Last But Not Least – Les Mains dans l’art Saint Jean

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20141014Affiche_Travail_4_copieIt was a full house yesterday at the last of my cross-province “Les Mains dans l’art” intuitive painting workshops.  This one was part of the Festival du Vent, St. John’s annual Francophone festival.  It was great: another 3 hours of colours, textures, exploration, and fun as 15 participants created truly unique masterpieces.

The whole process is described in my bilingual Guide to Intuitive Painting if you’d like to give it a try. I’m sure I’ll also be offering more workshops in the future – both in French and English. Interested?

Anyhow, I’ll let these photos do the talking – they say so much!

Thanks to the Réseau Culturel de la Fédération francophone de Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador for hiring me, to Heritage Canada for sponsoring them, and to all the participants in both Newfoundland and Labrador for all the great memories.

 

 

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My Cup Runneth Over – Body, Mind and Spirit Retreat

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Division No. 1, Subd. O-20141109-01653I woke up this morning wanting to blog about my transformative weekend, knowing that if anything I share here inspires you in any way, then it will have been worth my delaying today’s painting session.

How do you fill your cup ?  How do you make sure you’ve taken care of yourself so that you have enough to give or share with others?

As you know, I fill my cup by connecting to Source through painting and being in nature, with or without my camera.  I also do so by growing in my understanding and practice of unconditional love.  One of my favourite ways to do that in the past few decades has been to attend personal or spiritual growth workshops.

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Well, this past weekend at the Body, Mind and Spirit retreat at Lavrock Center in Salmonier, I did just that.  I filled my cup to overflowing. What a blessing!

When it came my turn to hold the talking stick during our opening circle on Friday night, I expressed to the 53 other people there how I hoped to gain an even deeper trust that this path I have chosen (have been guided on) continues to support me and others in love, beauty, and abundance.  I explained that although my life had continued to be magical after my return from my year studying art overseas, the fact that I had no idea what 2015 held for me had brought back some of my scarcity issues and fears.  My heart swelled when Lucy, the organizer, played a song whose lyrics included “Make me an instrument of thy peace” – the mantra that came to me that very morning during meditation.  On Sunday afternoon, during our closing circle, I expressed how my fears had been transformed and that I was leaving with a renewed sense of my own power, purpose, abundance, and a much deeper trust in the future that I’m architecting with my every thought and action.

IMG_8569I also expressed that I was leaving feeling honoured by all that I was able to share and witness over the course of 3 days.  This is my third such retreat, and every time I am impressed with how Lucy O’Driscoll and her team of presenters have been able to create a safe, non-judgmental, loving environment for the participants.  As a presenter myself, there’s no expressing how fulfilling it is to know that what I was able to offer through my two workshops not only provided tools for participants to take with them on their life journeys, but also created the space for some profoundly life-changing aha moments, as individuals attested to during and after my workshops.  Knowing that my being there made a significant difference in the lives of several people still brings tears of joy to my eyes.

I’ll be sharing a summary of both my “Simplifying Your Life” and “Developing Your Intuition” workshops in upcoming posts. For now, I’d like to talk more about some of the gifts I received this weekend. They say that by giving we receive. That’s very true.  Unconditional love is the only thing that keeps filling your own cup the more you give.  There’s something to be said too, however, for the power of allowing, receiving, and accepting.

Transformational Training With Tina Olivero:

When not presenting, I had the chance to attend two other workshops. Using my pendulum to guide me (as all of the workshops would have been great refreshers), I was guided to both of Tina Olivero’s sessions: Self Love and Thought Awareness.  I totally recommend attending one of her workshops – she offers Transformational Tuesdays here in St. John’s, and there’s a weekend retreat coming up at the end of the month. Tina’s biography (both her life and death experiences) is impressive. Her studies have been in ontology (the branch of metaphysics that deals with being-ness) and she used to train the trainers for Landmark – a program that I have heard wonderful things about. The list goes on. Basically, Tina presents herself as a thought adjuster and helps people to create a future that is in alignment with who they really are.  She’s truly an inspiring teacher!  Her workshops were perfect for what I had hoped to gain this weekend for myself.

Basically, I was reminded about the duality of human beings – the human part describing the ego and our propensity towards fear and smallness, and the being part describing our Higher Self and the choices for love that are available to us in every moment.  We covered a lot in our 6 hours together.  I ended up writing 4 words down as a reminder:

Future: something we architect from our thoughts
Integrity: keep your promises to yourself first and foremost
Responsibility: being able to respond from Higher Self at every moment
Perception: Nothing has meaning except the meaning you give it.

Her sessions reminded me of the Master Your Mind – Peak Potentials Training workshop I attended in LA in 2008 with several inspirational teachers.  I offer you this video summary I  made at the time using my photography; I just noticed it’s up to 9,200 views on youtube.  May it make a difference in your day.

Shamanic Ceremony with Alison Normore:

This weekend was also a great opportunity to reconnect with Alison Normore.  Some of you might recall that I took an intuitive 26-day road trip across the island of Newfoundland shortly after I moved here in 2011. The only thing set in my schedule were her Munay-Ki Initiation retreat and her New Earth Medicine – Awakening week-long retreat in Gros Morne National Park during the Peruvian Shaman Tour.  This past weekend, the whole group participated in a wonderful sacred water ritual that Alison led indoors.  It was supposed to be an outdoor fire ceremony, but with the 130km/hr winds, rain, hail and wet snow, I’m glad we stayed inside.  Alison also gave me a ride to and from Salmonier and was my only roommate, so we had a nice chance to catch up.

If you’re interested in Alison’s work – she’s got two events this week in St. John’s and more around the island.

So Much More:

There’s nothing like the power of unconditional love.  The only way we can be truly loved, however, is to be seen and accepted for we we truly are.  These retreats give participants plenty of chances to let go of masks and barriers in order to show themselves.  Many expressed their surprise at how much they opened up and how they didn’t feel judged for what they revealed about themselves.  Beautiful! Powerful! People don’t always feel safe doing so in society. Once people have tasted the deliciousness of being authentic and have been supported for being so, the easier it becomes to building communities around ourselves that can love and accept us for who we are.  Rich!

Apart from that, there was plenty of food, laughter, and fun this weekend.  Thanks Lucy for all your work over the years in providing these annual retreats.

Next Body, Mind, and Spirit Retreat – May 1-3 Weekend at The Wilds Golf Resort

IMG_8572Scholarships:
Every year, Lucy graciously offers scholarships for her retreats.  In addition to the 50/50 draw at each retreat, she raises funds for these scholarships by organizing silent auctions – asking participants to donate items or services that others can bid on.  Her sister Clare was the very happy winner of the painting I created for that purpose: “Royal Retreat”, which will adorn her new home.

I am also very grateful that I had a chance to share my art with the participants during the weekend.

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Whatever helps you fill your cup, I truly hope you prioritize it on your to-do list this week and every week.  You’re worth it. You and those around you deserve it!

Namaste!

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School Painting Workshop in St. John’s

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Leslie Quennehen_Grands Vents_Saint Jean_DLH_0106In the next few days, I’ll be writing a bilingual post that summarizes my workshop teaching process for those interested in trying it out for themselves or with their classes/groups. Get your paints ready – it doesn’t have to be a high energy performance like I do it!  If very well organized and each step is timed almost to the minute, it can be done with a group in 3 hours (after the room is set up). I also did it with a very small group in 2 hours, but there was no waiting time for the dryers or sinks. Having said that, I’ve done it for a full weekend too.  In that case, students got a lot more of the important free time to repeat any of the steps they felt moved to once the basic 4 steps are completed and worked on several canvases at a time. The possibilities – and layers – are endless!

Last School – St. John’s :

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Leslie Quennehen_Grands Vents_Saint Jean_DLH_0068I was at l’École des Grands-Vents at 7:30am this morning to set up for my last school workshop of the “Les Mains dans l’art” program.  On my own, it takes about an hour to get the room and all the supplies ready.  It really helps set the mood, and it’s a lot more effective if we can get rolling right away when they arrive. It’s high energy from the get-go, and I’m lucky if I get a washroom break in the following 3 hours, even if the children get a recess.

We had a big group today – 12 grade 6 students and their substitute teacher, M. Gilles.  There was a lot of energy, but also a lot of cooperation.  Alas, the bathrooms were a mess by the end, but the school custodian wasn’t phased. He simply repeated “It’s my job” every time I apologized. I had another helper too today. Leslie, who was also a part of the west coast leg of this workshop tour, joined us for the morning to take pictures, so that was great.

It’s always gratifying after the the first little while when students stop asking “Is it OK to …”.  By the end, I could tell that they all understood that there are no mistakes, and that if they keep focusing on what they like or enjoy, they’ll create a piece they’re happy with – one that is uniquely their own – even if it takes more than the 5 layers we had time to complete in class. It may have taken more time for some than others to let loose and let go, but again, by the end, everyone was taking creative risks, exploring, having fun, letting go of expectations, etc.  Great job! I’m so proud of all of the leaps of faith I witnessed today.

If you could see their faces (which I don’t show in school photos on the Internet), you’d see that they were a happy and energetic bunch! For Step 2, with cool colours, they only had 10 seconds with each toy/tool before passing it to the right. They had so many to play with, I didn’t want them to obliterate their warm colours. I’m sure all that fun energy comes across in both their paintings and these photos – I’ll let the photos tell the rest of the story (a couple of the spooky Hallowe’en type).

Note: There is one more free French community workshop left here in St. John’s on November 22nd as part of the Festival des Vents. Stay tuned for details. Registration will be limited to 15.  No experience required – Truly! –  just an open mind and a heart open to play.

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3 New Paintings

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IMG_8530I got back from my cross-province workshop tour on Friday.  I have 2 “Les Mains dans l’art” workshops left here in St. John’s, one on Wednesday morning at l’École des Grands-Vents and the other, open to the public for free, in late November during the Festival des vents.  If you’re familiar with French, you’ll notice that both these names includes a reference to Newfoundland’s winds.  Well, I’m glad to report that Hurricane Gonzalo didn’t hit us hard, at least not where I live.  During the heavy rains and wind of the last 2 days, I was in my beloved studio painting in preparation for some upcoming group exhibitions.  The river in the backyard was half way up the hill when I woke up this morning, but it’s on its way back down again, and we’ve since had sunshine and unseasonal warm weather.

FALLAANL2014The 3 paintings for next weekend’s Art Association of Newfoundland & Labrador Fall Exhibit and Sale were finished before I left for my workshop tour.  I just hadn’t photographed them yet.  If you’re in St. John’s, I hope you’ll join me and the many other artists displaying at the Arts & Culture Centre October 24 (6-9pm reception), 25 and 26.  Free admission.  I’ll definitely be there on Friday evening.  Please share this information. Thanks.

Here are the 3 new paintings I’ll have on display/ for sale during that exhibition (or before if you can’t wait).

1.  “Seabird” – 12″ x 12″ – SOLD, acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas (no framing required).
This beauty’s hair is flying in the NL winds, lifting her into a state of freedom and elation as she turns her eyes upwards to the skies, one with all that is.

2. “Mirage” – 24″ x 36″ , acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas (no framing required). – SOLD
The subtle energies emerging from the background simply asked for me to bring this tree to life.  This is quite a new look for my work, even if it’s easy to recognize it’s mine.  I can see the influence of my time studying in Vienna with this one.

3.  “I AM” – 24″ x 36″  , acrylics & tar gel on gallery-wrapped canvas (no framing required).- SOLD
You might recognize this imagery from 2 other pieces I’ve worked on this season: “Exaltation” and “The Astral Drum“.  I felt called to explore the theme and imagery even further as it continues to emanate from my soul, but this time in 3-D, using clear tar gel for texture, leaving the background layers visible while the Universe keeps evolving.

 

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Workshop Tour Day 9: Colourful Happy Valley

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Dominique Hurley_Labrador_HVGB Churchill River_DLH_9933I woke up at 3am with a bright computer screen inches from my face on the bedside table at my hotel in Goose Bay.  Last I remember, there were only 5 or so photos left to upload to this blog – less than 2 minutes of waiting time – but I guess my body simply decided it was time to sleep after such a colourful day.

Les Mains dans l’art:  L’École Boréale  – Happy Valley, Labrador

Dominique Hurley_Labrador_École Boréale_DLH_9727I left my hotel at 6am in case the road crews had already started work on the stretch of road between Goose Bay and Happy-Valley.  That, and I needed to hunt for breakfast as it’s not served in my hotel. Luckily, I found a Tim Horton’s on the way. Of course I had to Dominique Hurley_Labrador_École Boréale_DLH_9588test whether sugar on an empty stomach still gave me an immediate headache, something I tend to forget.  What can I say? I associate Tim Horton’s with Boston Cream Doughnuts…  I was OK after I followed that up with some healthier choices.  I was at the school a little before 7am, when Jean-Pierre, the director opened up. It takes me about an hour to set up the room, and I like to have it all done by the time the participants arrive.

We had a great morning – 3 hours here with 8 participants, including Mme Nancy, the teacher, and Dominic, one of the parents.  We also had a ninth, Mme Joanna, who assisted one of the children and a few others who dropped in to witness the fun.  You’ll see a couple of faces in this gallery, as the parents were there to give me permission.  That third hour is great as it gives the students time to go through the warm, cool, glaze, and contrast layers before spending time listening to their hearts and their artwork to repeat any of the steps with any of the tools.  Once again, we were all thrilled with the results, and Mme Nancy intends to repeat the process with future classes.  Wonderful!  I’m also happy to report that Oscar, the cutest bunny ever, is still very much white after our very messy morning in his proximity.  Thanks to all for yet another memorable experience!

Dome Mountain:

Dominique Hurley_Labrador_HVGB Churchill River_DLH_9684After returning to my hotel for lunch and to spread out my brushes to dry, I met Marie-Ève, the school secretary and pre-school teacher, and we drove our separate cars up to Dome Mountain.  I could see why she opted for that instead of trying to draw me a map.  What an adventure of twists and turns through the military base (major flashbacks from my childhood on Canadian bases in Germany) and up dirt roads up the mountain.  I’m glad to report I didn’t leave the floor of my snazzy little red Cube anywhere and that my tires survived the million potholes. I can see why this is a popular playground for all terrain vehicles in the summer and ski-doos in the winter.  Once at the top, you get a great panoramic view of the whole region (although the thick haze didn’t make for great photography).Still, it was a thrill being up there and the adventure ride had me grinning yet again.

I didn’t read about this look-out on any tourist site – I felt very lucky.  I didn’t stay long after my guide left for her appointment, but took a long time getting back down – avoiding potholes, taking pictures, and playing the “find your way back” game.

I was meeting Isabelle at the school at 3pm – she works for the French school board in St. John’s, and we’ve been following each other since Port-au-Port. We headed nearby to where the director had explained was the only access to Churchill River in town.  Yay! I was going to get my sunset over water.  I knew there had to be water nearby. He explained that access to it in town was restricted for strategic military reasons when the base was built here in the valley.  I had read about this trail that passes behind Warr’s Pharmacy.  That’s where we parked, and Isabelle went for a jog along the path that passed behind houses along the shore for a few kilometers while I took pictures.

We then drove to a nearby boat launch before she went back to her hotel to work, and I kept scouting for spots to set up for sunset.

I’m just amazed at all the sand here after the pebble and stone beaches of Newofundland.  At one point, I drove down a long sandy road and onto a huge beach where all-terrain vehicles obviously have their fun.  It was magic hour for the light. Heaven!

I left before sunset though because I didn’t want to have to drive out of there in the dark.  Instead, I went back to the beach at the end of the walking trail and enjoyed the show. Now it’s your turn.

I head home to St. John’s in a couple of hours. Today, Day 10, marks the end of my travels. I loved being on the road, and I’m ready to go home.  The program isn’t finished though.  I teach in the school in St. John’s next Wednesday morning.  After that, there will be a community workshop open to the public during the Festival du Vent, on Saturday, November 22nd.  I’ll give you more details about registration as soon as I get them.  Thanks for traveling and playing with me everyone!

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Workshop Tour Day 7: Hike, Drive, Teach & Sleep

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I took a lot less photos today, so I won’t be going to bed at midnight again. Yay! Today, I left the camera in the car and went for a 25-minute power walk around Tanya Lake (vs. yesterday’s 2.5-hour photo walk around it).  It’s amazing how familiar the trail was – I even recognized specific blades of grass, etc. from my intense focus the day before.  Then, I hopped in the car and drove to Wabush (the adjoining town 10 minutes away) and went to take a look at Jean Lake. I was greeted at the gate by a spruce grouse right next to the road… but the camera was in the trunk….  There’s a 5km hiking trail around the lake, but I didn’t want to risk being late for school (a good habit I’ve kept from childhood 🙂  ) and was chicken about doing it alone (there are bears in Labrador you know!), so I took a few pictures and headed back to Labrador City past some great Hallowe’en displays.

Les Mains dans l’art: 

Dominique Hurley_Labrador City_l'Envol_DLH_9381Le Centre éducative L’ENVOL is quite a big school.  If I remember what the director told me, most of their students are in grades 4 and below. Today, I taught three grade 7-8 students. Although some from that class were absent, we made as big and fun a mess as any other workshop group. On top of that, the results, as you’ll see, were just as unique and creative.  We also only had 2 hours here instead of 3, but less line-ups at the sink and hairdryer station sped things up a bit.

Dominique Hurley_Labrador City_l'Envol_DLH_9392I’m thrilled that the visual arts teacher also participated today. With all the leftover supplies, he plans to pass along this new style of painting to the younger students. In fact, that’s what’s great about the layering process I’ve been teaching on this trip.  You can keep on building on top of it and in the end, simplify the concept so that the multiple layers of colour and texture become a fascinatingly deep backdrop to whatever world you decide to create on top – be it abstract, landscape, portraiture, collage, or other genres. In fact, you can take this initial intuitive process and integrate it to what you already know and love in order to make it your own.  Jason seemed to find the experience fulfilling, especially because it was such a different approach than his own. This school is very lucky. Jason’s education is in the arts, his work is stunning, and they have a fully equipped visual arts room. I was like a kid in a candy shop looking around while waiting for my little crew to arrive!  So much inspiration and lots of fun projects. Bravo!

Well, it’s 5pm, I’ve had my dinner. and would almost say I’m ready for bed… I think it’s a TV night.  I’m not inspired to go back out in this pouring rain and am quite tired today.  I fly out tomorrow at 11:45 am, so if the weather is good, I may hike up to Crystal Falls in the morning. We’ll see.

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Workshop Tour Day 6: Marvellous Monday!

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Dominique Hurley_Labrador City_Tanya Lake_DLH_9012

I knew that I was probably going to skip lunch, so I had a huge breakfast in the hotel restaurant this morning, including toutons, a NL specialty of pan fried dough smothered in molasses (I had a choice of having them deep fried, but opted for the healthier choice 🙂  – a far cry from my usual Vega smoothie).  I then headed out in the drizzle for a 2.5-hour walk around Tanya Lake at the edge of town.  Folks say it takes 30 minutes to walk the trail around it, but they obviously aren’t lugging a camera and tripod.  Here’s why it took so long for me.

Association francophone du Labrador:

1522074_1512135659031968_8194920878061840375_nAt the end of the trail, I was rushing to get back to the car, so that I could get to the Association francophone du Labrador by 11:30am.  I had arranged to be there early to set up before the 9 participants arrived.  As expected and hoped for, we had a lot of fun and the results were amazing, yet again.  I am thoroughly impressed with the creative process I witnessed here.  I witnessed courage, risk-taking, letting go, relaxing, confidence building, and a whole lot of colour. I even got a few ideas!  I tell you, teachers learn as much from their students as students learn from teachers! I’m so glad I remembered to take pictures, as I no longer have Leslie with me.  Enjoy!

The sun was bright at 4:30pm after class, so I drove above Labrador City for a while to get a better feel for the place.  There are truly lakes all around! I thought about going hiking, but I was too tired and hungry and my sponge brushes were calling to be laid out to dry before tomorrow’s class.  It was a nice drive and the light was gorgeous.  What a marvelous Monday!

Dominique Hurley_Labrador City_Atelier AFL_DLH_9357

 

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Workshop Tour Day 5: En Route to Labrador City

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IMG_8484I spent most of my day Thanksgiving Sunday far above this gorgeous planet with my head in the clouds 🙂  Indeed, I had plenty of sitting time in airports and on planes to reflect on all that I am grateful for.  So much! I especially loved doing that up in the air, closer to the Heavens.  Less interference.

Day 5 was a travel day – from Deer Lake on the island of Newfoundland to Goose Bay in Labrador on the mainland, and a few hours later, from Goose Bay to Labrador City, with a brief stop in Churchill Falls. You’ll see from the photos that this is really a land of lakes.  There definitely aren’t as many colours here as on the island, but the floors of white lichen between the pine trees were captivating.  No snow yet. The lakes seemed laced with orange patterns – fascinating! When I arrived at Wabush airport (5 minutes drive from my hotel in Labrador City), it was cold and rainy. I knew I was in a smaller place when the car rental agent just handed me the keys and directed me to the parking lot with a “Just press this button and she’ll beep at you. You’ll know which one it is.”  I got to my room in the Two Seasons Inn at about 5pm and after putting my feet in hot water (that last plane was cold), I ordered a pizza and watched a movie on TV.  The restaurant was closed for the holiday and the place was hauntingly quiet. I didn’t mind at all.  It was just what I needed.

I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving Monday – may it be filled with an abundance of tiny, small, medium, large and huge things to be grateful for.  I’ll be heading into nature this morning and teaching a community workshop this afternoon.  Perfect!  Of course, you’ll hear all about it in the next post.

 

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Workshop Tour Day 4: Last Day on the Island

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I had such a great time on Saturday! More importantly, so did 13 participants in the community workshop in Grand’Terre.  The workshop was held in the same school cafeteria I was at on Thursday. It is also part of the community center in this town that you’ll find called Mainland in English on some maps.  This central location was chosen so that participants from Cap St. George, Grand’Terre, Lourdres, L’anse-aux-canards and other neighbouring towns could gather easily.  The youngest was 2 weeks old (accompanied by Dad, a teacher at the school I taught Friday, mom, and visiting grandmother from New Brunswick)! After 3 hours of fun, we again took the time to share what we had learned. I was thrilled to hear as the first comment:  “To not be scared”. (Thanks again to Leslie Quennehen of the FFTNL for the workshop photos.)

As you’ll see in the photos, there’s also a filmmaker in the crowd, who came to film me for a short clip that will air on TV5-Unis in December. I’ll get to share my story on TV. Fun! I’ll also admit that as a professional artist who relies on painting sales for her living, this kind of exposure is priceless!  We met Laurence Mathieu-Leger and her business partner of Bicyclette Multimedia (based in Ottawa) at the Cape Inn the night before.  They’ve been traveling the country with Laurence’s newborn to film footage for a series of clips that air on this French television station. Her featurettes are on teachers, French immigrants, grandparents/granchildren, and radio personalities. She was interested in the fact that I was a nomadic teacher, not just in the arts, but in English Second Language, and personal/spiritual growth workshops (intuition, simplifying your life, etc.).  Our conversations really helped me reflect on how I love to share what brings me joy and what inspires me.  It also helped me realize that I’ve spent most of my life either as a student or as a teacher all over this planet. It’s all about being inspired and opening others to potential inspiration.  Very satisfying!  I look forward to seeing the clip – she does an amazing job!  I’ll let you know when it airs, of course.  Even if you don’t speak French, her visuals are incredible!

After the workshop, Louis Christophe, Leslie, and I had a quick take-out meal in the cool breeze and then headed off the peninsula, with a few stops along the way to see Hidden Falls, the alpaca farm, and the dolomites along the side of the road.  The colours once we were off the peninsula were simply breathtaking – it was getting dark and we were on the highway, so no pictures of that unfortunately… By dinner, we were in Deer Lake, where I slept very well indeed! I leave in 30 minutes for the airport to fly to Labrador City where I’ll be teaching 2 workshops on Monday and Tuesday.

Happy Thanksgiving!  As must be obvious, I have so much to be grateful for.  As my reader, with whom I can share all this joy and adventure, I am also truly thankful for you!

Dominique Hurley_Port au Port_DLH_8961

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Down the Long Narrow Road in Port-au-Port

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I’ve already posted about the workshop on Day 3, but that was only a part of my spectacular day on Friday.  After breakfast, I grabbed my camera to pay homage to a wonderful sunrise over the ocean. A tripod would have been useless in that wind. Instead, I held my long lens against the corner of the inn to try and hold it steady.

The wind didn’t let up all day – quite a difference from the day before.  I left the tripod in the car and shot at high speeds with my long lens, hoping I’d capture something close to the framing I had wanted. They were challenging shooting conditions, but fun for sure! It was much cooler too and the ocean was dramatic. At one point, we got caught 20 minutes from the car in the pouring rain.  The rainbow over the lobster fishing station, however, made it worth it.  I am so grateful we had this sightseeing time in addition to the workshops.  In the afternoon, after class, our very knowledgeable tour guide, Louis Christophe (my program coordinator), drove us from Cape St. George all the way to the end of that long point on the map below- several kilometers down a narrow dirt road. It was a great adventure and new territory for me.

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