MAD 3B’s Magical Madeira Moments: Rock Climbing, Canyoneering, and Rocking Out!
July 28, 2024
Hello to the friends and family of the incredible 11 humans, Alice, Norah, Rachel, Lucy, Mary Helen, Myatt, Julia, Frank, Quinn, Carter, and Charlie. I write to you as our flight from Lisbon back to America ascends into the air, with the Epilogue from La La Land playing in my ears (one of our/my favorite songs this trip). It might add a super awesome dramatic element to this trip update if you read it with the Epilogue in the background, just a suggestion. Duke and I are the luckiest people ALIVE to have had the absolute privilege of hanging out with MAD 3B for the last 17 days. Over our final moonup last night, we all debriefed our favorite memories, and moments, what we learned, what we are taking away from our time together, and how we are changed for the better. If you Googled, “how to have the best 17 days of your life” you would see images of our trip and a description of life in Madeira with MAD 3B. We cried, we laughed, we pranced, we giggled, we snot-rocketed, we trekked, we climbed, we ate incredible food, we soaked up show-stopping views, we drank Brisa, we learned some of the languages, we slept under the stars, we wore silly hats, we canyoneered, we explored the coastlines, we soaked up incredible sunsets, we listened and sang songs, we quoted funny videos, we lived above the clouds, we dug holes shaka deep shaka wide, we choreographed dances, we LITMO-ed, we passed the pulse, we surfed, we kayaked, we snorkeled, we rocked out. We rocked out like the Brisa was sold on Amazon. We rocked out like we were the only 13 people on the island. We rocked out like Agnes from Despicable Me. We rocked out like the streets were empty expect for our JBL speaker blaring Bang Bang. We rocked out like the school year was a far-off distant thought. We rocked out like the stars were out for us. We rocked out like Jennifer Coolidge. We rocked out like we had pockets full of euros and nothing to do but everything. We rocked out like the table was full. We rocked out like the speaker volume was a figure 8 of infinity playing Adele. We rocked out like we were trekking on dirty trails and there was a washing machine waiting for us on the top of Pico Ruvio. We rocked out like the peaches were in season, and there were Oreos to eat them with. We rocked out like our reunion is planned and our guest list is infinite. We rocked out.
We also unironically rocked out while we were ROCK climbing! Everyone arose to Brita and Duke’s lovely morning wake up calls, ate a yummy breakfast, and loaded up in the taxis to go climb some really cool rocks. Everyone rocked it and climbed to the very top! Frank was brave and attempted the Spiderman level climb. Mary Helen took a step outside of her comfort zone and killed it! While some were climbing, the others were singing along to amazing music supplied by DJ Duke, reading, journaling, or you could have found Lucy, Carter and I partaking in some yoga. Lucy taught a ballet class and Carter was eager to take my make-shirt yoga barre class. After lunch, we soaked up the sun and were one with the crabs on the beach. Instead of Easter egg hunting, Duke, Charlie, Myatt, and Julia were on the hunt to find some crabs. Norah and I are reading the same book so we held a meeting of our book club. That evening we started moonup with our favorite game, called Big Happy Family, which is also ironic because we are one big happy family. In this game we all anonymously choose a celebrity/well-known individual and guess who is who. Alice is very talented and has a bright future and career in the game industry if there is anyway to profit off guessing randomly picked celebrities. It was, again, a perfect day in Madeira!
The next day and final day, we went canyoneering. We had the time of our lives jumping, repelling, ziplining, and scrambling down cliffs and waterfalls into crystal clear blue lakes and caves. The day was filled with singing, storytelling and a whole lot of HLAWs. Rachel channeled her inner pilot and flewww down the zipline with a hugeee smile on her face. Half way through our adventure, we took a mandatory Kit-Kat refuel break. Throughout the whole day, and the whole trip, Quinn’s positivity kept us all in great spirits and so thankful to be exactly where our feet were. That evening we explored Funchal and celebrated our last night together with an. incredible. jaw-dropping. insane. dinner on the water overlooking the city lights of Funchal. I am not kidding when I say jaw-dropping. Everyone walked in with awe and we left in even more awe. It was some of the best food we have ever ate, and we have the pictures to prove it. Camera eats first. In honor of our last night of the island, someone was so kind and planned a firework show that we so casually watched from our dinner table. The firework show painted the Funchal skyline full of blue, green, red, and white. We ended with our final moonup in the park and then had a main character run/walk to catch our taxis to the airport.
I cannot thank you enough for trusting and allowing us the privilege to get to know Alice, Norah, Rachel, Lucy, Mary Helen, Myatt, Julia, Frank, Quinn, Carter, and Charlie. We are crying that it is over, but we are also smiling that it happened. We are so thankful for the lifelong friendships that were formed and the memories that will last a lifetime. As we leave the real world (Moondance world) and enter the fake world (reality), we are refreshed and ready to share pictures, stories, and the lessons that we have learned. HLAW!
With overflowing love,
Brita and Duke
Last check in from Madeira!
July 25, 2024
Hello from the beautiful island of Porto Santo! After being here for 48 hours, we have decided our dream is to purchase a house here in the (far) future all in the same neighborhood. In the last four days since we have caught up, we have explored a small surf town, Porto da Cruz, and taken a ferry to Porto Santo, another gorgeous relaxing island lined with the most beautiful beaches EVER. We all agreed that the beach in Porto Santo was the most beautiful beach we have ever been to, and may ever will be. The waters were crystal clear blue and the sand was white, soft, and perfect for building pyramids, and castles, and burying all our friends, especially with Quinn’s sand shovels. Throughout the last four days, we have shared our incredible singing voices with all the residents and travelers residing in Porto da Cruz and Porto Santo during our stay here. Since we are without phones, Apple Music (or Spotify … the lesser ideal option) we have been living off of our mental playlists. Although we have yet to sign a record deal or produce a song, you can take a scroll and see what songs are on our playlist.
Playlist: MAB3B BOPS (Fully Conscious Baby Sleep Soundtrack)
1) Surfs up theme song
– We all channeled our inner surfs up characters and shredded!!! We spent two beautiful days in Porto da Cruz riding waves, swimming in the ocean, playing cards, frolicking through the streets, eating delicious food and lots of ice cream, drinking Brisa, listening to music, singing songs (of course), and having the time of our lives. It was Alice’s first time surfing and she absolutely rocked it. On the second day of surfing, Carter rode the most magical wave all the way to the shore and proclaimed that he has to end his surfing career with this singular wave because it was revolutionary and irreplaceable. Congratulations to Carter on his surfing retirement! Frank and Brita were on a party wave, aka the same wave at the exact same time, and it was the highlight of both of their days.
2) Ratatouille theme song
On our second night in Porto da Cruz, we hosted a local chef, Maria, and had our own personal cooking class! Carter shared that one of his favorite movies was Ratatouille, so we all pranced around the kitchen (to Ratatouille) and made bolo de caco (classic Madeiran bread similar to garlic bread), salad, chips (French fries), steak kabobs, and fired corn. Julia and Myatt were the queens of bolo de caco. The toasted, buttered, and served this marvelous dish that we all love soooo dearly. The plate was usually empty before they even arrived to deliver the bread to the table. We were so thankful to learn from Maria and eat a delicious meal together!
3) Epilogue from La La Land!
Brita’s favorite movie is La La Land and has introduced the life changing soundtrack to everyone on the trip….and now the Epilogue is a highly requested song. It is Julia’s favorite song to dance and frolic to! It is perfect for any moment, whether we are trekking, on a beach or walking down the street.
4) The Lorax – Let it grow/die
5) Bang Bang
Norah and Myatt taught everyone on the trip the Just Dance choreographed dance and now Mary Helen, Julia, and Lucy perform for us whenever the song comes on or is sung, which is approximately every 5 minutes. We are a group of talented singers and dancers!
6) Titanic theme song
Time to journey to Porto Santo! We boarded a ferry and the 11 Moondancers made themselves at home all the way across the Atlantic to another island.
7) Dixieland Delight remix
8) The Cup song
Myatt and Brita love to randomly break out into the cup song and act like the Barden Bellas!
9) Little Place called Kokomo (Porto Santo)
WE LOVE THIS LITTLE PLACE. SO MUCH. We wake around with eyes wide open and in awe. Rachel has shared her love for sunsets, above and below the clouds. You know you are in an incredible place when Rachel is so excited about the views and photographing it all!
10) 28 (HLAW)
Self explanatory. How lucky are we. We are so honored Zach Bryan wrote a song for us.
11) Every Adele song to exist
12) Know when to fold em
Our favorite pastime is to play our favorite card game Presidents and Charlie has been the reigning president lately! When we aren’t playing Presidents, Solitaire has also been a group favorite. Today, Quinn won four times in a row!
13) Super Trouper
We have channeled our inner Donna and the Dynamos as we live the island life.
14) Empire (Santa…Puerto?) State of Mind
The island name Porto Santo was difficult to learn/remember for one student, which was quickly turned into a joke.
15) Part of Your World
The classic song that has been stuck in all of our heads for the last few days. While exploring the beautiful coastline of Porto Santo, jumping into natural pools, and snorkeling, we acted like mermaids! When we were snorkeling, we all got to see an octopus! It was such a once in a lifetime experience! After our snorkeling and coasteering, we filled our bellies with a delicious lunch and of course… peaches and Oreos. Don’t knock it until you try it!
16) Shallow
The perfect song to show off our vocal range.
This playlist is a working progress and I am so excited to hear, listen, and sing new songs that we will come up with tomorrow. After a very successful, awesome, cup-filling, joy overflowing, belly laughing worthy few days in Porto da Cruz and Porto Santo we are saddened to know our time is going to end soon, but we are ever so incredibly grateful for the time we have had together and two more full days! HLAW!
With inside jokes, giggles, sun kissed skin, dirty fingernails, and a whole whole lot of love,
Brita and Duke
Thank you’s:
Frank: Hey mom and dad, thanks so much for making it possible for me to go on a trip like this. I’ve had an amazing time and I’m so grateful to get to have the experience. I love y’all and can’t wait to see y’all soon.
Quinn: Hey mom and dad, thanks so so much for giving me the opportunity to be here. This is the best trip and group ever and I have had a crazy amount of fun and I can’t wait to see you guys soon!!
Lucy: Hey Fam! I’m having the best time here and this has been the best two weeks ever! Thank you for letting me go on this trip, I am so thankful for y’all! I love y’all, and can’t wait to see y’all soon!
MH: Hey Mom and Dad!! I am so blessed to have you two in my life and cannot express how thankful I am for letting me go on this trip! I have had the best time with the best group ever, and I am so excited to be back soon and see y’all. Can’t wait to tell y’all all about my trip!! Love y’all and see ya soon!
Carter: Hey y’al! I’m having such a great time on this trip! I really have been in the coolest places with the coolest people! I have missed y’all so much and I can’t wait to hear what’s been going on with all y’all. I hope all is going well in RIC. Thank you guys so much for sending me on this trip, it really means a lot to me. I can’t wait so see you guys soon and tell y’all all about the best trip!
Myatt: Hey guys! Hope everything is good at home! I am having the best time here and I am so sad it’s almost over! Thank you for sending me on this trip we need to come back here it is so pretty! I love my group and I never want to leave!! I will see y’all so soon and tell you all about this place and these people!! Love and miss y’all!
Julia: Hi!! I miss you guys so much and hope you’re having the best time at home! I can’t believe how beautiful this place is I could stay here forever with this group. Thanks so much for sending me here it is the highlight of my year and truly an amazing experience! Love and miss you!
Charlie: Hi mom and dad! Thank you so much for sending me here, it’s so beautiful and the most fun I have ever had. Everyone is amazing and my leaders are amazing. Miss y’all and see you soon, Charlie.
Alice: Hey y’all!!!!! I’ve had the best time ever! Thank you sooo much for sending me here. My group is amazing and so are the leaders. Thank you again, and I love you so much!!
Norah: Hi everyone!!!!!! This is the most amazing trip of my life…wow. Thank you so much for the opportunity to come here. I feel like the luckiest girl alive. Love y’all more than anything and see you so soon. Give hazel a hug!
Rachel: Hi guys I love y’all! Thanks so much for letting me go on this trip it’s so pretty and amazing. This summer flew by so fast but it’s been great. Hug everyone for me, I’ll see you guys soon! (You should bring Tucker to the airport)
MAGIC IN MADEIRA!!
July 20, 2024
Olá from the most beautiful place on Earth! It is Brita and Duke here! HLAW. How lucky are we…to be the fortunate leaders that get to experience this INCREDIBLE place with even more INCREDIBLE kids. We’re writing to you after a week of experiencing the stunning views, challenging mountains, and deepest canyons that Madeira has to offer. We’ve hiked, rappelled, jumped, swam, and sang our way across the island.
From the airport, we ventured over to the beach and explored the natural pools that lined the coast. The sand was black and the waters were crystal clear. Before we jumped in, we filled up on pizzas and everyone’s favorite drink, Brisa. After our bellies were full of familiar yummy food, we were ready to PLAY. We played mermaids in the ocean. We played a new favorite card game, Presidents, on the rocks that lined the shore. We played like we have never played before. We played like it was our last day to ever play. Frank cannonballed off the make-shift diving board into the water. Carter explored and found an awesome sitting rock in the middle of the natural pools. Quinn was astonished by the amount of crabs that scaled their way along the rocks. We all got to know each other on the coolest playground in the world. That evening we went back to our hostel, played mafia, and had our first official moonup! Lucy and Carter were nominated as our first LODs, Leaders of the Day, and were such great leaders on our first official day together!
IT WAS A GREAT DAY TO BE ALIVE – BECAUSE WE ARE ALIVE IN MADEIRA TOGETHER. It was time to canyoneer! But it was not an ordinary day canyoneering, (no days are ordinary in Madeira) it was time to canyoneer, but with a special guest! Drum roll please….. the CEO and Founder of Moondance Adventures, Mr. Hayes Hitchens! We were so lucky to have Hayes with us on our adventures and share this special day with him. We met Hayes at the base of the canyon, and suited up. We all maneuvered our way into our fashionable wetsuits and went on our way. We splish, splashed, and played. Lucy and Mary Helen bonded with Hayes over their love for Tuscaloosa and Julia and Quinn kept the energy high! We were all memorized by the beauty this canyon had to offer. We repelled through waterfalls, jumped off rocks (while screaming HLAW), and scrambled down rocks, all while sourcing. Sourcing is when you are outside and soaking up all the beautiful sun rays that the sun has to offer! That evening the new LODs were nominated, Quinn and Norah, who were the new leaders of the day and the LEGENDS OF THE DAY.
It was time to trek! “Who wants to go trekking (stay at the Orlando Four Seasons)?” Me!!!!!!! Inside jokes for dayssss. We channeled our inner fully conscious baby and were born ready to tackle these Madeiran mountains. On the first day of trekking, we took a nice swim break in the middle of our adventure. Charlie immediately jumped into the super not warm water and everyone followed his lead. We danced. We sang. We swam. We swam fast to keep our blood moving in the super not warm water. After our refreshing break, we trekked our way to our first campsite. That evening we enjoyed Chipotle bowls, Zach Bryan’s new album, and each other’s company. Who knew Chipotle was accessible on the top of Madeira? Not I. Frank was our chicken MASTER. Thanks to him we had the most perfectly cut and cooked chicken for our delicious bowls! We topped off our bowls with the most wondrous insane guacamole prepared by the one and only, chef Myatt. She comes all the way from the United States, where she is a professional guacamole guru.
Our second morning started bright and late. We enjoyed a relaxing morning at camp feasting on fresh fruit, eggs, and bacon before we headed out on the trail for the day. As we walked along ancient levadas (small canals dug into the mountain side) Alice kept us entertained with her hilarious stories delivered with perfect timing and pace all the way to our second campsite. That evening we had Olive Garden, yummy spaghetti pasta with a side of garlic bread made with soooo much love. Julia, Myatt, Carter and Frank poured their heart and soul into delicious garlic bread that we all devoured very quickly. After we were filled to our hearts desire we hiked a bit beyond our campsite to witness the sunset behind a golden sky that was the backdrop for towering windmills and a sea of clouds that blanketed the entire island. Rachel was in pure disbelief by the beauty and perfection and Mary Helen was the designated photographer for all of the boys solo shots.
After a few amazing and challenging days of trekking, and summiting Pico Ruvio, we arrived to….. heaven on earth…. the perfect mountain hostel perched between the peaks. Tears were shed, showers were taken, food was devoured, and fun was had. We relaxed and had a makeshift spa night! Norah gave head scratches, Myatt gave face massages, and Carter was on back massage duty. We were all revived and ready for our next day of trekking, the stairway to heaven. I am not sure how it is logistically possible to trek the “stairway to heaven” after arriving and spending a night in what seemed to be heaven on earth, but we did! And it was breathtaking! Alice was in love with the views and the wild life that surrounded us, specifically the little lizards.
After climbing up to heaven, no biggie, we climbed back down all the way to our campsite for one last night of sleeping under the stars. The kids had a cook off where bruschetta, cheesy bread, burgers, mac and cheese, carbonara, oreo balls, and apple cobbler was made. We FEASTED. Charlie loved his oreo balls, he even ate the oreo balls that didn’t look very appetizing after being treated like Play-Doh. That evening we made a human cinnamon roll and all slept under the beautiful stars. The milky way and a full moon even joined us!
Today we found civilization! As we made the final descent from the mountains, we decided we had walked enough and earned a well-deserved rest. So, we chose the fun way down to Funchal! As we approached the city, we were greeted by the pilots of the famed Correios da Madeira. These century-old wicker toboggans once provided the locals of Monte with a 2-kilometer commute from the mountain village to the city center of Funchal, but now they shuttle tired Moondancers worn out from a week in the hills. We all climbed in and slid down the steep streets, whooping and hollering as we sped down hills and around corners.
We have traded the clouds for Porto da Cruz. We have had the absolute best week and can’t wait for what else this magical island has in store for this group! We are already so in love with this island, pilot Rachel has already promised to fly us all back here one day for a reunion. HLAW!
With love,
Brita and Duke
Shoutouts:
Rachel – Hey guys, I hope y’all are good. I think Jake is home now so say hi to him and give Tucker a hug for me. Madeira and the views this past week have been awesome. Also we are getting chipotle when I get home. I love you guys!
Myatt- Hey guys!! I am having the best time ever! I love this place and my group so so much! Hope everything is good in Nashville! Marge we are getting canes when you get me! love you guys!!!
Julia- I’m having the best time ever. This trip is amazing and the people are even better. Love and miss you guys so much!!
Charlie- Hey guys, I am having so much fun here. We just finished hiking, it was a lot harder than last time but much more fun. Hope everything is going well at home.
Lucy- Hey y’all, I’m having the best time! I have met the best friends and have done so many cool things! Love and miss y’all tons!!!!
Norah- Hi fam and Davis!! This place is the heaven on earth and I feel so lucky. Miss y’all so much this is lit, love yall🩷🩷
Mary Helen- Hey fam, just finished hiking and this is the coolest place ever. Can’t wait to show y’all the many pictures and places we’ve already been to!! Love and miss y’all so so much and hope everything is great back in the Dot!!
Alice- Hey everyone, we just finished trekking it was so much fun! Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to come here. Love y’all so much!! Tell the dogs and Lamont I miss them! Thank you so much!! Lots of love from over here!
Carter- Hey yall, I’m having such a great time here! I don’t have long so I can’t write much, but It’s so much fun here and it’s so beautiful! I hope all is well back in RIC and that Knox is doing well at camp. I love you guys so much I can’t wait to tell yall all about my trip!
Quinn- Hey mom and dad! I’m having the best trip ever we just finished our trekking and this group is so amazing. So excited to see you guys and also for the rest of the trip! Thanks so much and I love you guys! Tell Lucy and Hazel I say hi.
Frank – Hey mom and dad, hope everything is going good at home. I’m having a great time out here, the views are as amazing as I expected! I have a great group that I like hanging out with. Can’t wait to see yall again and I’m so grateful for this amazing trip yall let me go on.
Brita and Duke – Hi office friends! GOATTTT! We are excited to catch up and hang out so soon. Sending peace and love from the island.
Safe arrival in Madeira!
July 12, 2024
Hello Madeira Families!
We heard from our leaders this morning that the group has landed safely in Madeira! The trip is off to a great start, and we cannot wait to hear more stories from their adventure as they dance around the island.
Please remember our leaders and students will be unplugged during their trips but we will be posting trip updates throughout the next week! This will allow you to follow along with the trip. You can also follow us on Instagram, @moondanceadventures, to see more of what we are up to!
-Moondance HQ
