So this is my last day in Quito. "My bags are packed. I´m ready to go...I´m leavin´on a jet plane ( Read more... )

Whew! Where do I begin ( Read more... )

Yesterday, Margara, Julio, Pancho, 2 girls I don´t know, my Dad and I went to the Quito version of a tramway. It was really cool. It was just completed a couple of months ago so there are still big crowds going. Marco said that it is the new toy of Quito ( Read more... )

So my parents got here Sunday night. Their flight came in pretty late so for our first night we relaxed at the house and chatted. Monday we rested so they could get aclimated to the elevation and got a late start to go see the Mitad del Mundo monument. (The ecuator) It was a lot of fun. The place also has cultural exhibits and whatnot so it was a ( Read more... )

Friday morning Margara, Julio and I left for Mindo. It is a small town North west of Quito. It is lower in elevation and the road to there is full of hairpin turns. We passed through a wooded area that was so beautiful. Then we smelled smoke and looked up and there was a big forest fire on the hillside. It was a little ways off from the road but ( Read more... )

This morning we got up bright and early to drive out to a volcano called Pasochoa to go hiking. It was amazing! Margara, Julio and I went first and Gato joined us later. First thing we paid our entry fees. It was $2 for locals and $7 (!!!) for extrajeros. So I kept my mouth shut and paid $2. The paths were really well maintained and in some places ( Read more... )

So much to catch up on. Starting last Thursday, Margara, Jana, and I went to a cafe to see her cousin from Maine play the bass in a jazz concert type thing. It was really great. They sounded really good and everyone was chillin´. I made the mistake of ordering a coctail. (Background information: I have a problem everytime I order a coctail here. ( Read more... )

Me pica! I am going nuts at this moment. WARNING: I am about to talk about something gross. So if you don´t want to hear it, skip ahead. On Saturday when we were being all Sporty Spice there were about a million mosquitos at the place. I didnt know it was going to be like that so I didnt bring my repellant. Well I got bit a lot on my arms (luckily ( Read more... )

Yesterday was the last day of classes at the guardaria so Alejandra threw a big party for Dani. A Batifiesta! Everything was batman. I took tons of photos and will post them on webshots. It was great. I was really happy to see the kids again. When I came into the room they yelled, "Tessa!" I am happy that they like me. So as the party started ( Read more... )

So I think I am all better now. It wasn´t too bad ( Read more... )