Blogs from Ecuador, South America - page 653

Arriving at the Galapagos Islands in the airport. The next thing to do is pay out $100 as a national park entry fee, supposedly to go towards conserving the islands, but i'm not so sure about that. Rather expensive beginning for my South American trip, but this place is changing so fast that it will likely be much more expensive and touristed in 20 years time, better to see it now. Because the airport near Santa Cruz was closed for tarmac repair, we had landed on San Cristobal, with a small town that wasn't geared up for tourism like Puerto Ayora. We were met by our boat tour guide (Jorge) and shunted off to the dock to load us onto the boat (The Guantanamera). Once there we quickly settled in and then went to the top ... read more

Having met a quite a few children now in school but also in the town centre of Otavalo, I realise more and more how differently children are growing up here. Strangely enough, despite the poverty, one hardly sees a child cry or moan. Children just seem to be there without anyone paying particular attention to them. The number of children running around in the streets of Otavalo is simply stunning, but neither the parents nor the children themselves seem to be worried. The children I have met in school live the life of absolute freedom. They don't have to tell anyone where or when they are going. I doubt that they have any toys but they keep themselved busy playing hide and seek or riding their horses. I asked some of them yesterday what they are ... read more

Dear all, today is Friday, 19.08. I just came down from the mountains in the pick up truck and realised that my first week of teaching is over! After a few very cold days, we had lots of sun today and the journey through the mountains to and from school was simply beautiful. This journey will probably be the most scenic way to work I will ever have in my life! Looking back, this week has been quite challenging at times but I have learned a lot. I am a little disappointed that we have not had more than 1o kids per day, but hopefully Nicola and I will be able to build up the number of children attending school over the next few weeks. In my opinion, the few kids we had this week have ... read more

Have been in Quito for 6 days already. Studying at a Spanish school has filled 4 hours a day so not a lot going on except some city hiking and socialising. Quito is a little dangerous, especially at night, and i was extra careful of pickpockets and getting home early in the evening. Gunshots can be heard every few days or more often. And certain streets seem really sketchy where i couldn't help but walk quickly and be especially alert for any trouble. The hostal i've been staying at (Centro del Mundo) is known to be a good (loud for those who are light sleepers, not me though) place to meet other travellers and is a bit of a party place with it's rum and coke nights 3 times a week. Though on Friday night it ... read more

Dear all, today was my second day teaching in Urqusiquie. Behind this beautiful names lies a number of rather basic tiny classrooms at 3000 metres in the Andes with no running water. The toilets that are so dirty that even the children prefer to go into the fields...(as do I!) A pick up truck takes me and the other three teachers up into the mountains around 7.30 am. It is so cold in the mornings on the back of the truck that I am going to buy a woolly hat on my way back from the Internet Cafe. I might even consider teaching with gloves at least during the morning. The sun shines all day but with no radiators in school it is always chilly. The children, however, don't seem to mind at all. They turn ... read more