Blogs from Ecuador, South America - page 623

YESTERDAY: My first day in Ecuador couldn´t have been better. I arrived at the Simon Bolivar Aeropuerto at 5:15 in the morning with anxious family and friends awaiting my arrival. Since I was seated in 6F (by the window-yay) I was one of the last ones on the plane, but the good part was that I was among the first off. I quickly got my luggage and met my party and began my journey in the beautiful country of Ecuador. Continental made my flight nice and easy, and was a great way to begin my amazing first day. My host family, the Loyolas, are the sweetest people I´ve ever met! They´re so kind and caring and very, very considerate. They brought me back to the house after saying goodbye to other members of my extended ... read more

13th June Visited the Mitad del Mundo (the equator) with a lovely ausie girl Susanne who we´d met at the Secret Garden. Arrived by cab as the bus instructions were unbelievably complicated. There are 2 museums near by. The guide book and other travellers said to skip the larger, more comercial museum that isn´t even on the equator for the real thing next door - the Museo Inti Nan. There was a super tour in english covering the history of the indigenous people and the importance of the sun to their culture. This was combined with some interesting scientific experiments: clockwise/anti-clockwise sink water, balancing an egg on a nail and reduced resistance to force. The last experiment was the most baffling. It involved holding my arms in the air and Susanne trying to pull them down. ... read more

Hey guys! It feels weird typing in English now that I've spent the last 24 hours talking in Spanish. Everything that goes through my head now is translated to my elemetary level Spanish. Right now I'm at la Escuela Semillita and I thought I'd write a short blog to you guys before I get the chance to write in full at my ¨house¨. Everything went well on my trip and plane ride was awesome. I met some really interesting people from Cuenca and will hopefully get the chance to visit them later during my stay here in Ecuador. Well I don´t want to write too much until later tonight, but I thought I´d let you all know that I´m doing very well and love the people that I´m staying with. So far it´s been phenomial, but ... read more

Today we got on our flight to the Galapagos. We met our prof for our Galapagos section at the airport in Quito. He flew with us. We stopped in Guayaquil a coastal city in Ecuador but we didn’t have to get off the plane. While we were stopped, one of the girls from our group had a seizure on the plane. She was taken off and to a hospital and our prof went with her. We arrived at the airport in San Cristobal. We drove to Hotel Mar Azul where we stayed for the next week. The place were we ate lunch was right on the beach and our group was immediately attracted to the sea lions. Sea lions are everywhere in the Galapagos and a common sight but we never got tired of taking pictures ... read more

In 24 hours I'll be boarding my plane to my destination in South America. It's hard to believe that my trip is finally here! I am now offically a high school senior and am feeling quite glorious. I have extremely mixed feelings about my trip for tomorrow. Anxious...nervous...excited...scared...happy & sad feelings. It was hard to say goodbye to my friends and I know it'll be even harder saying bye to my family. Though I look forward to the experience bestowed upon me this summer of 2006. A "mezcla" between work and play best defines this wonderful oppertunity given to me for the next two months. I'm so extatic about my trip...and the fact that I'll be leaving within the hour to go! Until next time, 3 Shir ... read more