Blogs from Vilcabamba, South, Ecuador, South America

I have been in crisis mode for the past few days. I have not made a friend, and I have felt very lost and lonely. I bought a new necklace today, a beautifully wrapped rose quartz. I don't know why that feels important but somehow it does. A new necklace, a new chapter. But I was still in crisis mode, lost as ever. I had no idea where to go next, I only knew I couldn't stay here. Some friendly words from ones back home and new friends I've met in the past month, some beautifully written poems by a friend that showed me I wasn't alone, and, finally, a good friend telling me that simplicity is best for clarity... and suddenly I know my next move. I have no idea what I'm doing, still, and ... read more

I hopped on my hour late bus yesterday evening from Mancora. Those goodbyes were pretty damn hard. When I got on the bus the few others said they were going to Lima, 20 hours south of Mancora, in Peru... and I was heading to Loja, Ecuador, 14 hours north of Mancora. So it started a bit confusing. As it turned out I was to change busses at another stop in Peru. I have no idea where I was, and I'm pretty sure we went south for 3 hours before I changed busses. Who knows, even speaking the language gets you very little clarity. Half the time you ask a question and they don't even answer you. Then you (me) start getting uptight (not all the time, sometimes I just laugh about it, others I'm stressed) and ... read more

Hello our friends and family. We left baños on monday night and spent two nights in a ciudad se llama Cuenca. We found a beautiful hotel that was over 300+ years old (greg was a bit mistaken) en Cuenca there was an iglesia (church) on every corner each one seemed more beautiful than the next in its own way. We went to 3 iglesias in Cuenca which the last one we visited was one of the oldest (if not the oldest in the entire city). Within the church there were 4 different chapels. we took one picture before being told that picture taking was a ¨no no¨ so we will try to post those when we have the chance. I think the computer i am typing on may be as old as the churches...anyway, we left ... read more

Swinging gently in my hammock, I could be anywhere in the world, my eyes are closed, its mildly breezy and the motion is lulling me into another world,sleep. Opening my eyes I am in a magnificent world, truly beautiful, numerous steep green slopes rise around me the numerous gullies in the slopes casting long shadows by the falling sun, creating hues of purple and orange, butterflies hoover around feasting on the vast variety of flowering blooms that fill the valley with their eye-catching colours and sweet aromas, My peace is only slightly disturbed by the chatter of the birds as they make the most of the fading day,I am truly aware of the vibrancy surrounding me to the point of having a "magic moment" We have arrived in Vilcabamba. The journey from cuenca was fine, we ... read more

After you get settled in and used to the novelty, living abroad isn't much different from living in your home country. Most days you go to work, watch some TV, cook dinner, go to bed. Sure, there may be things about your environment that you prefer, but human behavior is human behavior anywhere... it's just as easy to fall into a rut abroad as anywhere else. Which is why we constantly have to remind ourselves to take advantage of our surroundings. But in many ways, this is no different from Chicago. The number of times we actually went for Mexican food in Pilsen, or went to the beach on a sunny weekend day, or checked out an exhibit at the Art Institute paled in comparison to the number of times we talked about it. And while ... read more

Hola allemaal, Eindelijk zijn we er weer met een update. Het heeft even geduurd door omstandigheden. Maar hier dan ons verhaal vanuit Ecuador. We beginnen in Vilcabamba, waar we het zo mooi vonden dat we er een maand een huisje hebben gehuurd. Vervolgens zullen we vertellen over Cuenca, een grote en moderne stad die we een week verkend hebben. En als laatste onze bijzondere avonturen vanuit Banos, een dorpje omgeven door watervallen en gelegen aan de voet van een werkende vulkaan! En als laatste zullen we afsluiten met de foto top 3, opgemaakt uit jullie reacties op ons vorige blog. Dus rest ons nu alleen nog jullie veel lees- en kijkplezier te wensen! Ons eigen huisje In het blog waar Merlijn een maand met ons meereist hebben we jullie al een beetje verteld over het bijzondere ... read more

Kyle We went out with a bang - that bang being my shoulder and back crashing in to a steep, rocky trail after being thrown forward off a horse. Luckily I came away with only cuts, bruises and ripped clothing. Even this frightening experience to round off the Ecuador leg of our trip couldn’t diminish our overall impression of this fun, beautiful, and culturally rich country. Our two final destinations in Ecuador were Cuenca and Vilcabamba - with our intentions being to relax and take it easy after the physical exertions of the Quilotoa Loop. From Latacunga we needed to get a nine hour bus south along the Pan-American highway to reach Cuenca. It was quite a stunning trip through Volcano Alley, passing Chimborazo - the highest mountain in Ecuador. The buses in Ecuador are far ... read more