Just one more week until we leave for Peru and Ecuador. It promises to be an interesting trip. Cloud forests, volcanoes, Cusco, Machu Picchu, Lake Titicaca and a small group of islands west of the continent; the Galapagos. I did plow my way through Darwin's Origin of Species a few weeks ago. A dry read but I felt obligated to refresh myself on why I wanted to see this place. Cusco and Machu Picchu are the Incan areas and filled with loads of history and culture and more than a few tourists. Lima is fast becoming known as the culinary centre [View Full Entry]

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Hello my loves, Well we are back from Kapawi and what an experience that was! We caught a minibus from Quito and drove south east for 5 hours to a place called Shell - named after the oil co! From there we caught a 10 seater two propeller plane (an Islander) to fly 50 minutes into the rainforest. Flying in a weeny plane is great - scary and fun! The rainforest from the plane looks like one of those nasty 1970s lumpy green carpets (apologies to anyone with a green carpet of any kind) and it just goes on and on [View Full Entry]

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...you fry them up and make "platanos fritos"!!!!! Eat them with rice if you really want to spoil yourself. [View Full Entry]

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Bonjour, comme derniers preparatifs avant l'ascencion de Cotopaxi (le plus haut volcan actif au monde, 5900m), nous avons decide de passer qques jours dans les sources thermales de Papallacta (3300m, il faut s'aclimater tout de meme!). On s'est bien repose! Donc, vendredi matin, nous sommes partis de Quito a 9h00 avec tout l'equipement necessaire pour l'ascension. Nous avons marche jusqu'au refuge (4800m), puis avons pratiquer comment marcher sur un glacier avec des crampons et un piolet. On s'est couche vers 18h, mais c'etait tout simplement impossible de dormir ( a cause du froid et du [View Full Entry]

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So what to say about the week after cotopaxi..well with 5 weeks left, my homesickness evaporated..not to say i dont get the odd pang, but half way through made the other half feel more manageable and it also made me awar that there was still so muchto see and how many amazing things i have already seen and therefore how glad i was after all that I came t o Ecuador. Also being on my own , although strange after having mum there meant I settled into my routine which always makes time start to go by fast. Whilst im not [View Full Entry]

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To me, one of the most interesting things about the indigenous Quechua is their use of jungle vegetation for medicinal purposes. When I was with the Sani community, our indigenous guide, Miguel, would constantly stop to point out various plants and their medicinal purposes. I am seriously dumbounded about how they figured this all out!! So, upon arriving in Tena, I set out to a small Quechua village outside of town called Mariposa to seek out Don Casimiro and Elias Mamallacta. The Mamallactas live in their "compound" on the top of the hill in Mariposa. When I say compound, I mean [View Full Entry]

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Baños, mein Flucht- und Erholungsort nach dem kalten und ungesunden Montañita. Ich bin schon ueber eine Woche hier, und irgendwie ist es verhext. Nach der Busfahrnacht bin ich um ca. 6 Uhr in Baños angekommen. Da hab ich mich echt nicht gut gefuehlt. Scheissnachtbusfahrten. Dann hab ich einige Tage relaxt, versucht mich meinem eigentlichen Ziel in Baños zu naehern: Anmeldung fuer die Uni abschicken. Dann hab ich eine Tour zum Vulkan angetreten und leider ist derjenige nicht aktiv. Wahr trotzdem schoen. Am naechsten Tag gings mit Mountenbike ueber 70 km nach Puyo. Ich halbkrank, aber das ha [View Full Entry]

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Hola gringoes, Well I´ve arrived so I mega proud I´ve managed to have finally get here all my myself. Unfortunately, my luggage has not which was a shitty end to a shitty flight. Up to Madrid I was rocking, met somebody who was doing a Gap adventure tour on the Heathrow-Madrid flight so had a few drinks with him. Then I arrived in Madrid airport. Those of you who know me will know I have not had the best experience there before but this one topped the last. I wasn´t booked onto my own flight so had to go onto stand [View Full Entry]

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So climbing halfway up amountain probably isnt the best idea if youre vomitting..but I was determined! It was a very squashed bus journey, full of people to talk to..mostly I ended up chatting to a british airways pilot, but I also met an economic advisor to the uk government...good time to take a career break. Mostly a young traveller vibe. With a break to stop off at the hosteria, the journey to the park takes about three hours..its towards the same mountains we visited for the hot springs, so again the scenery is beautiul. That psart of the pan america passes [View Full Entry]

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Eh, my stomach is no bueno. But I guess this is not the way to start a blog. So let´s see...I haven´t written in ages. Soo sooo sorry, mom and dad. Where was I, the last time I wrote something I think I was in Bolivia writing about Brazil. Now im in Ecuador writting about Ecuador. The first two weeks I spent looking at the marvels of the galapagos islands and let me tell you they are freaking amazing. With Endemic birds fluttering around, landing on you if you have food and giant tortoises lounging lazily taking in the hot [View Full Entry]

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