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Published: July 12th 2008
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Our plane
TACA Airlines thankfully got us to Quito Safely Hola familia y amigos!
I arrived safely in Ecuador!!! I was a little nervous at first when I found out I was taking a sketchy airline TACA, according to the experience the Brigade had going down to Nicaragua. but we made it so easily and even got all of our bags! When we arrived at the airport there was a man waiting for us with a sign with our names on it!!! i´ve always wanted to feel that special! The moment we stepped out of the airport my first thought was that the weather was absolutely perfect! cool and pleasant. We drove to our hostle which is in the tourist district among numerous bars, restaurants, cafes and shops, a perfect location and right around the corner is Yanapuma, the office of the organization that we are volunteering with. We settled into our small, musty room with two bunk beds and then went to Yanapuma to check in with them. I was so impressed with their office and the connected spanish school. it was a beautiful building and looked very well organized. That night we went out for drinks and dinner and were so happy to find that prices were even cheaper
than we expected. only a dollar for a beer and only about 3.5 for my meal! So hopefully i´ll be able to go a long way with my budget!
The next morning we went to the bus station and traveled 5 hours through the Andes mountains, some of the terrain a little bumpy and at some points we were on a small dirt road over looking a huge cliff with no barricade, but we made it safely to a small town called Tena in the Amazon region where we have been for the weekend. We met up with a group of students from the England who we will be joining for the next two weeks or more to do building projects in the jungle. They have been working for the past week so they are taking a weekend of fun and relaxation and we are joining them this weekend before we travel into the jungle. Last night we went out for pizza because they were all sick of rice and beans and then we went to a bar for drinks and got to know eachother better. I really like the group, there are about 12 of us and everyone is
First night in Quito
our first Ecuadorian beer- Pilsner very nice!
This morning we met for breakfast and then White Water Rafting!!! it was so fun!!! I´ve been rafting before but never had to paddle so it was a whole new experience for me! We drove half an hour in the bed of a truck to the entry point. It has rained for the past couple of days so the river was very high and fast moving. After a little safety lesson we hopped in the 6 person boat and immediately hit some big rapids! The three boys that were in our boat fell out after the first rapid so us three girls had to hoist them back into the boat. The rest of the rapids were just as big and I fell out once with the rest of the group when our boat folded in half! Halfway down the river we stopped on the side to explore in a little amazon grotto, the only way I know how to describe it. There were huge spiders and hanging plants and tons of ferns and giant leaves. Our guides found this special mud that was yellow and they painted our whole faces, kinda like an expensive mud mask in the
states. At the end of the trip we got out and had lunch and then road back to Tena. The scenery was amazing and the day was beautiful as well. The air temperature was perfect but we were all a little chilly from the cold water and when we got back we took a cold shower, but i can´t complain when we are only paying 5 dollars a night for our hostle.
Tonight we are going to a discotec and tomorrow the plan is to rent intertubes and float down the river on our own, sounds kind of like the salt river. then tomorrow afternoon we will be leaving for the jungle and the small community of Chichicorumbi where we will be for the next two weeks. Next weekend I think we are coming back to town but until then, I miss you all already and i´m going to upload pictures for this blog later but thought I would say hi and email me if you want to because it is always exciting to get emails! lovell.annie@gmail.com
choa!
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