treason to talk about the death of a sitting queen) - she has 2 more years to reign and then she will beat Queen Victoria who reigned for 65 years and was the longest reigning monarch in England.  We also visited the cell area where prisoners were kept and inscribed their names into the stone.

The beefeater gave us a very entertaining tour full of gory details of prisoners and their executions.  The story that stuck with me the most was about Simon Fraser, the last man executed at the Tower of London.  At one point Simon Fraser was on my family pedigree - he's missing now, so I'm not sure if he was there by mistake.  The interesting fact about Simon's execution was that before he was executed the platform collapsed killing several Englishmen. Simon, being a Scot, laughed at the accident on the way to his own death and according to the beefeater that is where we get the phrase "laugh your head off".  I'm still trying to decide if I want to be related to Simon Fraser or not.

We had tickets to the key ceremony at the tower at 9:30 so we had to wander the city a bit and kill time before returning to the tower.  We visited Leadenhall Market for dinner and to spot a Harry Potter film site (the leaky cauldron entrance).  We walked through the banking district of London and saw the place of the old Stock Exchange.  We visited Saint Paul's Cathedral where the bag lady sat and sold bird feed to Michael Banks from Mary Poppins and we saw the Royal Justice Court and the Inns of Court on the opposite side of the street.  Eric particularly liked the last 2 stops.

Our final activity of the day was participating in the key ceremony at the Tower of London that has taken place daily for the last 700 years, even during the great fires of London in 1666 and WWII when London was being bombed.  It's a 7 minute ceremony to lock up the Tower.  It was a small group (about 30 people - we got reservations a long time ago for this) and apparently now our names are on the records of the tower stating we were present on this date for the ceremony. I feel like I've participated in history today.

Imperial War Museum

Tower of London

London - Changing of the Guards, British Museums, Les Mis

Changing of the Guards * St. James' Palace * Piccadilly Cir * Hamley Toy Store * British Museum * British Library * Les Miserables

This city is massive!  We've been in some big cities this summer, but this city is so much bigger.  We started our day at the changing of the guards, but instead of battling the crowds in front of Buckingham Palace, we walked down to St James Palace and had front row seats as the guards lined up, did some marching, and then played a few songs before marching off to the Palace where only the people on the front row can see.  We wandered a bit, exploring a few parts of the city before heading to the British Museum.   We walked past fancy, upscale men's clothing shops and even found a Laduree, our favorite Macaroon store from Paris (we couldn't resist getting a macaroon either).  Charlie's favorite stop was Hamley's, a 5 story toy store that is insane.  Employees are dressed up as huge stuffed animals, they are walking around the store playing/selling things from remote control helicopters, to styrofoam planes, to flying disks etc - it's a very high energy store.  We gave ourselves a partner and 20 minutes inside.  I had Charlie and we couldn't get out in less than 30 - gratefully with only 1 small purchase too (a small playmobile English guard - like we'd seen at the changing of the guards).

We spent our afternoon in the British Museum and the British Library.  The British Museum is amazing - it basically houses the entirety of western civilization.  We saw Egyptian artifacts, mummies, the Rosetta Stone, Assyrian winged lions, cuneiform writing tables, and huge junks of the Pantheon in Greece.  We saw a gravestone from the City of Ur (probably a friend of Abraham) and stones from Easter Island.  We saw a 2 headed turquoise mosaic snake that Charlie had studied last year while learning about the Incas.  He thought that was pretty cool. It's one of those museum you could return to time after time and discover something new every time.

The British Library, although small, was just as cool.   We only spent 45 minutes in the special collections rooms, but what we saw was moving.  Here are just a few examples; Handel's handwritten music for The Messiah, a note Michelangelo wrote to his Nephew, a letter Anne Boylen wrote, handwritten lyrics to Hard Days Night and Ticket to Ride from the Beetles, Guttenberg Bible, and a letter from Winston Churchill.  It was an amazing collection.

Tonight we surprised the kids with tickets to Les Mis.  We had originally thought we'd just try for the 1/2 price day of tickets, but we were worried we'd end up with something lame or inappropriate or we'd have a hard time finding 7 tickets for the same show.  So we just bit the bullet and got tickets to something we knew everyone, even Charlie, would love.  We surprised them and didn't tell them until we walked past the theatre and picked up our tickets.  They were thrilled - even Charlie.  Charlie's all time favorite song is from Les Mis and multiple times we had to stop him from singing along.  It was am amazing performance - the theatre was intimate and our seats were great.  So glad we did this!

Photo credits of animals go to Charlie. 

Changing of the Guards at St. James

British Museum

British Museum front steps

Cambridge to London - Warner Brother's Harry Potter

Warner Brothers Harry Potter * London Eye

We were so lucky to score 2 more tickets to the Warner Brother's Harry Potter experience this morning - because of my earlier scheduling error, we only had 5 and although we could send our 5 children without us, it's always good for Eric and me to be around to help moderate any excessive poking or touching (of eachother - not the exhibits).

The experience is a must for any Harry Potter fanatic.  With the exception of Emma and Eric, we are all huge Harry Potter fans.  The thing I appreciated the most was learning about all the talented people it takes to make such an amazing movie - costume, make-up, set design, animatronics, animal trainers, computers, graphics, engineers, etc, etc.  We were able to walk through many original sets including the great hall and the night bus.  We saw scores of costumes and props.  Several times I was amazed to learn that what I had assumed was a computer generated image, was actually a real item.  I learned that Hagrid is played by 2 actors, one of which is a large Rugby player and Hagrid face is a complex computer controlled face for many scenes.  We even sampled butter bear (cream soda with some whip cream on top).  At the end we awed at the huge model that was built of Hogwarts for all the exterior shots of the castle.  The model was huge, and so detailed that it really looks like a castle.  

We decided to drive into London and drop our luggage off at our apartment and then Eric and Stewart took the car out to the airport to return it.  Eric was not intimidated at all driving into the big city on the wrong side of the road - but he's glad to be free from the car.  We drove over 1800 miles in the last 3 weeks in England.  

Our apartment is on a quiet, tree lined street in South Kensington.  It looks like it could be the street from Mary Poppins it's so quaint.

While Eric and Stewart were returning the car, Sydney, Charlie and I walked to the store.  I wonder if my kids are sick of grocery shopping with me and then carrying all the groceries home.  

Tonight, we decided to take the tube into the city and see Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament and ride the London Eye - a huge enclosed Ferris Wheel that takes 30 minutes to rotate, but offers spectacular views of the city.