Gap year & Travel News

It´s amazing what sleeping in and a hot shower can do to one person, but I am feeling the effects. It was the first warm shower I have had in three weeks and it was amazing. Not only that, but the average group member showered four times in the last three weeks. Gross. No complaints though, no one seemed excessively dirty due to the fact that no one was clean!

Team shot on the equator in Quito

Dancing on the bar in Quito- Leap girls show how it's done!

We went to see the National Museum today in Quito. We saw a mummy and some sweet Aztec gold. But all of that excitement is going to be overshadowed by tonight. Rosie is meeting up with us later before she flies home tomorrow morning. She´s landing right about now, getting back from the Galapagos. In addition, friends we made in Atacames are going to be in town, friends we made in Baños will be in town, and we´re planning on going to the bar where our friend Ryan the Marine kicks it. So, moral of the story, rager of the trip is tonight.

We´re all excited to meet up with Rosie again. Ben´s looking forward to a sneak peak into his Galapagos trip, and the rest of us just straight-up miss her. We´ll only be in Quito for a couple of nights this time before we head out to the final volunteering spot. We´re going to a small village just outside of Otovalo, the largest market in Ecuador. There will be gift buying galore!

Us in front of our beautiful Caimito house. How we miss it now.

Our beach.

Our last night in Cinge (Caimito) was a blast though. Mauricio, the man who has been working with us every day, came over for a final dinner and not-too-subtley hinted that the last group had a dance party on their last night. So, we walked down to the local tienda to buy supplies. The resulting night was definitely a highlight of the trip. Before we knew it (and without invitation) locals started to pour into the house. Before we knew it, women were cooking up a storm in our kitchen, pilsners were being passed around, a stereo system was brought over, and Mauricio was loving it all. It was a great way to say goodbye to Caimito.

The Middlebury men take one last dip...

We´ve officially found the cheapest place to call home in Quito! Only five cents a minute. We found it on our way home from the movies; we saw “Te Amo, Brother” AKA “I Love You, Man.” Having seen it twice before, I found it to be a little boring. But everyone else had a great time. The entire movie it poured with rain outside and we could hear thunder every once and a while. We caught an electric bus back to Gringolandia (where our hostel is) and tumbled through the rain to this lovely internet and phone haven.

The strangest thing about going to the movies was that their snack prices are still slightly ridiculous. However, instead of a soda being priced at 6 dollars, they were 2.50-just ridiculous for Ecuador. It really was one of the first times that I felt like I was back in the US. The theatre was extremely western and it was even raining, just like home!

We´re all excited to start the final three weeks of volunteering, however sad it will be to leave the lap of luxury that is Quito. Oh well. More to come next weekend, I hope. In the meantime peruse this website that Ben turned me onto: http://www.sporcle.com/ My personal favorite so far: http://www.sporcle.com/games/jakethesnake83/oregoncities

Remember, brush and floss at least twice a day!

Love,
Alan