We spent four days of last week in the Ecuadorian Amazon, 30 bumpy minutes outside of the city of Tena, learning how much life can improve when you’re half an hour from the nearest power outlet and surrounded by deet-hungry mosquitoes. Special thanks to my anti-malarial tablets for making this awesome stay possible.
We bunked down in a ridiculously cool two-story shack that our backpacker-friendly host family had constructed in… Read More
Copied from my personal blog doslenguasdosalmas.wordpress.com
Alright boys and girls, its been a while, but I’m back. Since my last update we’ve been through three cities, Baños, Tena and Otavalo.
Our time in Baños was highlighted by the volcanic hot springs. The city of Baños sits at the base of Tungurahua, a 16,000 foot active volcano which heats the pools of water down below to a comfortable but attention grabbing… Read More
Kalie, Ryan, and I (Syd) got a chance to go fishing with our farm contacts. We went out on this tiny little boat and the water was really choppy. Once we finally got out far enough, we cast our lines and started catching fish almost instantly. We caught a bunch of KaWe and some Red Snapper as well. Ryan and I were doing great but Kalie wasn’t having much luck… Read More
Many things have happened in these last ten days since we have been off the grid. In some ways, there has been too much to be able to fit in a blog post so I will try to keep it short. After spending a little over a week in the beautiful mountain enveloped city of Baños, we went to another location with our Spanish school in the jungle near Tena;… Read More
Saq’iriq (Buenos dias, or for the rest of you English speakers, good morning) from Pasac!
This week started off with a much needed sleep-in day after a tough night hike up the volcano Santa Maria. Originally the plan was to hike from midnight straight through morning for a sunrise cup of hot chocolate on the summit. Unfortunately, not everything goes as planned and we put our group skills to the… Read More
This past week living and working at Sheila’a organic farm has been unbelievable. When we arrived on Monday, we were welcomed to a beautiful property by the wonderful Sheila. Her and Anne have been so generous with their land and time and I know our whole group appreciates what they’re doing for us. Our first two days of work were spent on Anne’s farm, completing projects like chopping up wood… Read More
( Adapted from personal blog, http://jackdubreuil.blogspot.com/ )
It´s almost a challenge to describe the Ecuadorian town of Baños without sounding like a travel brochure. The place has everything a tourist (or a roving band of student-volunteers) could wish for: a friendly atmosphere, fantastic food, plenty of nightlife, and a picturesque mountain range, which rises up majestically on every side and boasts something like 65 waterfalls. The outdoor scene, as you… Read More
Sorry for the late blog post, we’ve been having too much fun living in the moment – we are all alive and well (parents please don’t worry, all is top notch on our end).
After orientation in Chiang Mai and our trek with third eye travel, our group headed about 6 miles north of Chiang Mai to a town/village called Mae Rim. We met our Thai teacher, Petchara, at the… Read More
Our week began and culminated with 2 incredible sunrises. On Sunday morning, we sleepily stumbled into rickshaws at 5:45 AM to head to the Taj Mahal. We were able to beat the crowds and the scorching mid-day heat. In true Indian fashion, we had to experience some sort of chaos before actually getting in! The security line was hectic and extremely unorganized, but it was well worth the wait. The… Read More
Being a wwoofer(willing worker on an organic farm) has been an amazing experience so far. I have a new respect for all farmers because the work is surprisingly challenging, gross, and energy consuming. The mornings have been lots of hard work and the afternoons have consisted of lots of pool and ping pong. My first task this week was a two-day job at Anne’s farm. Jessie and I partnered up… Read More
There has been no experience in my life that even remotely compares to our safari in Ruaha National Park. From each moment to the next, I only wished for my eyes to see more of the mind blowing beauty that surrounded us.
Tall grass stretched to meet the bumpy purple hills in the distance. The savannah was dotted with tangles of thorny brush, clustered around the thick trunks of baobab… Read More
As an aspiring engineer, I find the Dev Bala farm and all of its inner workings to be fascinating. At first glance, the rural and laid-back atmosphere of the land would encompass the same industrial and clockwork stereotypes that come with engineering. Yet in more ways than one, it is a self-sustaining machine that surpasses my previous conception of what farming is all about. Every task is carried out with… Read More
Dear family and friends,
I think I speak for us all when I say our past week in Kitanga was spent with much laughter and many smiling faces. From the work shop to the soccer fields and even the classrooms we couldn’t escape the ecstatic energy and the positive attitudes the SNEC students constantly radiated. Teaching and spending time with these students has provided us with a greater awareness for… Read More
by Joseph B Hello family and friends!
Nkula here again with another blog update. Our journey to Ziwa to study animal conservation began with a walk through downtown Kampala. Jonathan called the city the most chaotic city he has been to ( and he has lived in Mumbai and Cairo to give some perspective). As we walked through each bus terminal, we were pulled in different directions by people trying… Read More
Hello from La Escuela De La Montana! Today is our last day in this paradise. This week has been spent learning in bungalows and eating with local Guatemalan families from the quaint surrounding village. Here we have learned much about the culture and history of the people in these small communities. From playing cards with our host children to studying in hammocks we have spent this week in a relaxing… Read More
You know its going to be a awesome night at Carpe when it starts with trying to put pasta sauce into a milk carton. Only fun can ensue after that. For a little context it happened while we were staying on a Marae for the week. A Marae is sort of like a community center for the Maori people who are the indigenous people to New Zealand. They have a… Read More
To pick a favourite part of my week is a task I am just truly unable to complete. There are too many beautiful views, crazy adventures and funny stories to simply choose one and I am confident enough to speak for the group when I say this week has been incredible. Whakapapa (pronounced phakapapa) has been our home for a week now. We started off roughing it at a retro… Read More
!Hola familias y amigos!
On Sunday, we arrived by bus to the beautiful city of Matagalpa, Nicaragua. It was a change of scene moving from the rural town of Concepcion to a more fast paced larger city. We learned quickly why people say that Matagalpa is the Portland of Nicaragua, with all the trendy shops and cafes on every corner. We immediately fell in love with our new home.
This… Read More
Our journey to Udaipur began in a train station in Jaipur, around 10 PM. Most of the group was groggy, and not particularly looking forward to the bumpy, overnight train ride we were about to embark on. Sensing the collective lethargy within the group, Ben Ji decided to energize us with our favorite past time besides shuttlecocking(Rest in peace):a jam sesh. The minute Ben Ji started strumming his mandelin, a… Read More
Hello again! So much has happened since my last post…I don’t know where to begin. I guess I can start by saying that everything has been great so far! So many beautiful sights, people, and friendships have blossomed before our eyes during the past two weeks. Everyone on the trip is starting to feel comfortable with their surroundings, almost like a second home. A few days ago we climbed up… Read More
