Blogs from Ecuador, South America

Day 4 Today was my second day of class and my first day of taking the bus without help. The bus system becomes easier each day. The bus drivers also get crazier each day. They like to speed, make illegal turns, cut people off, and even drive in the wrong lane. The drivers are no better. And, when they park on the street, one side of the car is completely up on the sidewalk. Even when a dog is crossing the street, they don’t stop. There are a ton of stray dogs here so that’s not a rare occurrence. In addition to stray dogs, I also saw llamas and cows on my way to school. The llamas were just walking around on the soccer field of a school. The cows were just lying in weeds on ... read more

Lets just start off by saying that south america goes off. First day, we got off to an early start and had an amazing breakfast at a chocolate café called kallari. After a good cup of joe and tortas y huevos con queso, decided to take advantage of a perfect day in Quito. Quito is situated in a valley, roughly 2,000m high, surrounded by mountains and volcanoes, the closest of which is Volcan Pinchincha. After a gondola ride roughly 2/3 up the mountain, followed by numerous pictures, set out to conquer the volcan. Pinchincha is around 15,700 feet high. After a long trek and a steep climb, I reached the top, that of which was climabale without equipment. Cold and a little dehydrated, ran down to meet my sister who made it half way ... read more

So one of the best parts of backpacking is meeting the people who are doing the same thing, yet everyone had their own story. Mike, or miguelito as I found out what others called him, was a guy from NY and had been in south america for 3 months, 2 of which were spent in columbia (some great stories there). He had been working at the hostel, colonial house for about a month and plans on being there for another 2 months or so, but long story short, he made the stay far more enjoyable and it is people like that I hope to run across in every city I see. Day 2 started a little later than planned, much thanks to the numerous "Pilsners" consumed the evening prior. Even so, managed to take in all ... read more

Day 3 Today was my first day of class at the Universidad San Francisco. The university is about 45 minutes away from where I’m living when you use public transportation. It is the only Catholic university in the area. The college options in Ecuador are 1. “Community college” which is about $600 a year. 2. The public university which is about $4000 or $6000 a year. 3. The private, Catholic university which is $8000 a year. I’m still working on learning the bus system for getting to and from the university. The second bus that I take, the green bus, does not have a person that you pay when you get on. Instead, at random intervals, a man walks up and down to collect everyone’s money. To me, this makes no sense because how do ... read more

Day 2 This morning I woke very early, around 7 am, despite being so tired because the room was so bright. I thought I left a light on and when I went to turn it off, I realized that it wasn’t a light. Instead, there’s a skylight that fills the whole room by dawn and can’t be covered up. I guess there’s no sleeping in for me. Also, the house is right by the airport so you can hear when a plane lands and takes off. It’s times like these when I wish I was a heavy sleeper. The rest of the house is small and quaint. There is a living room, dining room, and kitchen all connected with an open floor plan. The son and the parents each have their rooms, along with one more ... read more

On Ecuador: Spent twenty four days in Ecuador, in several different areas. Overall I was impressed by the country. Great scenery and wildlife, mostly very friendly people, good weather. Some bad parts, but overall a very good trip. Quick breakdown of a few things. Where I went: Quito, the equator line, Banos, Ambato, Tena, the Galapagos Islands, Otavalo, Mindo, Guayaquil, and Cuenca. How I travelled: bus, car, plane, and boat (the Guantanamera yacht in the Galapagos). Highlights: the Galapagos in general, snorkeling in the Galapagos the hummingbirds and frogs of Mindo, the bat cave outside Tena, the chocolate, the fresh fruit, the scenery, the people, and the architecture, and getting a new hat and lovely alpaca sweater. Lowlights: the food, the bus accident, the cancellation of the rainforest tour, getting a bad sunburn, the attempted pickpocketing, ... read more

For our first desayuno (breakfast) we ventured into New Quito, and ate in a small cafe. Our meal consisted of cafe con leche, huevos (coffee and eggs) and a slab of dark chocolate made from Ecuador's finest cocoa beans. It was the perfect breakfast. Shortly after breakfast, but not before stopping at a local panaderia/pasteleria (bread or pastry shop) and indulging in a fine powered pastry and sweeet bread dipped in chocolate...yum... we headed to the Teleferico. The Teleferico is a gondola style lift(and in fact the highest aerial lifts in the world) which provides a scenic journey up Volcan Pichincha. The start of the ride is at approximately 5800 feet, and takes about 8 to 10 minutes to ascend to the point where one can enjoy the views.Thereafter, hiking trails offer those that dare, the ... read more

Day 1 Last night, I arrived in Quito, Ecuador. My trip started out with a bit of a rough start. I realized that morning that my glasses were missing somewhere in the Mercedes dealership, perhaps forever. Luckily, they found and I was able to get them on the way to the airport. My first flight was to Miami. The flight was about 2 and a half hours and everything went smoothly. When I went into the Miami airport, things were already very different than at Newark. Hardly anyone there spoke English. Almost all of the people you passed were speaking Spanish. Even the majority of the announcements were in Spanish which I was not expecting. I had about a five hour layover there but was able to keep myself busy with my laptop and ... read more