Bec in Quito

Communidad Inti Wara Yassi is a wildlife refuge in Bolivia that is home to an enormous array of previously injured, poached, domesticated, sick and circus animals including pumas, oscillots, tayras, tajons, monkeys of many sorts, birds, tortoises and one enormous Andean bear. It is staffed almost entirely by volunteers who work with one sort of animal or in one area of the park. The park gets no government funding and survives solely on donations and volunteer fees (around $7 a night for accommodation). At peak times, volunteer numbers swell to around 70. They are office workers, travellers, management consultants, vets and random travellers from tens of nations. But they all have the commitment to stick around for gruelling 12-hour working days (with only one day off every fortnight) in the mosquito-riddled jungle where you are not ... read more

The Floating Islands, Lake Titicaca Although 41 natural islands dot Lake Titikaka’s waters it also plays host around 30 manmade islands - created from their very foundations by their inhabitants. These people are resourceful with a capital Reed. They build their islands, houses and means of transport solely out of the native reeds (and they even eat them too). By using the reeds’ root blocks they build the island foundations. They cut them loose from the bed of the lake where they pop up much like corks. By joining together multiple sections of this material with sticks and rope and anchoring the whole group to the lake bed (again with sticks and rope) they provide a stable and stationery foundation for their homes. On top of this soily base they lay down criss-crossing layers of the ... read more

I’m starting to think the whim of joining the call of the wild, volunteering in a Bolivian animal sanctuary may have been an overly-ambitious and possibly slightly silly call. But then, that’s grumpy, tired me. Me who has been in 3 countries and 9 cities in about the same number of days. Me who has had to negotiate a whole new set of eating and requirements, confusions and overfriendly locals on a daily basis. And most significantly, me who just had my first taste of crime - South American style … but more of that later… About a week ago I set out, with more than my quota of enthusiasm and possibly less than my due of common sense. The 50+ hours of bus hours ahead were a mere trifle and the call of the cats ... read more

Beautiful. Serene. Gorgeous. And very quiet. That’s life at Cotapaxi. Sitting at the foot of a 5km high volcano with sweeping views of it and 2 others from my hammock it feels much like heaven might be (well, sans internet of course). Life is slow and cosy, curled up by the fire reading, studying, playing board games or chatting. At night, the candles come out and we share a communal meal for the 16 or so residents at the hostel I´m staying in. In the morning I teach English at the local school. The school population consists of 3 teachers and 23 kids aged from four to eleven in around 5 different age based classes. The classes involve 3-6 students and the English syllabus is non-existent ;( My first day was incredibly daunting, with no experience, ... read more

Last night was my first proper foray into Quito nightlife. I and another 20 or so others headed for Bungalow 8 - a favourite of gringos in Quito. The club itself was great with excellent music and enormous goldfish bowls of coloured vodka for $4. Unfortunately, I couldn’t bring myself to spend much time in there. When I arrived (at 11pm) we were greeted by 4 children under the age of ten (the youngest around 3) touting cigarettes and lollies to passersby from trays hung around their necks. I quickly befriended one of the girls, Ankele, who told me that her ‘parents’ required her to be out there until she earned a certain amount of money (none of which she could keep - all went to the adults). Although there was little I could do for ... read more