This March, RED Sustainable Travel teamed up with environmental education experts La Mano del Mono (hand of the monkey) from the state of Chiapas to provide what will hopefully be just the first of a lifetime of outdoor adventures for a group of 4th grade students from Mexico City. While RED operates academic adventures for Mexican and American junior high, high school and university students, a trip with elementary school youngsters provided a unique opportunity to invite the monkey out of the jungle, and after a few calls and emails, our friends at La Mano del Mono were on their way to Magdalena Bay.
Students arrived hoping to see gray whales, but came away from the experience with that and much more, opening their eyes and all their senses to a world of mangroves, sand dunes and marine life. Their enthusiasm combined with the RED Sustainable Travel and La Mano del Mono team created a learning dynamic that was part fun and part discovery.
According to Luis Garduño, RED's Director of Operations, "This trip came to us out of nowhere. We had a slot open up in our calendar and at the same time our colleagues at adventuremexico.travel contacted us to see if we could put something special together for a grade school in Mexico City. It worked out fantastically and the trip was a huge success. We are continually fascinated and inspired by the interaction and collegiality among ATTA operators. It opens up worlds of possibilities.”