Blogs from Papallacta, Quito, North, Ecuador, South America - page 2

Was bisher geschah... Mal wieder hat mich das Reisefieber gepackt und so habe ich beschlossen, dieses Mal den südamerikanischen Kontinent zu erkunden, ein Teil der Erde, den ich bisher noch überhaupt nicht kannte... wie die meisten von euch sicher wissen, war diese Reise schon lange im Voraus geplant, da ich mich schon vor fast 2 Jahren für einen Praktikumsplatz an einer Deutschen Schule im Rahmen meines Studiums beworben habe... kurz vor Weihnachten 2009 bekam ich dann die Zusage, dass ich mein Praktikum an der Deutschen Schule Quito (DSQ) in Ecuador machen kann. Dieses Vorhaben war in den letzten 1 1/2 Jahren zwar immer präsent, aber doch noch sooo weit entfernt und so vergingen die letzten Monate und vor allem die letzten paar Wochen rasend schnell und die Abreise rückte immer näher, ohne dass es mir ... read more

At 6:30am my colleague Gabriel and I headed of with our bikes, destination Mindo (ca. 65km) This time I rented a bike from a store next door which was way better than the ones from my work. Tall enough, disc brakes and in general in a good shape. Due to the early time the streets of Quito were quite empty. Again we took the speedway with our bikes to get as fast as possible to the foothills of the Pichincha. From here on we took a pickup which brought us to the top from where we could start our downhill ride. On the pickup we met a guy who sells normally cocktails, but we decided that it's a little bit too early for a nice Mojito. So, down we went. Actually I am not really sure ... read more

For the rest of my life, one image will stay in my mind. Sadness and joy swirl like paint to create that picture. It’s the first and last image I saw of the Waorani village, deep in the Ecuadorian jungle, where I lived for four days. We have no idea what we are getting ourselves into. The banks are thick with trees and jungle plants. Some reach the sky. We search for birds or monkeys above our heads. Sometimes we let our hands dangle in the spray of cool river water. The water so muddy the tree branches disappear as soon as they reach it. Every time we round another bend, I think we might be there. I look eagerly, only to see more jungle. Then the river turns again. We can see the clearing. Then ... read more