Hola, Amigos! Our trip in Cartagena continued with school and sight seeing. I learn more about Tony each day. He finally got grumpy one day after class when his teacher started going over irregular verb conjugations in the present tense. He wanted the rule for irregular verb conjugations. I tried to explain there was no rules, you just have to memorize which ones they are, that is why they are called irregular. He grumbled for a while but quickly got over it when we toured the Palace of the Inquisition where Roman Catholic tribunals executed witches and heretics and realized that [View Full Entry]

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For the many friends worried about us being kidnapped, don´t worry! We are not being held hostage! We landed Friday morning in Cartagena as planned, checked into our hotel in Bocagrande and got some breakfast. I had forgotten about all the different kinds of exotic juices they have in central and south america and Colombia is no different. My new favorite is mora (blackberry). That morning, I had mora con leche, kind of like a blackberry milkshake. There is also mora ice cream and juice. Yummy! Next, we hit the beach. Bocagrande is like a third world Miami Beach. Take the [View Full Entry]

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Hello my virtual travellers! I'm getting ready to take another trip! To Colombia! A place I wanted to check out last year while I was in Ecuador but ran out of time. This time, I won't be going alone. Mi novio guapissimo (my insanely handsome boyfriend), Tony, will be accompany me to keep me out of trouble by distracting me with salsa dancing! Do you think he's up to the challenge? Well ... let's find out! We leave tomorrow, May 1. Our itinerary is ... May 2 - May 9 - Cartagena where we will be salsa dancing. In our spare [View Full Entry]

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I have been back now for several weeks. I spent my first visiting my sister in Miami, and in Orlando to see my mom and attend the wedding of my niece. My sister made me a fruit and cheese plate and a glass of wine the night I returned and I marveled at the variety of cheese selection - triple cream brie and manchego! No queso fresco, which I like, but gets boring when that is all there is! I also relished the fine glass of chardonnay. From a bottle even! One of the first things I did the next [View Full Entry]

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Well, my friends, Wednesday morning I got off my lazy butt and made my way to Otavalo to spend my final days in Ecuador. I'm glad I did. Otavalo is a small indigenous town smaller than Cuenca but much larger than Vilcabamba. It is well known for its artisan markets. On Saturdays, it is so large, tourist come by the busload to buy stuff. I certainly took advantage of it as up until now, I had bought nothing except a new camera and a pair of uber cute jeans that I needed to stay warm but trashed in Vilcabamba horseback [View Full Entry]

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I just can´t believe my luck. My journey just keeps getting better and better. I mean, how can you top my Galapagos adventure? I left you in Guayaquil, right? In order to search for Horse Heaven. Well, I found it in Vilcabamba! A friend looked up a description of Vilcabamba and sent it to me. I can´t describe it any better. It is described as a small corner of paradise, where the mountains hold a magical mystical quality with their arid ridges and lush ravines, dramatic skies and rich colours and the only sounds are those of nature. It is [View Full Entry]

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Itinerary Day 1 Sunday: Arrival on Baltra airport - North Seymour Day 2 Monday: Chinese Hat - Bartholomew - Sullivan Bay Day 3 Tuesday: Genovesa: Prince Philip Steps - Darwin Bay Day 4 Wednesday: Puerto Egas - R¡bida Day 5 Thursday: Darwin Station - Highlands of Santa Cruz Day 6 Friday: Espatola: Punta Su¡rez - Playa Gardner Day 7 Saturday: Santa Fe - South Plazas Day 8 Sunday: Black Turtle Cove - Baltra Airport Everything you have heard, read or seen about the Galapagos Islands pales in comparison with the actual experience. There really are no words to describe it, [View Full Entry]

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There I was, in a foreign country, it’s very late at night, sitting in an artist’s studio being sketched by a Columbian artist and chatting in a language I barely know with him and his friend visiting from Medellin, drinking hot tea, listening to a country band from Austin, Texas. Certainly the most surreal experience I’ve had yet! How did I end up in this situation? Well, Cuenca is the cultural center of Ecuador. Artists are everywhere! One night I was taking a stroll down by the river, my favorite part of town, and in my usual friendly way was [View Full Entry]

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Sorry for the delay in posting this blog! I temporarily lost my camera cable and had to manifest finding it! It´s the end of my 4th week in Cuenca. I haven’t figured out where to go next, so, by default, I have decided to stay in Cuenca for one more week of instruction. My volunteer work ended this week. I have ambivalent feelings about it. The kids threw me a little fiesta and we had orange soda and crackers and we danced! They kept saying ´no vaya´ (don’t go). When I explained I had to go, they wanted to know [View Full Entry]

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Life in Cuenca continues on and the adventure is very beautiful! Language school continues with my oh so patient teacher, Viviana. This week, some of our topics of discussion, all in Spanish of course, included her childbirth experience, differences in health care between our countries, what would happen if a big meteor hit the Earth, crop circles, the Berlin Wall and illegal immigration. As for my work at school, the kids still love me. This week, I taught them how to make origami cranes (I called them swans in Spanish because I don’t know the word for crane) and origami [View Full Entry]

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