Buenas tardes everybody. It has been some time since my latest dispatch, and a lot has happened. I have also been sitting at this computer for about an hour and half now, writing emails. So I guess this is a warning to the reader...this blog might be sloppy. My last entry was from Otavalo, a popular market town a couple hours north of Quito, in the mountains. A notable event from there: I watched the Ecuador Chile eliminatorias game (a league game to determine who gets into the 2010 World Cup, this game did not determine if Chile or Ecuador made [View Full Entry]

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Wow! I wish you could hear my new way of saying that....as my friends in Muisne have taught me....its more of a Wooowwww. Its been a long time, kids! Speaking of long time, its taking forever to load the pictures, so those will have to wait. But I need to tell you about the absolutely amazing perspective-altering experiences I have been having in Ecuador! I was lucky to have met Rebecca (Georgetown student from DC who was to become one of my best friends at the reserve) at my orientation in Quito the day before, so I met my travel buddy [View Full Entry]

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FIN DE SEMANA: ¡vamos a las playas! [View Full Entry]

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I have just returned to Quito from 4 weeks on the coast of Ecuador. I volunteered with an organisation called Jatun Sacha at the Congal Biostation (NW Ecuador) on conservation issues. I had a really great time and learnt so much about Ecuador, the people, and the conservation issues on the coast and also ate some great seafood (lots of shrimp!). My work varied a lot - I participated in mangrove reforestation, fruit and tagua planting and harvesting, trail clearing and weeding with a machete, beach clean-ups, turtle monitoring, making r [View Full Entry]

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Ok, so here we go with a bit of an update from back in the relative normality of the office in Esmeraldas city (if you read the previous blog you will understand what I mean, the jungle communities can only be described as a little extraordinary). Things have really changed in the last few weeks. I arrived to a small conservation foundation in the middle of a courageous effort to develop tourism in a largely ignored region with incredible resources and awesome forest that is being plundered by a determined logging industry and the necessity that comes with poverty. At [View Full Entry]

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I just want to share with you a few bizarre moments I never got round to writing about before that suddenly made me stop and think ´how the hell did I end up here?´. The first one came when I first visited the Afro community of Playa de Oro, one of the communities we work with to help develop their tourism enterprise. I had visited a few other communities before, but only for a few hours and with others from Kumanii, so this was the first time I was going to stay with them, and alone. I happened to choose [View Full Entry]

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The bus station was full. I was the only gringo in there, and as I sat there clutching my bags and sensing peoples eyes examining me and my belongings I thought "This is what travelling alone must be like alot of the time". The sensation certainly wasn't lost at all as I sat in my bus seat and felt kids under my seat tugging on my bag, which I clutched with sufficient strength to deter the slightly simple youngsters. Otherwise the bus ride was great... Ohhh... Except for the fact that I had to take a piss after to hours, but [View Full Entry]

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June 15, 1980 *City official name :Esmeraldas *Founded date :? *Location :Esmeraldas Province *Elavation :0 ft (0 m) *Area :Approximately ? square miles (? km²). *Facts :The conquistadors were astounded to find Indians bedecked in emeralds awaiting them on shore when they landed. Convinced that the region was abundant in the brilliant gems, they named it Esmeraldas. [View Full Entry]

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