Northern South America Travel Diary

2012

Northern South America Travel Diary 2012

 

The ‘travelling’ part of my trip is coming to an end, and the ‘working’ part is getting underway.  One of the reasons I chose to spend some time exploring the northern part of South America is that I had an IB (International baccalaureate) conference scheduled in Cancún (Mexico) for 12th to 15th June, and those dates have almost arrived.

Actually, the pressures of work have been building up considerably over the past few days (but I didn’t want to dilute the discussion about my travels with this trivia).  Yesterday I had about twenty work-related e-mails plus a couple of phone calls, and today the number increased to about forty e-mails (and still counting) plus five phone calls.  Furthermore, a board meeting has been scheduled (by telephone hook-up) for 1:00 pm this Friday, a time that sadly clashes with a couple of excellent conference sessions I would have like to have attended.  It is difficult to get away from work, even on summer break.

Panama City was a little sunnier this morning when I woke, casting a beautiful golden glow on some of the large ships that were majestically passing my window along the Panama Canal and into the Miraflores locks.  However, the excitement was short-lived; by the time I left my hotel to go to the airport (at a few minutes after 9:00 am), the clouds were once again gathering overhead and the white atmospheric haze was re-emerging.

Continuing the tradition of this trip (with the obvious exception of the first day), my transport arrangements went very smoothly today.  I took a taxi from the hotel to the airport – it was old, it rattled, its suspension was non-existent, and I suspect it may have caused more than a few nearby pedestrians to develop some severe lung problems, but it did get me to the airport on time.  Check-in went quickly and smoothly, as did immigration and security, and my flight was one of the most comfortable I have experienced on this trip – it was on an almost new Copa Airlines Boeing 737-800, I was fed, and I felt that the experience could not be faulted.

Things went a little less smoothly when I arrived at Cancún Airport.  Just outside the exit door there was a person (one in a crowd of about 300 or so) waiting with an “IB” sign.  I was expecting this because transport to the conference venue had been pre-booked.  Less expected was the fact that my name was not on the list.   I am used to making my own arrangements when I travel, but for this conference, others made my arrangements.  Fortunately I had a receipt so I was able to talk my way on to the minibus with the other conference attendees.

I don’t know how many people will be attending the conference, but the figure will certainly run into many hundreds.  “The Americas” is the largest IB region in the world, and the scale of the conference is impressive even before it starts.  The conference venue leaves me a bit cold, though, being a large (very large!) resort complex right on the coastline – opulent resorts don’t really do much for me at the best of times, and I don’t think they really set the right tone for a conference on international education.

Having said that, the conference program looks excellent.  I will be spending tomorrow attending a full-day pre-conference workshop titled “Transforming Community Service to Service Learning”.  Many other sessions over the subsequent days look fabulous, with topics catching my eye including the new career-related certificate (the IBCC), assessment changes, building collaborative classrooms, bringing technology to the core, changes in the MYP and PYP, and hundreds more sessions as well as updates from the Director-General and Regional Director.

There won’t be much in the way of travel over the next few days, so I will conclude this travel diary here.  I may write one of my regular blogs later on the IB conference – please stay tuned.


Day 18 - Panama City to Cancún

Wednesday

11 July 2012