Saturday in Nelson

The intent of this blog is to provide an overview of our educational tour to New Zealand. However, it is the weekend now. After several full days of meetings, school visits, and presentations, we resolved to take it easy and do some of the tourist things.

Today, we awoke to sounds of animals and the sight of the sun hitting the green ocean waters below us. We spent the morning in downtown Nelson, checking out a huge weekend market and wandering the streets while visiting the various shops and stores. The way everything is laid out with boutiquey streets running to the base of mountains makes this area feel a lot like Banff, Alberta. I guess it would be more like Banff, if it overlooked a huge ocean bay and if it was always summer there.

The highlight of my morning was the half hour at Starbucks where I found the best Internet connection since I arrived in the country. Everywhere else we have been, the wireless has been spotty or extremely expensive. For the price of a large coffee, I was able to connect with my family through Facetime. Thanks iPhone!

As I type this, I am sitting on a deck overlooking the bay. The temperature down at sea level is close to 20 Celcius. Up here, with the elevation and the ever-present breeze, it is more like a gusty 15 or 16 C. I just watched a small sheep run by…looking for his mother. I think it is the same one that I saw this morning. His anxious bleats seem a bit out of place in such a tranquil setting. The three farm dogs lying nearby enjoying the sun seem to be more in line with the serenity of the day.