I started my time off in Ecuador by catching a bus from the border of Peru to Guayaquil. From there I decided it best to head to Puerto Lopez where I could get some beach action. My goal in this part of my trip was to explore the world under the water. Yes, scuba diving! Now, im sitting in the bus terminal in Guayaquil waiting for my bus and one pulls up 5 minutes before my departure time. I board the bus. Strangely, someone has the same seat as mine. The bus driver takes a look at our tickets and moves the other guy to another seat. Then, 30 minutes into the trip, a guy comes around to check the tickets. He looks at mind and tells me I'm on the wrong bus. I havent made a mistake like this in all of my trip. I look at the guy, explain to him that the other guy had already checked my ticket without saying anything. He was persistent. I either payed the far again, a whole $4.25, or I got off the bus. I reasoned with him. "Look, you can kick me off the bus, but then you're going to have an empty seat. Let's meet in the middle. I'll pay half the fare." The guy thinks for a second, takes the two bucks and leaves it at that. The bus I had taken was to a town called Portoviejo. There wasn't anything too interesting about it. It was loud with all of the bus traffic, a bit dirty, etc. I knew I'd be heading out in the morning so I bought some water and went to a hostel for the night. Sleep was minimum. I got up early and headed to my desired destination, Puero Lopez. I walked around, found a hostel, dropped my things off, and went to find out about scuba diving and to walk the beach. The following day I headed to the national park nearby to check out an indigenous village and to lay out on beautiful empty beaches. I counted that day successful. The following day I went snorkeling and hiking at the Poor Man's Galapagos (Isla del Plata). The island was gorgeous and I saw some huge nemo fish and turtles while snorkeling, but the most exciting part of the trip was finding this huge group of maybe 15 or 20 dolphins playing around in the water. I had never seen so many dolphins before. It was quite incredible. I became even more excited about the scuba diving I would partake in the following day. I woke up early the next morning to discover that I had butterflies in my stomach. I was so pumped to finally go scuba diving. I had hoped to see big stuff like sharks and what not in the water, but the dive master had warned me it wasn't the right time or location, but I still had my hopes up after seeing piles of dead sharks on the beach the day before. The first dive gave me the opportunity to get acclimated to being underwater again. I had completed my certification a year before in a lake in PA. The ocean was a different reality and I had not quite remembered everything I had learned. I had had a difficult time staying at the bottom. My body kept wanting to float up, but within a few minutes my buoyancy was under control. Following that, the first dive went smoothly. I saw eels, stingrays, all sorts of huge brightly colored fish, big puffy prickly fish, lots of coral, squids, tons of starfish, and much more. Everything I saw amazed me. There was a whole other world under the surface of the water. I loved it. And I loved even more that it made me slightly nervous. This all was so unknown to me. It was exciting. The second dive went smoothly as well, but the dive master went low on air and so we surfaced a bit early. I ended the day by watching the sunset and soaking in the day. I was content. I live in a world full of beauty and I was becoming more and more aware of this reality. I then headed to Montañita which was a popular beach town. The vibe there was much different. Sort of like a Puero Viejo, Costa Rica. It was full of surfers, partiers, and all sorts of travelers. I found a hostel for $5 a night and crashed there. The dorm area was a bunch of mattresses accompanied by a single sheet and a bug net on the floor of the hostel's attic. The view was goregous. I spent my time hanging out with some other travelers I had met from Korea, Italy, Mexico, and some other European countries. We danced, hung out on the beach, played some soccer, and of course got a tan. I followed Montañita by heading to Cuenca. Jose Luis, a solid Mexican traveler accompanied me. We spent a week in Cuenca, waiting for my friend Lauren Parisi, who had been studying in Quito to come through with her study abroad group. I had set up some volunteer work with her coordinator and would be heading north to Quito with them. Although Cuenca was a beautiful city, and had some amazing food, it rained everyday and during the week, the city was dead after the sunset. We spent a lot of time eating, reading, and watching movies. It was a nice relaxing week after a lot of traveling. We also hooked up with a shaman during our time there and participated in a ritual which was a cool experience to say the least. When the weekend ended, I say caio to Jose Luis and continued north to Quito with Lauren. Our trip home was extended quite a bit due to an oil leak on the highway. We got to Lumbisi, which is just outside of Quito, around midnight and we both crashed. The following day, Lauren went to school, and I started my work by helping some local women in a communal garden. I then moved into the apartment where Id be staying the next couple weeks, and headed to Cumbaya to meet up with Lauren at school. I met some of Lauren's friends, then somehow got talked into going on a Chiva which is basically a party bus that goes throughout the city. Although it was 99% gringos, it was a fun time and a decent way to get to see the city. I also managed to see my first soccer game in Quito which was a ton of fun and they won! I spent the rest of my time in Quito/Lumbisi hanging with Lauren and her friends and working with 3 and 4 year olds in a school. The kids were a lot of fun although they did a lot of crying, fighting, disagreeing, and peeing in their pants. Haha. But it proved to be a lot of fun being with them for the time I was and I was excited to see their improvement in saying things like please, thank you, and sorry, by the time I head left. I also managed to teach a couple kids how to swing by themselves which was super cool and exciting for them. I had two weekends while I was in Quito. For the first weekend, Lauren, a few of her friends, and I headed to Baños to do some rafting. The rafting was a ton of fun and I even decided it best for me to stay for part of Sunday so I could do some canyoneering with a couple people I met the day before. My new friends and I spent Sunday repelling down waterfalls and hiking around some. It was incredibly exciting and beautiful. I then headed back to Quito in the early afternoon, but got in super late due to more traffic problems. The 3 hour drive took 5 and a half hours. My second weekend, I headed out to Tena, to spend some time in the Amazon. I got in, found a hostel for $6 and met up with a guy I had met in Quito a few days earlier. We hunted down an office and scheduled a tour for the next day. We spent the whole day hiking through the amazon. The guide frequently stopped, cut off a root, gashed a tree, or removed a leaf with his machete to show us all the medicinal properties of some of these plants and trees. I was amazed at how strong and quickly they worked. One root, which was good for tooth aches, numbed the whole side of my mouth within moments. It was incredible! The guide would also often remove fruit from trees and we would enjoy their fresh juicy insides. As we walked, the rain poured down over us. But I didn't care. If it wasn't raining, I'd be soaked with sweat anyway. Plus, the rain kept the bugs away. As we walked, we saw all sorts of huge trees, we even swung in their vines which was super fun for me. The hike also consisted of numerous overflowed rivers that we had to cross and some incredibly beautiful waterfalls. I was in heaven. When the day ended, I wanted nothing more than to sit alone, eat some food, and digest all I had experienced. The following day I made my way back to Quito and Lumbisi. I hung out with a friend there and said goodbye in the morning after being treated to a delicious onion and fish soup. I headed out Monday to check out the middle of the world, then continued my way to the Colombian border.
I am now in Colombia, sort of running to Venezuela. I fly home on June 5th and can't believe how soon this date is approaching. All I can say right now is that I love each one of you. Give big hugs to those you love and remind them frequently of how much they mean to you. ¡Viva la Vida!
Dream. Explore. Discover.
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