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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You may have picked up from the ending comment of my last journal entry, I’m a bit overwhelmed. However, I’ve managed to survive the first week and am now into my second week. The Spanish lessons I’ve signed up for through the end of April are very difficult. My teacher, Viviana, is very sweet, patient, and speaks to me only in Spanish with occasionally throwing in a word or two of English to explain a word I don’t know. We talk a lot, too. In Spanish, of course. We’ve covered world politics, religion, domestic violence, and child abuse among other [View Full Entry]

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It finally hit me on Friday when I dropped off my dog Josie with my friend, Ferrell. When I went to leave, I stooped down to hug my dog goodbye and started crying! I realized I wouldn’t see her for 2 1-2 months! Poor Ferrell, he wasn’t sure what to do with a sobbing girl. He hugged me and assured me he would take good care of my dog. I collected myself and said goodbye and went to pack. Yes, I was leaving for 2 1-2 months in less than 3 hours and I still needed to pack! It was [View Full Entry]

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I'm an IT Project Manager by profession, which means, I'm supposed to be an 'expert' at planning and details. They tell me at work I'm pretty good at it. Well, those of you who have traveled with me for any length of time know I really have no inherent talent for planning or attention to detail. In fact, I'm not even sure how I ended up in this career field as I certainly can't seem to apply these planning principles to my personal life! I also have commitment issues. With just about everything. Including travel plans. I have a hard [View Full Entry]

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