Hosteria Septimo Paraiso Mindo

... a New Zealand writer) as its a cool place. Done a good few trails (Pauline fell again, of course, and i DIDN´T cut myself) and even held a tarantula without incident. Headed back to Quito for our final night before Pauline departs back to Dublin and i move onto Santiago de Chile before heading across the Pacific to New Zealand.

Erstmals in der südlichen Hemisphäre . also Äquatorüberquerrung ohne Taufe. Bei der Ankunft zwei Engländer getroffen die auch ins gleiche Hostel wollten, deswegen geteilte Kosten sind gedrittelte Kosten. Das Hotel (Secret Garden) ist recht nett, der Hammer ist aber die Dachterrasse mit diesem super Blick über die Old Town von Quito und rauf zum Teleferiqo und der Virgin,&#8230;.<br>Im Hostel wird Abends gekocht, für Südamerika ...

... both of which were delicious. And good coffee! They also dropped us off at Las Gralarias where we would spend the week volunteering.<br><br>Wow! Las Gralarias was nothing short of fantastic. Jane, the owner, has purchased over 400 hectares of cloud forest and adjacents farmland which she is rehabilitating. She is certainly an interesting, informative and inspiring conservationist (PhD from Texas). I also love the fact that one person can make ...

... of steps. Only half-way up, we were already weezing like fat American tourists, owing to the fact that we were still adjusting to the fact that Quito is a massive 2850m above sea level. At this level we were able to step inside a balcony overlooking the inside of the church where mass was taking place, and some monks were enjoying a good bit of chanting. Resuming our ascent, once we got about three-quarters of the way up there was a little platform where I took ...

June 16. I felt comforted when I saw the sign, "Ms. Janice Ruelo" when I passed all of the necessary procedures at the Quito airport. A pleasant man was holding up the sign; I assumed he was the husband of Laura, the director of the program (I am staying with her family). He kindly greeted me and offered to take my maletas (suitcases). Being the stubborn person that I am, I allowed him to take one. The streets are crazy (I am mainly referring to traffic, but this isn't a big shock ...

... for the last morning...I went for a morning pee when I saw a huge tarantuala thingy running up the shower steps towards me! I was so scared I had to run away mid-pee! Russ was laughing his ass off when I told him! It was the size of a mouse &amp; black and fury &amp; ran like a spider, so it was either a tarantula or a giant furry centipede! Anyways, the place was really beautiful and people were very nice and we were sad to leave but we´re back in ...

... important I´m sure, but and here´s my gripe (I always have one, have you noticed?), I didn´t feel like I was particularly learning anything about conservation; this was really just ****-off hard labour. <br><br>Day three<br><br>Not so bad actually. We spent the day walking (slowly) up the mountain clearing the trail for the pending busy season. Feeling like men as we hacked down huge swaithes of vegetation with our machetes. Grrrrrrrr. <br ...

... in the back of a very wet truck bed. i thought we were going home. we ending up driving to a restaurant where we met everyone else for ¨lunch¨ at 530. i was wet, cold and tired and i really wanted to go home, but se la vi. we ate and afterwards diego asked everyone to go outside. where the four of us and all of the guys that deigo works with, stood in a circle and introduced ourselves ...

... from the sun gate...little did he know there was still 2 hrs walking ahead! Mable = the cup of coffee after reaching Machu Pichu. Most humbling experiance Mac = home stay at Amantani, living in mud huts Mable = having to say no to the street kids selling chewing gum Most up beat moment Mac = battle of the bands at Taquile Island Mable = seeing Bri arive at the camp site last night of the Inka trail....alive Hotels... best = La ...