Busy, busy

I’ve been burning the candle both ends lately, and not for fun.

I’m on a course to become a tour guide, specializing in astronomy. Of course I’ve been working as a tour guide at the observatory for a couple of years, and I love it, so the course is just what I want. The tricky part is making the time. It’s three separate weeks (on in March, one in April and one in May) and each week is pretty intense: lectures from 4 pm – 9 pm Monday to Friday (that’s 5 hours, all in Spanish), plus practical activities on Friday night and Saturday afternoon and evening. Later one, there’s a couple of overnight activities. Well, astronomy usually happens at night, doesn’t it? And I was rather startled to find that the practical activites involve fairly strenuous hiking. I hadn’t realised that some hiking firms offer night-time hikes with added stargazing. Fine. Great idea. It’s just that I’m worried that I’m not fit enough.

While I was at the course on Monday, TV Canaria phoned to say that I’d be in “Canarias, Mi Mundo” late on Tuesday night – the bit they’d filmed of me at the beginning of the month. I was surprised that it was so soon, but this started a flurry of activity, with my husband preparing to record it and me telling the world I was going to be on.

Although I was rather tired, I stayed up to watch the programme. And I wasn’t in it.

It was a bad time to miss sleep, because yesterday I had a guiding job in the morning as well. I left home at 8:15, showed one group around the Liverpool telescope, and two more around the Herschel. I got home at 2:45, very glad that I’d grabbed a pizza on the way, because I had to eat, shower and leave by 3:30. And then I had my five hours of lectures in Spanish. I was half dead by the end of that.

And this afternoon I have more to come.

Posted by sheila

Sheila came to La Palma with a six month contract and has stayed 24 years so far. She used to work as a software engineer at the observatory, but now she's a writer and Starlight guide.