OAT tours always have a cultural immersive experience as part of the tour. Today we visited and had a home hosted lunch with an indigenous Kichwa family and spoke to 2 teachers and met students at 2 different schools along the Napo River. I do love this part of the trip, getting to see how people live their day to day lives. We got around by motorized canoe and walking through the forest to get to the community. One thing that was confirmed for me: Teachers are wonderful giving caring people no matter the language or culture they're teaching. One teacher, Carlos, we met had just 9 students in a one room schoolhouse on the side of the river. The families of these students have no money or way to get their kids to other larger ... read more

Our tour group gathered in the morning with our guide Alfredo. We are only 9 people, all women except for 1 man. . Introductions were made. Everyone has travelled a lot, and had interesting careers. Of course all are retired. Alfredo has lots of experience and seems very friendly and enthusiastic. He did a short orientation, went over plans, and answered questions. Then we set out for the middle of the world..the Inti Nan Museum, which sits on the equator. Along the way Alfredo talked about the political history of Ecuador, especially in the last 40 years, from El loco to the present. Lots of soap opera drama with leaders who steal millions of dollars and still get reelected. The Inti Nan Museum was a place to take the mandatory picture standing on the 00 00 ... read more

This is a trip my traveling buddies and I have talked about for years. I always thought it was too expensive, and I wasn't sure that I'd like being on a boat for days. Covid changed that. When we booked this trip through Overseas Adventure Travel 2 years ago, it was Covid times and prices were way down. That helped and the 'why wait' feeling has been coming on a lot these days. Covid taught us that you never know what's going to happen next so use each day to its fullest and take advantage of each opportunity when it comes along. So, here I am leaving on the Ultimate Galapagos & Ecuador's Amazon Wilds trip tomorrow. Terry, Cheryl, and Naomi are my travel buddies this time. We'll be missing you, Roberta, Sandy, Ruth, Carol, and ... read more

Granada was our last sightseeing city. We walked the streets of Old Town, spending more time in the shops and less in the cathedrals. This time we explored without a guide, as we had in the other cities. Granada a beautiful city. With the snow capped Sierra Nevada mountains and the Alhambra, as its back drop, and the narrow cobblestone streets, the photo ops were endless. We spent time in the Alcaiceria, once a silk market, but now full of souvenir shops; it reminded me a little of the souk in Israel. Taking a break from walking in a Morrocan style tea shop on the Rua de Casas de Cha, was delicious... the tea of course but also the crepes and baklava style pastries. We walked through the Albayzin, with winding narrow streets of the Moorish ... read more

I'm falling behind on writing these posts because the days are so full that I'm too tired at night to write. So a quick summary of our day touring Seville, which is fine also cause I didn't love it. We had a half day walking tour set up to see the Royal Alcazar, a place/fortress built in 10th century by Moors and rebuilt by Peter 1 and later others. It's a copy of the Alhambra built by 5000 workers. The thought running through my head was why did anyone need all this? Then we walked through what was oncevthe Jewish Quarter, home to 5000 Jews in the 1300's but is now called Barrio Santa Cruz or Holy Cross ( not so subtle a change) and heard the story of Jews who lived there so the religious ... read more