Welcome back, all! It’s Day 14 of the Apogee summer and, let me tell you, these trips are in the zone! From hiking and biking to service and surfing, our groups are basking in all the glory the great outdoors has to offer. While the days of the week kind of lose meaning during an Apo summer, we’ve got to say “T.G.I.F.,” because Friday gives us an excuse for two of our favorite things: alliteration and fun facts! So without further ado, we present you with Fun Facts Friday!
Skip to a Specific Trip: MCJ, CI, NEMCA, NEMCB, CRM, CS, MCCE, MCP, DEXA, DEXB, VMA, VMB, CRLC, CRMC, CMCA, CMCB, AKMCA, AKMCB, NWX, PC, AXA, AXB, ECCA, ECCB, PMC
Caribbean Service (CS)
A bioluminescent bay?! Whoa! What better way to experience this one-of-a-kind place than to kayak it by night! *Fun fact* In 2006, the Guinness Book of World Records officially named Vieques’s bay as the brightest bioluminescent bay in the world! With each stroke of a paddle, the water lights up below! The path you’ve taken stays alight for a moment, and if you’re lucky enough to get a good dark night, the stars will twinkle in the sky above! Have I set the scene well enough? Ok, well we’ll give you the low down on this exciting outing tomorrow after CS has completed tonight’s bio-bay kayak tour! This morning, the group did some service at a local garden. They then spent the afternoon on the beach, getting pumped up for their night time kayak! They’ll wrap up a triumph of a trip with one last full day together tomorrow!
Maine’s Downeast Explorer (DEX)
DEX is back on the mainland! Today they paddled back from their exciting island kayaking excursion! Speaking of islands, did you know that *fun fact* Maine boasts an astounding 3,166 coastal islands? It’d take a long time to paddle to all of those! Reports from the field say they had wraps for lunch made with salami, cheese, potato chips, peanut butter, and jelly. Apparently, the unlikely combination was “really good” (their words, not mine)! They then transited back to midcoast Maine for a final group dinner to celebrate a wild, wonderful, challenging and rewarding trip!
Vermont to Montreal A (VMA)
VMA has arrived in Montreal! Hip hip hooray! Today, they completed a challenging 37 miles, which has been the biggest mileage of the trip! The group had so much fun today and is thrilled to have made it to Montreal! They got an early start for the last leg of their ride, which was on Route Verte 1, a lovely bike path that took them through the countryside, then the suburbs, and finally right into the city! *Fun fact* The city of Montreal is technically an island that sits on the convergence of the St. Lawrence and Ottawa rivers! They’ll be living on island time for the rest of today and tomorrow- a blissful existence in the little VMA world they’ve created…They’ll get to explore Montreal tomorrow, pick up mail, and then celebrate an amazingly successful trip with a final group dinner!
Vermont to Montreal B (VMB)
Who’s that rugged crew cycling into the city of Montreal? Does anybody recognize them? Oh that’s right, it’s VMB! They made it!! We’re thrilled to report that VMB has reached their final destination after a beautiful day of riding along Route Verte 1, a bike path that took them right into the city. This afternoon, they got settled in, picked up some mail, and acquainted themselves with their new surroundings. Tomorrow night, they’ll enjoy a final dinner together. Here’s (another) *fun fact* for you: Montreal has the highest number of restaurants per capita in all of Canada! We hope VMB makes good use of that fact and eats some delicious food tomorrow night.
Costa Rica Mountains & Coast (CRMC)
Pura vida! CRMC is truly embracing the Costa Rican pura vida attitude today and every day this trip as they enjoy all that the country has to offer. From the rainforests to the beaches to the fact that it *fun fact* currently runs 98% on renewable energy, Costa Rica is rich with culture and opportunity for adventure! Today, CRMC hit the coast- they had a magnificent snorkeling outing at Caño Island! Picture yourself surrounded by schools of fish in crystal, turquoise waters (the kind you’ve always thought was photoshopped in)… if that’s not surreal enough then throw in some turtles and rays into that image you’ve got in your head! This CRMC crew felt like they were snorkeling right through an aquarium! This dreamy trip is nearing an end, sadly, and they’ll wrap up their time together catching some final sick waves and then wave farewell. It’s been too good to be true, CRMC!
California Mountains & Coast A (CMCA)
Don’t know about you, we’ve been dying to see photos from our outstanding CMCA adventurers! Since you’ve been so patient, we’ll load this post up with lots of goodies from their stint in the Golden State backcountry! *Fun fact* California is nicknamed “The Golden State” because of the gold rush in 1849, but it should also be because of all the beautiful sunshine they get – just look at that light! The crew hiked out of Yosemite yesterday, and took advantage of the many amenities the front country has to offer! Today, they made their way to Santa Cruz, CA to surf to their heart’s content. Bro, they’ve been shredding some gnarly waves all day long! Tomorrow is the last full day that the group has together, and we’re sad this unbelievably fun trip is nearing an end! For now though, CMCA is all smiles!
California Mountains & Coast B (CMCB)
Live long and surf on… we’ll see if that’s the mindset our CMCB team has after an exceptional day on the waves in Santa Cruz, CA! *Fun fact* Santa Cruz is actually the birthplace of mainland surfing! The story goes that three Hawaiian princes taught locals to surf for the first time in 1885! This group of go-getters has been taking full advantage of the amazing places they’ve been – they’re waking up early to catch sunrises and savoring sunsets! Tonight they’re hoping for a sunset on the beach to celebrate a successful day surfing! Tomorrow, CMCB has a morning service project and then they’ll head to San Francisco for a celebratory final dinner!
Alaska Mountains & Coast A (AKMCA)
AKMCA has returned from their kayaking excursion at Holgate Glacier, and boy do we have some NatGeo-worthy pics for you! The group enjoyed beautiful views for the entirety of the trip, and they checked off species after species of wildlife they saw on their way! Here are a few: moon jellies (glowing bell-shaped jellyfish!), otters, seals, and puffins! They even paddled side by side with orca and humpback whales. While it was a rainy day, the group’s spirits remained high as they celebrated a birthday with pizza and cake for dinner and dessert! If you thought they’d had enough of glaciers after this jaunt, guess again! Today, they had a full day of glacier hiking and ice climbing! They chose the right state to find glaciers because *fun fact* about 3% of the entire state of Alaska is covered by glaciers! You can’t get a much more adventure filled day than that, if you ask us!
Alaska Mountains & Coast B (AKMCB)
This morning, our AKMCBuddies hiked out of the backcountry! After their epic three-day trek of the Williwaw Lakes Loop, this group is happy to be back to service and civilization (and showers!). The crew saw so many amazing sights during their backcountry section – surely some glaciers, as *fun fact* the vast majority of U.S. glaciers are in Alaska, and the state is home to approximately 27,000 glaciers in total. Tomorrow, they’ll get down to business on some community service projects with Anchorage Parks and Recreation before having a final dinner out as a group.
Northwest Explorer (NWX)
NWX is staying busy! This morning, they worked with the Department of Natural Resources to identify species on Cypress Island. They even got an ecology lesson about the island – *fun fact* Of Cypress Island’s 5,500 acres, more than 5,200 of them are preserved as a Washington Natural Resources Conservation Area! Scholars and outdoors-people?! What top-notch campers we’ve got with us this summer. Today, these explorers had a long day of paddling and then ferried to their landing spot at Bay View State Park! Tomorrow they’ll prepare for the backcountry, as they have a five day backcountry section ahead of them! They’ve got much to be excited for in the coming days!
Pacific Coast (PC)
Our PC bikers have ditched their bikes for the day – they’re doing community service in Eureka, CA! “Eureka” *fun fact* is the state motto of California! It’s a well-deserved rest day for our powerful posse of pedaling people! They’ve picked up mail, restocked and caught up on a bit of rest after several days on the seat of the bike. PC is receiving much love as they head down the coast, as locals give them friendly greetings and well-wishes for their biking journey!
Alps Explorer A (AXA)
Our AXA folks made it to Chapieux! They’ve had a challenging uphill route today, but word from the field is that the trip is going great! They knocked out the hike early today, and soaked up views of untouched rolling hills, sheep and they even hit snow- *fun fact* 90% of Europe’s lakes and rivers are fed by the French Alps! The crew is looking forward to crossing into Italy tomorrow! Check out the sweet pics we got of their views and of this crew of happy hikers!
Alps Explorer B (AXB)
Look at those flapjack flippin’ skills! Our Alps Explorers are having a great big pancake party to celebrate their rest day! They are thankful for a day to rest up, refuel and explore the little alpine town of Courmayeur, Italy! They’re getting excited for another day of hiking tomorrow- a day claiming to have some of the most intense and spectacular views of the whole trip! Hiking along such grand scale mountain ranges certainly gives us perspective- *fun fact* the Mont Blanc massif began to form 15 million years ago! We’re anxiously awaiting photos from their hike tomorrow to drool over even more than we’re drooling over their pancakes today!
Europe Coast to Coast 1 (ECC1)
ECC1 biked 62 hilly miles into Epernay, France today! The crew whizzed through this challenging day with the prospect of a rest day on the horizon! Tomorrow they’ll be exploring Paris, and for our sake, I hope they’ll be munching croissants, sitting in cafes, and wandering around *fun fact* the third-most visited city in the world. No blog pics from this crew today, but we’re sure to get plenty from the big city tomorrow, so stay tuned!
Europe Coast to Coast 2 (ECC2)
ECC2 is casually cruising through French countryside… rolling hills, abundant cheeses (*fun fact* France produces about 1.7 million tons of cheese every year (that’s 3.4 billion pounds)!), meadows, vineyards and castles! My oh my, how much more classic does it get? It is already Day 8 for our ECC2 crew, can you believe it? You know what they say- it’s a marathon, not a sprint, so we’ll not overload you with too many anecdotes or adjectives about French countryside for now, because we’ve got about seven more days in France with our cyclist friends across the pond! We’re so impressed with this crew, and looking forward to many more days following along from afar!
Pyrenees Mountains and Coast (PMC)
A HUGE congrats is in order for our PMC crew! Today, they completed their circuit along the Carros de Foc! Well done, PMC! It looks like they plugged right along despite some less than ideal weather, and smiling strong the whole time! The group is feeling great and according to their leaders, they are ready to take on Barcelona by storm tomorrow! Barcelona by the way *fun fact* is home to the busiest pedestrian walkway in all of Spain! And can you believe it? This group of all-stars only has one more full day together. They’re savoring every last minute! Stay tuned for the last few posts on PMC’s awesome expedition!
