Tag Archives: South America
Tiny Tales of Cuenca
Swelling eight thousand feet in the Andes, slick blue tiled basillica domes gleam under Cuenca’s cyclopean morn. Flowers and ancient iron crosses sprout from antique tiled roofs. Crude cinderblock casas chop Spanish Colonial flow. Girls swish down sidewalks in pleated plaid, … Continue reading
The Road to Cuenca
After adopting Fabris, our Belgium shipmate on the Encantata, we became a group of five stepping off the plane from the Galapagos. Shoving our bags and ourselves in the first taxi we saw at the Guayaquil airport, we had the … Continue reading
Odes to Galapagos Critters!
The Land Turtles You, lovely grizzled antique, languish in the Galapagos sun. A meal of green leaves drops you flat, limbs thrown out like a tripped toddler. Consumed in rest, your life simplifies, until the desire for exploration wells inside. … Continue reading
Snorkling Galapagos!
I’d try snorkeling. Why not start in the Galapagos. Proud of my set of borrowed snorkeling equipment, I set out with the tools to see some serious fish! Looking like I was scaling mountains with every step, I approached a … Continue reading
The Warmth of Guayaquil
Armed with tickets for Guayaquil, we shot out of Baños on a bus that thought it was a bullet! Chugging through the Andes, while breathing diesel fumes isn’t fun at all. All I could do was close my eyes and … Continue reading
Between Heaven and Hell: Baños!
We’re going to Baños? Why do we want to go to a city named after a bathroom? My look of confusion shifted when it was explained to me that baños also meant a spa/resort type town. In fact, when I … Continue reading
Nomadic Notions: Quito, Ecuador
Being the first stop on our RTW trip, Quito was a gentle initiation to our vagabonding lifestyle. Although most people only spoke Spanish, they were very friendly, often going out of their way to help us. It also makes shopping … Continue reading
Mitad del Mundo
Go to the end of the line on Quito’s city buses and you will get a ride to Mitad del Mundo, where it’s a forty cent bargain to put a foot on each side of the equator and walk on … Continue reading
The Vendors of Old Town
Old Town fills our lungs with baked sweets, peeled oranges, oily simmering peanuts, vats of sweet golden plantains, unrefrigerated meat, and swelling clouds of diesel. Shops huddle close together selling produce, medicines, bootlegged movies, and empanadas in their shallow alcoves. Five … Continue reading
The Circus Begins: Touchdown Quito!
The plane lurches, jolting me from a haze of exhaustion. Courtney and I have barely slept a dozen hours in the past three days, preparing for our round the world (RTW) odyssey. Why are we here, in cramped confines of … Continue reading