Hosteria Arasari Mindo

... where there is lots of oxygen in the air to Quito made me feel very sick for the first couple of days.  I had a headache, was very tired and easy activities like climbing the stairs in my apartment made me out of breath.  This is called altitude sickness.  It took about a week for me to feel 100 percent better.  It will take about 8 weeks for my body to completely adjust to the difference in the air.  
The sun is ...

Well, it´s not quite as exciting as you think it might be. But We like it!

We´ve settled into life here quite nicely. The kids are getting used to jumping onto crowded buses and onto the back of pick up trucks, normal routine for people around here. The local markets are extremely colourful, full of luscious exotic fruits like Moras, which look and taste like raspberries on steroids. There is also a pink fruit here which when peeled ...

... the property and the stunning sunsets.

We left on June 10th, and made our way back to Quito to catch the international football match. The city was excited; the Ecuador vs Argentina game would determine whether Ecuadorians could continue to dream about Ecuador qualifying for the World Cup. We thought that by having tickets we would have seats, but it was standing room only by time we arrived. Everyone, including us, were drenched by a ...

... besides the amazing rolling hills and cloud covered greenery - is that there are two highly competitive companies being run within a few hundred meters of each other and thus creating some of the cheapest zip lines in the world. We did a run of 12 lines for 9 dollars per person! As we hiked up to the zip line company, we ran into another group of foreigners that joined up with us. We were now a rather large group, not all of which spoke Spanish, none of the guides spoke English ...

... spotted a few San Fransiscan monks. Main reason we came as this is the most spectucular church in Quito, one problem it was closed for renovations. Also had a quick glance at a convent where the nuns are only allowed out of their cell for one hour a day, thats 23 hours with their thoughts alone... wouldnt be for me.



Then we decide to ...

... how the outskirts of the city is mainly farmland and then slowly but surely you get to the center where the city has grown upwards as much as it has outwards. After TeleferiQo, we took a bus to Centro Historica (Old Town) to get lunch. The best Ecuadorian style food I have had so far is Carne la plancha. Basically, thin steak with salad, rice and lime. Es muy deliciouso (sp). Also the corn here is super unique, for some reason ...

... otherwise you have no idea how to pronounce the new words you have just written down) and very, very different to Spanish all adds up to quite a challenge. And to be honest, I relished it. A chance to use my brain again after 4 months of making such painful decisions such as which bus to take and whether I want leche in my té!

Profesor Turnbull

Within an hour I had 10 students on the books. Not children though. I was teaching ...

... trail - this started with a 400m cable car ride, my fear of heights stopped me doing this. As Paul hiked around an animal less forest I took went for a wander and saw toucanettes, humming birds and rather scarily a bright green snake! The next day we hired a guide to show us some of the local bird life - we were up before sunset however a bright, sunny morning wasn't ideal conditions for seeing the birds - they prefer ...

... if I would ever get to visit these places. On my list I consistently had Galapagos, New Zealand and the Great Barrier reef. Addionally, i always wanted to go to Africa, Madrid, Ireland and see the Tour de France. After losing my job, I jumped right into exploring a trip to one of these places. I found out that I had enough mileage to fly to Australia in business class, but would have to pay for additional legs to ...

... we have only caught a glimpse. Absolutely one of the most impressive vistas that I have seen. Unfortunately however, these wonderful climactic zones just so happen to be home to the most annoying bug in the world, the @#%&$! sand fly. Whew, excuse me. I have no clue why things always seem to happen this way (or why sand flies exist really), but the second you stop paying attention to your ankles and expend your energy on things more pleasurable than ...