Afternoon Hike

Text and photos by Elizabeth Barnes

Lots of the special activities we do with the Family Support Center kids on vacation Thursdays require careful planning. We need to decide exactly what we're doing at least a few days out, buy supplies, and carry everything out to Llanos del Pinal. There's tons of prep and cleanup and hubbub.

Our penultimate vacation Thursday was much simpler: a hike. Grab your water bottle and go exploring.

The FSC teachers led the hike up one of the mountains surrounding Llanos. The very littlest hikers got some help.

Somehow, the hikers with the shortest legs were the fastest and least likely to complain that they were tired!

Our destination was a clear, lush slope. We had great luck with the weather.

As we set out on the hike, Amy (right) declared that she didn't want to wear her plain white sweater and dashed home to change. When she came back she matched Evelyn!

Hikers sat down on the hill to enjoy the lovely day or split into groups to play policia y ladrones (cops and robbers), Red Rover, or "let's see how many times we can roll down this hill before becoming so dizzy we can't stand up on the first try."

And the afternoon sunlight created some prime photo opportunities!

After an hour and a half, we headed back through the streets of Llanos, where a few kids took it upon themselves to clean up (and earn recycling points!) by collecting plastic.

Thick as thieves all through the hike, Evelyn and Amy teamed up for recycling as well.

Growing up in a rural community like Llanos means growing up with limited access to education and healthcare. But it also means growing up surrounding by incredible natural beauty, and activities like the hike let the kids enjoy their environment to the fullest.

Speaking of vacation activities, have you seen the Fall/Winter 2015 edition of Solidaridad, the Foundation Todos Juntos and Pop Wuj Spanish School newsletter? It features an article on the FSC vacation curriculum and others on service learning at the clinic and developments in the nutrition program. Check it out!