Blogs from Ecuador, South America - page 7

Greetings from Baños de Agua Santa, Tungurahua, Ecuador! As things are starting to open up, I've been getting out a bit more and seeing a few friends. I've continued to attend yoga classes faithfully three mornings a week. It has been SO important for me to have this time JUST for me. My body feels strong, my spine, hips and shoulders are virtually pain-free. The deep, rythmic breathing is an exercise that I carry into all aspects of daily life. My instructor was supposed to move back to Perú, but for me it's been a silver lining that Peruvian borders have remained closed. SO - she ended up staying in Ecuador two months longer than planned, for which I have benefitted greatly. Now it's definite - Adriana is leaving in two weeks and I am gearing ... read more

JOHNNY'S JOURNEYS: ECUADOR 2019 June 7, 2019 (Friday) Before our trip, I researched this South American country for many months. My favorite summary of the people was this. “Ecuadorians are strange and unique beings; they sleep peacefully surrounded by roaring volcanoes; they live poor among incomparable riches; and they become happy listening to sad music.” Can't wait to meet these fine folks. Janet, Bethany and I have stayed at a hotel, not far from the Pensacola, FL airport. My daughter and I say our good-byes to Janet, for she will be returning home. We check in at the American Airlines desk and we anticipate a wonderful week ahead. Settling into our seats, we are visited by three therapy dogs. We got to pet each one and I thought how soft their fur was. They even left ... read more

Well, this blog entry begins with sharing joy and friendship and ends in the place where we all find ourselves, hunkering down in quarantine, sheltering with loved ones in our homes as we watch and hope and pray the global virus will pass over us and begin to dissipate worldwide. Here in Ecuador we started a government-enforced quarantine on March 16th and it has gotten steadily more restrictive. More than two weeks in and no cases of the virus in my town of Baños. The major road in and out of town has been blocked off. Foreigners who chose not to ride out the quarantine here have been repatriated to their home countries. The streets have all been sprayed down with water & chlorine. Nationwide the curfew is now 2:00 pm to 5:00 am with strictly ... read more

We flew from Guyaquil. The hostel manager sowed a seed of doubt by reporting that all flights to Galapagos had been cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak. Fortunately this was not the case and we flew the following morning. The holiday lifestyle took a sudden lurch to the luxurious. We shared a boat with 11 others for an 8 day cruise with our own guide. SOOOO swanky! The accommodation was as alien as the wildlife. It seemed weird not to be booking our next hostel, plotting our bus route or researching where the bus stopped. We were confronted at every turn with delicious food. Daily routine was snorkel from the zodiacs (pangas) and a walk twice a day.... oh, and a bit of kayaking. Returning from snorkelling we were met with hot towels and nice nibbles ... read more

14 fevrier, jour de la Saint Valentin ;) nous prenons l'avion à Guayaquil pour l'île de Baltra, où nous attend le catamaran de croisière TIP TOP II, nous sommes pris en charge à l'aéroport par 2 guides, Angelica, germanophone (12 personnes/16 du groupe sont allemands), et Eduardo, hispano/anglophone "appelez moi Edu, comme education, ça permet de s'en rappeler lol" Dès le premier jour, on s'en prend plein les yeux, petite virée à l'île de Mosquera, des otaries partout, des mamans allaitant leurs bébés, des mâles aboyant fort pour montrer leur territoire et leur pouvoir (comme d'hab), des iguanes marins, un squelette de baleine... on a oublié notre appareil photo sur le bateau et on s'en mord les doigts, mais bon, otaries et iguanes deviendront au fil des jours d'une banalité telle que plein d'autres occasions photos ... read more