April 28th: Cappadocia

We spent all morning walking through the Red and Rose valleys, heading to the town of Cavusin.

Eric had a great idea: draw two axes in the sand. The X axis represents how much you want to explore. The Y axis represents how fast you want to walk. Then each student placed themselves on the Cartesian coordinate graph. Then students were bunched up together into groups, each with at least one adult, and off we went.  Not only did I love this idea because it was an application of mathematics, but also because it so clearly and easily placed students into like-minded groups, which allowed everyone to participate at their own pace. 

I ended  up with the slowest walking group. This fit my disposition perfectly because I really don't like being restricted in any way (like many of my students). I want to wander, or sit, or go off the trail.

It was a beautiful day and the scenery was spectacular. 

It was really difficult editing this pictures. Around every corner was another beautiful view. 

And the wifi here at our hotel is so slow. To upload these 26 pictures was taking for ever, so I shut off all the power serving devices and let the program run all night long. when I woke up, only 23 pictures had been uploaded.

Ethan in a cave.

Inside a cave church.

Alicia at a cave entrance. I want to believe she was doing some deep contemplation. but who knows.

Two hours into the hike, we came across this little cave shop in the middle of nowhere. 

Tansule, our tour operator, in the cave shop.

We bought delicious pomegranate/orange juice. 

My juice

My wife Christy loves pomegranates, so whenever I come across the fruit, I need to purchase it. So this photo is for you, Christy. 

Painting on the ceiling of a cave church.

The old town of Cavusin.

For those of you who are following my travel blog for the first time, I should explain that I started blogging during the year I spent in Asia from August 2009 through August 2010. About half way through that year, I took a photo of some beautiful laundry drawing on a line near the sea in Pondicherry, India. From that moment a theme grew. I ended up taking laundry shots all over the world. So, this is my first laundry shot on this trip.

Dinner: stuffed peppers in a yogurt sauce, and mixed grilled vegetables. 

4/29:

I woke up this morning and headed to the roof restaurant, to be surprised by dozens of hot air balloons.

Balloons and laundry