A Weekend at the Beach

This past weekend I spent three days in a region called Esmereldas on the coast of Ecuador. This region is significantly warmer and more relaxed than my life in the mountains in Quito. I went with my friend Elizabeth Clark and we ate muchos mariscos and had plenty of sun- well more than Quito. I had a really good time and realized how excited I am for my trip to Brazil and Argentina this summer. Josh and I have contacted a couchsurfer and I think that we have a place to stay upon our arrival in Rio. I could not be happier!
Anyways nothing else to report from Ecuador. Josh and I have been looking for potential places to live and teach after next year and we have been reseaching Bahrain, UAE. I hope that we can blog about that place one day. We shall see! Right now I am counting down- 4 more days of work and THEN! SUMMER! Yeahhhhhhhh!
That is all for now!

Private Chefs and Elaborate B-day Parties!

So this past weekend I celebrated Josh's birthday at my house on Saturday afternoon. His real birthday is June 5, but I was in the Amazon with la familia. For his birthday I hired a private chef named Olga. We had her cook for 20 people and she made Quinoa soup, salad, and the best cake ever Tres Leches. The food was utterly amazing and even more amazing was the fact that I could hire a private chef. In the US I don't think I could handle the cost of food for 20 people, much less a private chef. We had a really good time and people brought gifts of alcohol and chocolate. I think that Josh had an excellent 27th birthday.

Long time No See

Hey Everyone-
Since I have gotten a few more requests to write in my blog- I guess I now have the motivation to do so! So it has been months since I have written last and I really have no excuse! Let's see to make a long story short I have visited the Galapagos and the Amazon which are the two biggest places that I have been as of late. To begin with I will write about the Galapagos. My mother and I went during Semana Santa ( Holy name for Spring Break) and we stayed for 5 days on the lovely Estrella del Mar. Each day we took excursions to different islands to view the amazing wildlife that each place had to offer. By far the best part of the trip was the snorkeling. The water was warm and clear and the sea had a variety of animals to see. My mom and I swam with sharks, sealions, and a plethora of brightly colored fish. The trip was amazing and the Galapagos is definately a place that I would like to revisit.
The most recent trip I took was to the Amazon. Two aunts, two cousins, and my parents came and we went to the Rio Napo Region or El Oriente del Ecador. Intially we landed in Coca, Ecaudor, which is a 30 minute flight from Quito and then took a boat three hours down the Napo River. On our journey to the lodge we saw some kind of River Shark, which I found disconcerting, and other various birds. On our boat were a mezcla of people including the wacky birders that you always see in Ecuador. Someone once told me that people that were obsessed with birds were crazy. I am not sure where this idea came from, but it must be true because birders are the weirdest people to travel with. These guys were the type of birders that wear birds on their t- shirts. Aside, from the birders were the crazy Canadians and two Germans. The Canadian woman whose name I cannot remember was really into bugs and wildlife and her son was reading a book about elves. Her niece was in an Indie- Rock cello band- how that works I don't know. We finished our three hour journey at a lodge called Sani, which I highly recommend. The website is www.sanilodge.com. This lodge was so great because it is community run- meaning all of the money goes to the Kichwa community of the Oriente. There is no dueno at this lodge- instead the communities get all of the money. The food was great, the excursions were great, and the most interesting part of all was the gigantic spider with fur that had a home right above the bed. I think my entire family had a great time and I would definately like to return to that region of Ecuador as well.
In a few weeks, Josh and I leave for our 6 week journey to Brazil and Argentina and we are thrilled. I will definately keep you posted! Ciao y mucho amor