The Extravagant
I was listening to an Adele song the other day when I found myself transported back to Ecuador. In Baños, we had a CD player with Adele’s 21. The song brought back vivid memories of cooking in the plain white kitchen, humming (and singing) with the music, and watching the active volcano blow off stormy […]
My Bubble of Peace
Approaching a month since we left Ecuador, our re-entry to North Carolina has been smooth and easy in many ways, yet challenging in others. It’s hard to believe (as I look out at snow-dusted forest) that just weeks ago we were swimming in the Cuyabeno River in the Amazon. I have posted the photo album […]
Into the Jungle
Tropical amazonian forest surrounds me. I walk silently through the fallen leaves, following our guide Luís. My foot cracks a dead branch and Luís looks back at me. “Shhh. The monkeys will run away.” I nod and hope it isn’t too late. Thick underbrush surrounds me and sweat beads on my forehead. Mosquitos flutter contentedly, […]
Only in Galápagos
The sea lion barely opened an eye as I walked past him, snoozing in the middle of the sidewalk. He was drunk on salt water and fish. Only in Galápagos. Ten meters down, I jumped over the endemic marine iguana, bathing in the Galápagos inferno. I breathed in the fresh sea breeze, and took in […]
A Spitting Image
I woke up this morning and had a delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs. As usual, I had no idea what our plan for the day would be. Today, I thought, from my family’s favorable forecast of the day, we were going to take a hike to see a waterfall or something. Well, read on! My […]
They Marched off in Uniforms
Every year is different, but somehow the same. Though I didn’t shed tears, this morning I had that same hole in my gut that I had when I dropped them in nursery school the first day. Are they ready? Will they be okay? Are they scared, nervous, or insecure? My anxiety ramped up a notch […]
At Home in Baños
Finalmente! After nearly six months of travel, we are planting our feet in Baños. Out of several cities we visited, we chose this one to live in for the remainder of our time in Ecuador. We hoped and prayed that all the pieces would come together for us to settle here. And they have. Adam […]
Adventures Galore
We arrived in Ecuador on July 4th. Since then, we have not had more than a week in one place. During this time of extreme travel, we have had many adventures. Whale Watching: In Puerto Lopez, we took a 40 foot cruiser out into the ocean. The waves were large, and the boat rocked a […]
Travel Savvy, Travel Weary
We have lived out of suitcases for five months now. I can’t count the number of beds we have slept in, nor the buses we have boarded. The experiences are rich; the lessons many. People we have met along the way represent a variety of lifestyles: urban, rural, traditional, modern. Still, the core of the […]
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