Global Adventures

Today was spent at Machu Picchu, the Lost City of the Incas. It is an absolutely magnificent place. It is nestled high in the Andes Mountains and, at one time, archaeologists estimate that around 2,000 people lived there. The Incas were a remarkable people in terms of how they lived in a community with one another. They utilized a terrace system for agriculture and created bountiful harvests – key to both their strength and their survival – until the Spanish Conquest of the early 16th century. Pictures taken of Machu Picchu hardly do it justice, although they are quite stunning. We hiked up 1,000 feet above Machu Picchu to the Gate of the Sun. The Incas used intricate rock positions to determine both the winter and spring solstices – something that was necessary to maximize the yield of their crops. What struck me was the intense collaborative work necessary to sustain this community, coupled with the insight of how to utilize the gifts of creation to promote growth. It was truly remarkable, and a good reminder that such practices are, indeed, healthy and do promote growth. It was true for the Incas, as it is true for us! This will be my last post as I will spend the bulk of the next two days traveling from the heights of the Andes back to Memphis.

See you on Wednesday!

Go Gryphons, and congratulations on a second state football championship!

Greetings from Peru! I am in this beautiful country as part of a board of educators who are advising an international educational company about service learning and 21st century skills. To this end, I am certainly talking about the many ways that St. George’s students and faculty employ these skills in a variety of ways. This is a magnificent part of the world, and the Andes mountains are unlike anything that I have seen before. The people are especially warm and engaging.

We spent some time today visiting a service learning project that brings college students to a village near Cuzco to help the villagers improve the healthy conditions in their homes. It was a good reminder about how little things can have a big impact. The volunteers were fabulous and were working in complete collaboration with the villagers. We also visited a textile workcenter, where they make woolen fabrics based the way that has been passed down since the Incas. Similarly, we also visited an artist who works with clay as a means to describe the cohesive unity of the world of the Andes and the heritage of the Incas. He described his life’s passion of working with clay in the following way: “I do not work so that I can sell. I sell so that I can work.” What a marvelous perspective on life!

Tomorrow, we visit Machu Picchu.

Bill Taylor, School President

St. George’s Independent School

The group I am with this year is much different from last year. Bill Winhall is here again but the other two are researchers. It is fun to be with people who are on the cutting edge of polar bear research. The amount of knowledge these guys have is amazing. Their knowledge ranges from care of bears in captivity to acoustic studies in maternal dens to how climate change has affected these animals.

The weather yesterday was beautiful, almost too beautiful. It has been pretty warm and sunny. I was here a week earlier last year and the bay was already starting to freeze and most of the ponds were frozen. We are hoping for snow this week because it makes for better pictures. Right now there is hardly any snow on the ground.

We saw 4 ptarmigan and lots of snow buntings. The bears were pretty active in the morning and one even came up to the buggy. It hopped up on the side of the buggy and was within an arms reach of me. It is so tempting to reach out and touch one, but I know better.

At the end of the day today we got to see two male polar bears sparring. I have never seen this before. It is pretty cool. It is easy for these bears to overheat in this weather so they usually just lay around. Also, they don’t want to burn too many calories because they may not get to eat for a while. These two boys just wouldn’t listen. They followed each other around most of the afternoon taking a break from sparing here and there. They even came over to the lodge together, investigated, and went and laid down right next to each other. Pretty neat.

I don’t really care much for hanging around in the town. The minute I arrived in Churchill I was ready to get out on the buggy. It seems that is where the real action is. Last year I went out on the buggy the day I got in, but this year we spent the day in town and left the next day. Not much happens in Churchill. Now that I am out on the Tundra, I am excited to be here. The tight quarters and staying 10 feet off the ground don’t really bother me much. Driving around in these buggies is pretty cool. On the drive out the buggies plow through hip deep lakes and over 5 feet ice drifts. They are really awesome machines and one-of-a-kind. Last year I asked the owner/manager of the Tundra Buggy operation when they would have a toy-sized replica of the machines and he said it was in the works. I can’t wait to get one.

We were not out on the tundra more than one hour when we saw our first bear. The scientists I am with say the bears don’t look as good as they did last year. They are pretty skinny. It all depends on how long they get on the ice and where the ice flows end up. Last year a bunch of ice blew into Hudson Bay so the bears here got to spend more time out hunting, but this year the story is different.

One bear in particular was looking pretty skinny. His name is Dancer. Everyone was excited to see Dancer back this year. He is a regular around the lodge. They say he comes back around the 1st of November every year, but he got back early this year. They call him Dancer because he loves to stand up on the buggy then push off and walk backwards on his hind legs. I am yet to see this display, but hope to.