Gap year & Travel News

Alan- our man in the field!

Hola todos,

It´s been a while since my last update, and I know you all must be biting your nails to hear about the first week of my Ecuador journey! Well, I´m having the time of my life. I´ve meet dozens of amazing, inspiring, and genuine people. I´ve been out late singing “Living La Vida Loca” with random Ecuadorian bar hoppers. I´ve been woken up at 6 every morning for the past week to hike an hour into the jungle to use a machete to chop down bushes to build a roof. I´ve been speaking at least an hour and a half of Español every day. Needless to say, Ecuador is my new home away from home.

working..

...and washing!

I guess that by this point in my blogging career you´re more interested in the intricacies of living abroad than you are with how I´m feeling at the moment (in case you are wondering, I feel healthy and not the least bit sick *knock on wood*). As far as the intricacies go, I may or may not have found out first hand that if you are a gringo at a karaoke bar, women will accept your invitation to dance. I´ve found out that Bob Marley is not only a famous musician, but also a flaming shot. I´ve found out that in Ecuador, you don´t pay for the bus by the number of miles the trip is, but rather how long it takes to get there (one dollar per hour) and it is therefore wise to profile the drivers for safety and quickness. I have also learned that no matter how much DEET or how many times you re-apply bug spray, mosquitos still find some exposed skin and then have the family over for thanksgiving!

So, that´s how the trip´s been going so far. How are things at home? : )

Tomorrow, after a night out in civilazation for the first time in a week, we´re going to be white water rafting. I´m also flirting with the idea of a massage or some horseback riding. Hang-gliding is also an option along with bungee-jumping. But I´m not sure if my stomach will agree with me on those ones!

getting up-close and personal with my steed in Banos!

I guess I forgot to tell you all where I am. I am currently in an internet cafe in Baños, a city on the eastern side of the Ándes. Today we got in a solid 14 minute work day then headed out to a bus to drive up the western side of the Ándes, along the top, then back down on the eastern side. Baños is a town famous for it´s close proximity to an active volcanoe which warms hot springs, making it a mecca for both tourists and locals for a brief vacation. (I need to say that these tourists look like they need the break!). Many of them have been hiking around Ecuador for months and def. look ready to bañarse (to wash oneself in Español).

That´s just about all I have to say at this point. I might be able to drop by tomorrow after the rafting and massage and write a little more in detail about things such as: Alfonzo and the bee sting, lost in transaltion-a story of misspoken Spanish, or may be even Alan goes to a nightclub and hilarity ensues. Perhaps I should take a poll…

Hope that this blog entry finds you as well as it finds me!

¡Pura Vida!

Alán