Busy as usual

I'm back in the course, which is demanding but fun. Yesterday was meteorology, accident prevention and first aid, and today was astronomical distances and the sun. A lot of the others are finding the astronomy bit hard going, while I know most of the content, but I still have to learn all the vocabulary in Spanish. Mind you, taking notes in Spanish is getting easier, thank goodness.

I'm also trying to get fit, ready for the weekend trip into the Caldera. This morning I managed to get to the top of Montaña de la Breña for the first time since I was ill, so I think I'll be all right. I hope so. It'll be embarrassing if everybody has to wait for me.

Will I ever get time to write again?

The lost week

That last post turned out to be tempting fate. I had a short course on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, about how to start a tourism business. I was sniffling on Tuesday evening and worse on Wednesday. I scaled back my planned walk on Thursday, but by Friday afternoon I was downright ill.

I spent pretty much the whole weekend in bed, and still felt wobbly on Monday. I cancelled Tuesday's guiding job, and pottered around on Wednesday and Thursday. On Friday, I felt well enough to take a group around the WHT. Yippee, recovered at last!

And on Friday evening I went down with gastroenteritis. I had to cancel my plans for Saturday and Sunday, and still felt rough on Monday.

Today I finally feel well enough to start exercising again. Only the house is a mess and I haven't studied, and I need to cook ahead for next week's course and...

Tired legs.

Continuing my plan to get fitter, I took the bus into Santa Cruz this morning,and walked home. The hard way - up the steep hill to Buenavista at the back of Concepción, and then through San Pedro and down the hill to home.

All this walking is working. After 6 km it was nice to sit down, but I wasn't collapsing.

On TV tonight.

Just had TV Canarias on the phone. They say I'll be on TV tonight at 10:30 pm in "Canarias, Mi Mundo." With a bit of luck, they're right this time.

Busy, busy

I've been burning the candle both ends lately, and not for fun.

I'm on a course to become a tour guide, specializing in astronomy. Of course I've been working as a tour guide at the observatory for a couple of years, and I love it, so the course is just what I want. The tricky part is making the time. It's three separate weeks (on in March, one in April and one in May) and each week is pretty intense: lectures from 4 pm - 9 pm Monday to Friday (that's 5 hours, all in Spanish), plus practical activities on Friday night and Saturday afternoon and evening. Later one, there's a couple of overnight activities. Well, astronomy usually happens at night, doesn't it? And I was rather startled to find that the practical activites involve fairly strenuous hiking. I hadn't realised that some hiking firms offer night-time hikes with added stargazing. Fine. Great idea. It's just that I'm worried that I'm not fit enough.

While I was at the course on Monday, TV Canaria phoned to say that I'd be in "Canarias, Mi Mundo" late on Tuesday night - the bit they'd filmed of me at the beginning of the month. I was surprised that it was so soon, but this started a flurry of activity, with my husband preparing to record it and me telling the world I was going to be on.

Although I was rather tired, I stayed up to watch the programme. And I wasn't in it.

It was a bad time to miss sleep, because yesterday I had a guiding job in the morning as well. I left home at 8:15, showed one group around the Liverpool telescope, and two more around the Herschel. I got home at 2:45, very glad that I'd grabbed a pizza on the way, because I had to eat, shower and leave by 3:30. And then I had my five hours of lectures in Spanish. I was half dead by the end of that.

And this afternoon I have more to come.