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LaSER trip to Mexico - 2009
LaSER Trip to Mexico 8-30 August 2009
On 8th August 2009, 15 Senior Section members and 4 adults from London and the South East set out from Gatwick on a three week trip to Mexico. We began our experience in Cuernavaca a small city situated outside of Mexico City, and the home place of Our Cabana. We stayed for 4 nights in Cuernavaca and spent our days volunteering with the VAMOS charity. During this time we painted the outside of a community centre, helped to prepare lunches, and ran activities for groups of mixed aged children. The girls had prepared some activities whilst still in the UK and brought materials with them for the children to use, other games and activities were introduced without preparation on the day. VAMOS was originally set up to help the children of street sellers, and now opens each afternoon in locations across the city as an after school club for all ages of children. The girls gained a great deal from working alongside the children, and upon their return some even said that they were considering changing their chosen career paths to enable them to work with children.
After exploring Cuernavaca, we headed to Our Cabana for our planned 8 day Friendship programme. We joined groups from Panama, Mexico, Canada and the UK in a full programme of activities and day trips ranging from the Girls Worldwide Say initiative to an international fiesta and visit from local children. Despite their being less international groups present than expected due to swine flu, the girls were able to make new friends and fully participate. By the end of the week many had forged new strong friendships with the other girls in their dorms and were sad to see them leave. The whole group, including the 4 leaders were invited to take part in activities, and a craft house was available in between programmed times for us to be creative and take home some traditional Mexican crafts. Day trips included a visit to Taxco - the Silver City, the pyramids at Xochicalco, and the market town of Tepotzlan. On one particular evening the girls were asked to give their feedback about the WAGGGS aims for Girls Worldwide Say, and their comments were fed directly to WAGGGS the next morning - a rare opportunity to speak up and be heard!
After saying our goodbyes to Our Cabana our group set off for Mexico City where we spent 3 nights staying at Ticalli, the Mexican Guide HQ. Form our base we explored Mexico City with the help of a tour guide; we also visited Puebla and the African Safari which the girls chose as a day out. On our last evening in the City we went to see the folkloric ballet which was a fantastic experience which the girls thoroughly enjoyed.
The final leg of our trip was spent taking part in a tailor made tour put together by STA travel using our requested destinations. We took a domestic flight to Merida in the Yucatan Peninsula where we were met by our brilliant tour guide and commenced our 5 day tour. We spent time in the centre of Merida, we also swam in the cenotes (natural sink holes), we stayed in beautiful thatched huts in the historic town of Tulum, and we spent a day at Xel-ha, the girls' favourite day by far! Xel-Ha is a natural lagoon on the coasts of the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, the girls were able to snorkel, swim with dolphins, float along the river and encounter huge iguanas. This was a great way to end our trip. Our last day was spent in Playa Del Carmen with time to visit the beach and do some last minute shopping. On our last evening we enjoyed a Cuban themed meal and finished squeezing our souvenirs into our rucksacks ready for our flight home!
Julie Larner