Breaking News: Cha 1B Is Having A Blast
June 17, 2025
June 17, 2025
Good evening and welcome to CHA1B News.
Moondance Chamonix 1B is coming to you live from a high speed train. We’re cruising comfortably at 299 kilometers per hour (186 mph) as we travel from our coastal getaway in Cala Montgo outside of L’Escala, Spain. Our final destination: Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, France. Follow this report to catch up on what we’ve done!
The group drove over to Cala Montgo from our initial home in the Pyrenees to find asun-filled haven on the Mediterranean. Beach time was immediately prescribed by the doctor, and we quickly swam and wrestled and splashed in the clear water. Grace saved us from hunger by bringing pizza to the beach, and we continued our time spent there. As we finished our dinner and traded the setting sun for a rising moon, the group began our first Moonup in the sand. Night fell and we walked the trail through the woods to our new home campsite home. Trekking days momentarily put on pause, we slept past our normal 6:30 am wake up time and woke up refreshed. A good breakfast and teeth brushing later, we mobilized for the sea. First stop of the day: grocery store. Snacks and lunch acquired. Second stop of the day: local beach shop. Volleyball and (some) flip flops acquired. Third stop of the day: beach!! Our itinerary left us luxurious rest and muscle-healing-time on the sandy shore of Cala Montgo. And rest we did! As we sat out in the sun and worked on our tans, Izzie made sure to set an example for the group: sunscreen, sunscreen, sunscreen. Don’t get burnt! As much as we love the beach, a sunburn would have ruined our soon-to-be French Alp trekking. But fret not! Our long hours on the coast were perfectly sun safe.
Kitchen safety followed sun safety, with Vann and Grace decreeing a formal Cooking Competition. It was of classic form: boys vs. girls, limited budget, limited time, and prize for the winners. Parker masterfully managed the boys team and Mills wowed with her Brigadeiro dessert. While the boys impressed with their flavorful three course meal, the girls won by one and a half points. The tie break? Think artfully cut kiwis and carefully arranged cherries. With overly full stomachs, we prepared for our first day of sea kayaking.
Bright and early we waited for our guides to pick us up from our campsite, with a short drive to our launching point in Tamariu. Once there, we were fitted with spray skirts, life jackets, paddles, snorkel sets, and kayaks with deeper keels to cut the waves. We paddled in and out of coves, around rock formations, and through bubbly breakers. Potentially the most exciting: a pairing of caves. The first cave required no paddle, but rather pushing along the walls with our hands. It was tight! Making it to a beach spot for lunch, Cash (safely) practiced (and demonstrated his skill) of kayak rolls. Hicks practiced Spanish with our guides, and helped the rest of the group better understand their Catalonian culture. Nikhil spent the majority of our break snorkeling and would tug on buoys in the bay as he found new things. The trekking trip turned aquatic!
And now a break for the weather report: wind! Because of high winds, our second day of sea kayaking turned into pleasant river kayaking with our guides. Katherine became quickly acquainted with the current of the river, and laughed her way through low hanging tree branches. In a flatter section of the river, Olivia and Katie worked hard to teach our guides American English slang. Call that culture exchange! We all laughed the rest of the way down the river as we tried (and often failed) to help the girls explain these new slang words. Finishing the kayaking and returning to camp, Lyla was greeted with a surprise: balloons and decorations for her birthday! Happy Birthday Lyla!
The capstone to our time in Cala Montgo was a cooking class at a restaurant on the beach. Everyone had a job, and everyone worked hard for their dinner. We prepared a traditional Catalonian meat dish, garlic and tomato bread, lettuce-pesto bites, and an avocado salmon tartar. Addison branched out and ate raw salmon for the first time! Go Addison! Dinner was delicious, and once more we were full beyond belief.
Thank you for tuning in to this edition of CHA1B News. We wanted to thank our viewers and sponsors, especially our on-site locations in Spain and our supporters and family back home in the United States. We’ll see you next time and remember, choose CHA1B for your inspired news reports.
Your faithful news anchors,
Vann and Grace
Frolicking In France And Spain
June 12, 2025
Hello, Bonjour, and Buenas Dias! Our amazing team of thirteen (eleven students and two leaders) has been in France, into Spain, into France again, and will depart for Spain tomorrow!
But wait – let’s back up for a minute and begin where it started: Charles de Gaulle Airport. Vann and Grace waited bright and early for the smiling faces of soon-to-be Moondance friends to arrive through customs at Terminal 2. And come they did! Eleven students walked (mostly in a clump) together through the gate. With a Monoprix conveniently located right next to us, the group bought coffees, pastries, and small snacks as we waited for our group to be whole. Can you believe a chocolate croissant is only €1.50? And good thing we did get fueled up on French grocery store delicacies, because our journey to the France-Spain border was just beginning.
After leaving Terminal 2, we dragged our bags and our not-yet-awake feet onto the airport tram. This led us to the main train station near Charles de Gaulle, where we then boarded the RER B Suburb train from Zone 5 all the way to downtown Paris! We transferred from the RER B to the M4 Metro (watch out doors close quickly!) to take us to Gare Montparnasse, where we would be able to board our train to Lourdes in the south. Have we mentioned yet that we went on multiple trains? Our group successfully found the main Montparnasse train hall, and set up camp. Bags and Moondancers galore! After finding lunch – think bagels, sandwiches, salads, and pizza – we waited patiently for our train. Cue the Jeopardy theme song and skip ahead a little bit – we made it to Lourdes!
Guides from Pyrenean Odyssey graciously picked us up from Lourdes and drove us to Luz, France where we would spend the night and prepare for our subsequent Pyrenean trek. We learned quickly that Luz is tiny yet mighty. Cash encouraged us to have an absurdly awesome hackey sack session in the ruins of a castle above town. Able to explore much of the town quickly, we walked a bridge over a gorge (Ponte Napoleon), checked out the InterSport store, and bought sweets from the local Patisserie. Katie selected a chocolate mousse that made everyone jealous, and Nikhil elected for a berry tart that he kindly let many others try. Pizza in the park followed by Moonup in front of a 1000 year old church concluded our day in Luz. Onto the Pyrenees!
Annabelle the guide met us in front of our hotel bright and early at 8:30 sharp. A short drive to our trailhead later, the whole team was trekking for the first time together. Our first LODs (Leader of the Day) Hicks and Addison excellently motivated us to a gnarly gap in a mountain ridge for some lunch. From our spot we could see Gavarnie – a UNESCO site and our future destination. What goes up must come down, and after a leisurely French lunch in the sun, we started our journey downhill. Meeting us before the final drop into the valley was our first Refugio of the trip: showers, toilets, and three course dinner, oh my!
We set our sights on Refugio Espeguettes above the Gavarnie valley for day two and set out with our packs. At the bottom of the valley, Mills as LOD organized a silent hike through the uphill forest. Passing through mid-valley streams and ledges, we finally made it to our break spot for lunch. Izzie and Olivia started the trend for sun-bathing-nap-time after eating our prepared picnic, and we were all sure to follow, even Annabelle the guide! Evening came with our arrival to Refugio Espeguettes, and we watched clouds fill the valley below us. Moonup above the clouds set the itinerary for the next day: summiting Petit Piminiy and then down to La Grande Cascade. Parker led passionate support for summiting Piminy – it would not be a thing to miss!
Mountain and waterfall conquered, time spent in town was due. Exploring the town of Gavarnie meant trying ice cream made from local milk, dinner including Pyrenees fresh-caught salmon, souvenir shops, and lofted hotel rooms. Gavarnie was the start line for a new mission: getting across the border. Only in Europe can you walk to another country and make it in time for dinner! Katherine skillfully paced us to Porte du Bajaruelo – where we ate lunch. Annabelle the guide laughed as all the students were in Spain while Vann and Grace ate their baguette sandwiches in France.
With Bajaruelo in our sights, most of us took a dip in the river – freezing cold – as we did not believe our new Refugio home had showers. Lo and behold it did! Barjuelo opened us up to a Spanish canyon and we began the trek towards Mount Perdido – the second highest mountain in the Pyrenees and the highest sedimentary mountain in Europe. The canyon proved tough and our group endured a hail storm to reach Goriz, the gateway to Mount Perdido. Drying off our wet clothes, we made quick friends with the other travelers, many of whom would summit the mountain the next day. However, these mountain-top seekers could not stop us! Rising early the next morning we began our long haul to Torla, Spain, the last stop on the itinerary. Lyla and her partner LOD created an impressive final Moonup, last with our guide Annabelle and our Pyrenees trek. The sun set at the far end of the canyon as we sat at the base of a castle. Better yet than a castle, Torla’s lodging sheltered us in one room with enough bunk beds for all thirteen – call that a slumber party!
We said hello to France for one more evening in Luz after an intense week. Our hiking poles are in retirement until we meet the Alps, our hiking boots are stowed away until we forget how badly they stink, clean clothes have once again made an appearance, and our excitement builds for the beach in Costa Brava.
With high spirits,
Vann and grace
Cash: Hey guys I’m having so much fun on this trip everyone is awesome. Happy early Father’s Day, can’t wait to see y’all when I get home. Hello Payton I hope you don’t miss me too much I’ll see you soon. I love you guys see you in 11 days!
Hicks: hey mom and dad hope y’all are having a good time on vacation. Can’t wait to see y’all soon but I’m having a blast. Also happy Father’s Day dad!
Parker: hey mom and dad the food here is really good. We just finished our first trek through the Pyrenees and it was incredible. I’m having a great time and I’ll see you guys soon. Happy early Father’s Day too.
Addison: Hi! I am having so much fun and thank you so much for sending me on this trip! I can’t wait to see y’all soon and tell y’all all about the amazing views! Happy Father’s Day! And happy birthday Tyler!
Mills: Hey family!! I hope everyone is doing well and I miss you all so much. This trip has been absolutely amazing, I have met so many great people and can’t wait to tell y’all all about it. Also, happy Fathers Day, dad-I love you!!
Izzie: Hi everyone!! I miss y’all seriously so much and I can’t wait to see all of you! I’m having the most fun, I can’t wait to share all about it! Also, happy early Father’s Day dad, I’m seeing the prettiest mountains- I love y’all!!
Katie: Hi family!!! I miss you all so much. I am having so much fun and can’t wait to tell you all about it. Happy early Father’s Day and birthday to Griffins. This is probably one of the coolest things I’ve ever done. Love you guys!! PS: don’t forget card reader
Katherine: Hi guys!! I am having so much fun and I can’t wait to tell y’all all about it! I have such a great group and I’m making so many friends! The mountains and all the views that were seeing are so pretty! Can’t wait to see y’all! Also happy early Father’s Day! Love you guys!
Olivia: Hi Mom and Dad! I miss you guys and can’t wait to see you. I am having a great trip and I love my group. I can’t wait to tell you guys all about it. The experiences are incredible and I am so harp to be here. Love you both and happy Father’s Day!
Lyla: Hi Mom and Dad and Michael and Jackson! I miss you guys so much! Cham has been so amazing and we just finished trekking in the Pyrenees! It was so cool and beautiful and I can’t wait to tell you all about it! We are about to go to Spain for my birthday! And Happy Father’s Day Dad! I can’t wait to celebrate both all together when I get back! I love you so much!
Nikhil: What’s up mom and dad. This has been so much fun and the hiking is awesome. Missing you guys and rocket. Hope you had a fun vacation and I can’t believe we won state in lacrosse. Having a blast here and happy Father’s Day dad. See you guys in 11 days!
Safe Arrival!
June 4, 2025
Hello Chamonix Families!
We heard from our leaders this morning that the group has landed safely in Paris and begun their transfer day to Lourdes! The trip is off to a great start, and we cannot wait to hear more stories from their adventure as they prepare to begin trekking in the Pyrenees!
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
